October 18 , 2023
Fall Premiere: Native Plant Rescue + Urban Pocket Prairie
Last Saturday as we lead into Texas Native Plant Week , I dashed about my garden as the moon ’s voyage gradually eclipse mid - day ’s rough sunlight . NativeTecoma stans(yellow Bell ) took on photographic romance that it miss moments before . broadly speaking , it ’s woo by all kind of bees , butterfly , and hummingbird . bee nest into native wax mallow — including cultivar ‘ Pam ’s Pink’—briefly paused their lunch break . Later , I finally grabbed a shot of a bee on aboriginal grandiloquent goldenrod ( Solidago altissima ) , recently quite a trick since a breeze or a cloud saw me coming ! These plants came free with our yard . Yes , they can be strong-growing , but I ’m please that they operate along a back fence for wildlife value and their claim to this state long before I was here . Every mean solar day , we all watch home ground vanish as construction scrapes off native plants , impacting bees , butterflies , birds , and other essential wildlife . Ashley Landry did n’t just stand by and sigh . alternatively , she dug in with a shovel , co - foundingNative Plant Rescue Projectin Williamson County . This week , she joins John Hart for the write up behind this collaboration with theWilliamson County Native Plant SocietyandGood Water Texas Master Naturalists . “I started determine the plant of Williamson County . . . plants that I had never notice before , ” Ashley tells us . “ And I just really fell in dear with these super amazing plant . I started wanting to put the plant of Central Texas in my yard to endeavor to rebuild some habitat . And then I could n’t come up them , even at aboriginal plant sales agreement or the native nurseries . These unequalled coinage I was finding in the wild , I could n’t put back into my yard . So , at the same time , I go steady development all around us where we ’re throw these flora away that we also do n’t have accession to . So , I really felt shout out to bridge over that gap and see what we could do to take this matter that we ’re confound away that we desperately need at the same time . And so , I created the Native Plant Rescue Project . ”They ferment with developer and landowner for license to harvest the plant ( so , please do n’t be encouraged to trespass ! ) . rescue plants and collect seeds go to local grower for plant life sales and to the Wildflower Center and San Antonio Botanical Garden . get hold out more at theNative Plant Society - Wilco . fit outNPSOT ’s Native Plant Databaseto see what you could grow and find the chapter in your area . Plus , find out more about the statewide fall symposium November 9 - 11.It did n’t take long for pollinators , birds , and other beneficial wildlife to perfect in on a immature native plant prairie just blocks from I-35 and business district , even its first spring last May . When the property ’s Modern proprietor wanted to restore habitat , Blackland Collaborative’steam — John Hart , Emily Manderson , and Michelle Bertelson — step in . “Prairies , as it turns out , are really neat at deal with a lot of challenge that urban issues have , ” environmental room decorator John Hart Asher told us . “ Rainwater overspill , carbon requisition , heat island mitigation , home ground . ”Read more about our visit!One surprise that twenty-four hours is this recusant clasping coneflower flaunting a velvety pincushion . So , what ’s up with this aboriginal annual wildflower ? This is fasciation , Daphneexplains . “ Most often found in the tips of stems , leaves , and flowers , fasciation take place at the site of jail cell division . It ’s not contractable , and is unremarkably only found on one area of an individual flora . Re - occurrence the following class is also rare . ”Here ’s a fine example of fasciation on an amaryllis , thanks to marvellous horticulturist Keith Hansen ofEast Texas Gardening . On October 21 from 9 a.m – 1 p.m. , run into Daphne , Wizzie Brown , and stack of helpful Master Gardeners at Travis County Extension ’s globe - Kind ® Gardening Field Day : Gardening in Extreme Conditions . This family - acquaintance , detached upshot includes workshops , demonstrations , and tours of the garden . lend all your questions!By the way , October and November is a great time to sow clasping coneflowers and other wildflowers including these curbside Mexican hat and annual winecups . And , whether we ’re talking native or adapted plants , there is no such thing as a “ no sustenance ” GARDEN ! Sure , we can design for less employment , but every plant needs a little grooming now and then . ( Otherwise , go for credit card , but they will need dusting ! ) So , this week , get pro tips — from tools to tasks — with Marissa Kinsaul , Grounds Manager at ACC .
Watch now !
And thanks for stopping by ! Next week , join us for a prevue of the 2023 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour — Austin ! Linda
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