Native Plant Week logos

Texas Native Plant Week is only a month away!

Our website is chock full of wonderful and exciting events and resources that the whole family can enjoy while learning about native plants and how important they are to us.

Now the talented graphics people at the City of Austin have generously created two new logos for us. Anyone can download them using the links below and use them on newsletters, websites, press releases and other material to help promote Texas Native Plant Week. Just right click on one of the images below to download it.

Please help us get the word out about Texas Native Plant Week.

Press release July 24, 2012

Press Release
For Immediate Release
July 24, 2012

Point of Contact: Anna Strong, Chairperson – Texas Native Plant Week, 314-517-2334

Native Plant Society Announces Texas Native Plant Week, October 14 – 20, 2012

What makes you think of home? For some, it might be the relentless trill of summer cicadas. For others, “home” may be the grasses and trees of their youth: St. Augustine grass or Bradford pear trees may come to mind. But a Texan is more likely to think of Texas bluebonnets or Indian paintbrush as “home.” And for good reason: those species, unlike the imported St. Augustine, provide homes for painted lady butterfly eggs and food for ruby-throated hummingbirds. Plants, insects, birds, they’re all natives. Together they co-exist and create our unique sense of place, the landscape we call “home.”

To promote the importance of our state’s special sense of place, the Texas Legislature has designated October 14-20 as Native Plant Week. Local communities throughout Texas are planning events for the public to foster the use of native plants in the landscape. Wildflower walks, tours of native plant gardens, educational talks given by professional botanists and biologists, and other events will be among those offered by local communities to the public. The events are designed to appeal to a diverse audience — botanists, gardeners, biologists, naturalists. As the week of October 14-20 approaches, check out the NPSOT website at txnativeplantweek.org for events in your community. Meanwhile excellent information about natives is currently available on the site. Look for tips about invasive species, an inventory of Texas native plants, where to buy native wildflowers, and more.

The Native Plant Society of Texas is partnering with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the National Wildlife Federation to make October’s Native Plant Week an educational and enjoyable experience. Mark your calendars and partner up!

Native Plant Society of Texas is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote research, conservation and utilization of native plants and plant habitats of Texas through education, outreach and example. For additional information, visit npsot.org.

Announcing Texas Native Plant Week for 2012

For Immediate Release
June 20, 2012
Point of Contact: Anna Strong, Chairperson – Texas Native Plant Week, 314-517-2334

Native Plant Society Announces Texas Native Plant Week October 14 to 20, 2012

Although Texans hope the drought of 2011 is behind us, one lasting result of that brutal experience occurs every time we turn on the tap. We wonder, how can we reduce water consumption and still enjoy the blessings of our rich Texas plant life? There is, happily, a solution — and that is native plants!

Using Texas natives, in fact, has advantages far beyond that of reduced water consumption. Habitat is provided for birds, nectar is available for butterflies, chemicals are curbed for lawn care and simply, Texas feels more like Texas.

The Native Plant Society of Texas is partnering with other organizations to plan a week in October aimed at a public scorched by drought and ready for alternative landscaping practices. October 14-20, 2012, has been designated Texas Native Plant Week. Designed to appeal to the general public as well as to gardeners, plant enthusiasts and horticulturalists, activities will celebrate the rewards of planting with natives.

Communities throughout Texas will offer wildflower walks, tours of local native plant gardens, talks by experts about native plants, and chapter meetings of the Native Plant Society of Texas. As planning progresses for the week, information will be found at the Texas Native Plant Week website (http://txnativeplantweek.org). Watch the site for more information. Meanwhile, useful information related to the use of natives plants is already available on the website.

The Native Plant Society of Texas has teamed with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the National Wildlife Federation to make the October celebration a worthy week for the public.

Texas Native Plant Week Walk & Talk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2011

With Texas in what is predicted to be an extended drought, Texas Native Plant Week Oct. 16-22 provides a great time to celebrate plants adapted to the state’s weather extremes.

The awareness week slogan is “Proud Texans Plant Texas Natives.” It is sponsored by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin, the National Wildlife Federation and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Among the week’s statewide activities during the fall planting season are educational talks, garden tours and other opportunities to get outdoors to learn more about native plants.

To celebrate wildflowers and other native plants during the awareness week, Dallas visitors to the State Fair Oct. 15 and Oct. 16 can speak with master naturalists about a garden they developed on site. A night hike will be held Saturday, Oct. 15 at McKinney’s Heard Natural Science Museum. Visitors to Estero Llano Grande State Park in Hidalgo can take a nature tour on an electric tram Sunday afternoon, Oct. 16. And Austin residents can learn about native plant propagation at a Native Plant Society meeting at Wild Basin the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 18, and gain free entry to hear the Wildflower Center’s horticulture director talk about native plants Thursday evening, Oct. 20, after a tour of the gardens.

More details about these activities, expert talks and lists of reliable native plants to use in yards are among the offerings in the “Urban Events and Native Info” section of the Web site for Texas Native Plant Week, developed by the National Wildlife Federation: http://txnativeplantweek.org.

The site also lists suppliers of native plants and seeds, articles and other topics and information, including how to identify a plant as an aggressive, non-native one that competes with native plants for resources.

Native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, vines and grasses are often hardier than non-native plants since they are adapted to the soils and conditions of Texas. Native plants also are better able to provide food and shelter to beneficial wildlife such as songbirds and butterflies. Yet they typically require less water, chemicals and labor to maintain. Moreover, native plants provide the state’s regional landscapes with their unique identities.

Texas Native Plant Week began in 2009 as a partnership of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the City of Austin, the office of state Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), and the Native Plant Society of Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and National Wildlife Federation joined the partnership in 2010.

# # #

The communications office of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin provides media with timely, accurate information about the Wildflower Center. For more information or photos beyond those on the newsroom site, please contact:

Media Manager
Barbra Rodriguez
512.232.0105
brodriguez@wildflower.org

Gov. Perry Recommends Wildscaping

In the September 2011 issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Governor Rick Perry discusses the benefits of wildscaping:

“As we enjoy this land, we must remember our role as caretakers and stewards of Texas and preserve its beauty for generations to come. One way to economically meet this obligation is wildscaping, a landscaping technique that both preserves and celebrates our natural heritage.

Wildscaping incorporates plants indigenous to Texas into our landscaping designs, creating habitats for native birds, butterflies, honeybees and other wildlife, while reducing the amount of water necessary to maintain them, compared to a more traditional garden populated by non-native plants. The average Texas family can save 30 to 80 percent on water bills just by landscaping with plants that flourish in our climate.”

Take the first step towards your own wildscaping project by celebrating Texas Native Plant week from October 16-22. Use our Statewide Resources page to identify native plants and find the right suppliers. You can also use our Activities guide for other fun ideas.

Ode to the Prickly Pear Cactus

Delmar Cain of the Native Plant Society of Texas writes a great blog about the State Plant of Texas, the prickly pear. Nominated in 1995 as the state plant, the prickly pear is actually a cactus family with many species. Delmar gives a nod to various species while describing the benefits of this ‘prickly’ family. Natural threats are also described.

Read the blog Prickly pear cactus, our state plant

Video: Newcomers Appreciate Texas Native Plants & Fall Planting Tips

As always, the Central Texas Gardener produced another great episode showcasing a beautiful native garden at the home of Bobbie Tsukahara and Gill Starkey. “I had no idea how rich the flora of Texas is, and the fact that if you plant wisely you can have something blooming most of the year,” states Gill.

Tom Spencer’s interviews Sean Watson of the Ladybird Wildflower Center about drought-tolerant native plants to plant this fall.

Full episode guide >>

When Plants Attack — 2 great videos on invasives

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has produced a brilliant video, “When Plants Attack,” on the battle against invasive plants in Texas. Mixing in segments of classic horror movies, the video interviews experts and volunteers around the state about the damage various species can do to an ecosystem.

Tom Spencer of Central Texas Gardener interviews Kelly Bender from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in this informative native gardening segment. Kelly offers wildlife friendly alternatives to invasive plants. She and Tom Spencer explore how invasives like nandina, ligustrum, chinaberry, and Chinese tallow swallow up native diversity. Instead, she offers drought-tough alternatives for beautiful gardens will reward you with backyard beneficial wildlife.

Happy watching!

Rio Reforestation, Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine

Volunteers use hardy native plants to replenish the Rio Grande Valley.

By Eileen Mattei

When the Rio Grande Valley became a booming agricultural wonderland 100 years ago, approximately 95 percent of the native brush was cleared for farms. Current efforts to expand native brushland coincide with the construction of new houses and malls on the one-time farmland. Full article >>

This Winter Give a Bird a Berry, National Wildlife Federation

Excerpt: The best winter-fruiting plants for wildlife are native trees and shrubs. “Many of them produce prodigious fruit,” says Whelan. Natives are also easy to care for once they are established. Dozens–even hundreds–of varieties are available. Try cultivating some of the following plants in your garden. Nurseries and native plant societies can help you select the species best suited to your part of the country. Full article >>