NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s Native Plant Society of Texas, North Central Chapter P Newsletter Vol 32, Number 2 S February 2020 O ncc npsot newsletter logo newsletter ncc npsot © 2018 Troy & Martha Mullens & Martha © 2018 Troy Purple Coneflower — Echinacea sp. T February 6 Meeting Pruning February Program By Steve Chaney Normal Meeting Times: by "Pruning" 6:00 Social, 6:30 Business Steve Chaney 7:00 Program Tarrant County Extension Agent – Redbud Hall Home Horticulture Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center Fort Worth Botanic Garden See page 4 for bio and program information Chapter of the Year (2016/17) Chapter Newsletter of the Year (2019/20) Visit us at ncnpsot.org & www.txnativeplants.org Index Chapter Leaders President's Corner by Gordon Scruggs ..................... p. 3f February program and speaker bio ........................... p. 4 President — Gordon Scruggs Flower of the Month, Prairie Phlox [email protected] by Josephine Keeney ........................................ p. 5f Past President — Karen Harden NPAT and Paul Mathews Prairie Vice President & Programs — By JoAnn Collins ............................................ p. 7ff Morgan Chivers Activities & Volunteering for February 2020 Recording Secretary — Debbie Stilson by Martha Mullens ....................................... p. 13f Archiving Eden, Seeds Project Treasurer — Vanessa Wojtas by Martha Mullens .......................................... p. 15 Hospitality Chair — Corinna Benson, Obedient Plant, NICE! Plant of the Season Traci Middleton by Dr. Becca Dickstein ..................................... p. 16 Membership Chair — Beth Barber Answer to last month’s puzzle and a new puzzle ...... p. 17 Events Chair — Chairperson needed “February Calendar” Page by Troy Mullens ............. p. 18 NICE! Coordinator — Shelly Borders Butterflies in the Garden Tickets ............................... p. 19 Plant Sales Coordinators - Gordon Scruggs Butterflies in the garden volunteer help ................... p. 20 & Sandy Fountain & Josephine Keeney Suzanne Tuttle Field Trip ........................................... p. 20 Education/Outreach Chair — Open Lost Words by Martha Mullens ................................. p. 21ff Webmaster — Frank Keeney Trumpet Creeper by Martha Mullens ...................... p. 24f Field Trips — Eric Johnson Not Plowing by Martha Mullens .............................. p. 26f Speaker’s Bureau — Theresa Thomas Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson .................... p. 27 Donations/Grants Chair — Open World's Largest Flower ............................................... p. 28 Parliamentarian — Martha Mullens Molly Hollar Wildscape by Erika Choffel ................... p. 29f Parting Shots, News & Views by the Editors ........... p. 31ff Facebook Manager — Sandra Fountain Membershiop by Donna Honkomp ....................... p. 33 Newsletter Editor — Troy Mullens 2020 State Fall Symposium ......................................... p. 34 [email protected] NPAT Photos ................................................................ p. 35f Assistant Newsletter Editor — NC Texas Pollinator Garden Plants ........................... p. 37 Martha Mullens Pollinator Pledge by the Xerces Society .................... p. 38 Southwest Subcourthouse Garden Leaders Half-Earth Pledge by E.O. Wilson ............................. p. 38 Gailon Hardin & Dawn Hancock Next Year's Programs by Ray Conrow ...................... p. 39 Native Plant Gardens at the Southwest Join NPSOT, Mission Statement, March Meeting .... p. 40 Regional Library Leaders — Newsletter submission requirements ........................ p. 40 Theresa Thomas & Char McMorrow Molly Hollar Wildscape Garden Leader — Ann Knudsen Fielder House Garden Leaders — Josephine Keeney & Jane Osterhuis News Flash O.S. Gray Natural Area — ******************** Josephine Keeney White Settlement Waystation — Redbud Hall Merita Knapp & Sandy Fountain Publicity Chair — Chairperson needed for the Feb 6 Meeting & Martha Mullens Troy ©2017 NLCP Classes Coordinators — Merita Knapp, Bill Freiheit The President’s Corner - February 2020 - by Gordon Scruggs Before I retired, I thought I would be hiking ev- flowers that were not in the book. So last year I eryday! I wish I were hiking every day, but there upgraded again to Michael Eason’s Wildflowers just seems to be many chores to do now that I of Texas which has 1,170 species. Since Texas has have retired. I told my friends at work that in re- over 5,000 species of native plants, you cannot tirement I was going to be collecting fossils and have too many books! learning more about paleontology. It seemed like As I studied my personal photographs and the natural thing to continue doing while hiking learned more about our native flowers, I realized and I have always enjoyed studying ancient plants that I knew very little and had never really looked and particularly ancient animals. Now three years closely at a flower. I thought all flowers were com- later, I do collect fossils and attend the paleonto- posed of one set of stigma, stamen, and petals. logical society meetings, but my outdoor time is Then I found out about the Aster family where consumed with photographing and cultivating each flower is actually composed of many flowers native plants. What caused this change? called disk flowers and ray flowers. Although my primary outdoor interest had al- I learned that deer and other mammals eat na- ways been animals, I decided that with retirement tive trees in addition to grasses and forbs. That I would have plenty of time to learn more about some birds make their homes in the native bunch plants. I figured that during my hiking excur- grasses. That as native plants disappear, so will sions, I would have time to collect fossils and to the butterflies that use those plants as their hosts. photograph and identify plants. So I joined the With this knowledge came the understanding of Native Plant Society of Texas which I stumbled the threat to our ecosystem caused by invasive on to when doing a Google search. But at that species like the Japanese honeysuckle from Asia time, I was thinking that identifying plants was that is overrunning the native plants in the flood- just something to do while collecting fossils. plain of Bear Creek down the hill from our home. I retired in the spring, so it was only natural to At home, I quit planting the flower of the month start plant identification with the beautiful wild- from the local box store and started growing na- flowers that were blooming. Since I only knew tives from seed or purchased at plant sale events. about a dozen wildflowers by sight, I needed a I stopped using pesticides, installed drip irriga- guide. So I purchased the foldout waterproof tion, and now operate my irrigation system man- guide by Steven Schwartzman, Wildflowers of ually only in the driest of seasons. Then I began North Texas. It has photographs of about 90 spe- digging up the non-native flowers and replacing cies. I quickly learned that I was misidentifying them with natives. Next, much to my wife’s dis- several flowers. For example, I thought blanket may, I killed the perfectly fine St. Augustine grass flowers were paintbrush! Please do not tell any- in the backyard and planted seed for a butterfly one, because I have never admitted it. garden. A year later, my wife loves the garden al- Schwartzman’s simple guide got me started, but most as much as I do. We have about 60 native within a short time I had to upgrade. So I pur- plants in our yard. We enjoy sitting outside and chased Geyata Ajilvsgi’s, Wildflowers of Texas, watching them grow and observing the many dif- which has photographs and detailed descriptions ferent birds, butterflies, bees, wasps, dragonflies, of 482 species. This book also provides informa- moths, lizards, snakes, and other critters that now tion on the structure of flowers and has illustra- frequent our yard. tions of the major vegetative zones within Texas. Continued on Page 4 This book served me well, but I identified many February 2020 NPSOT News North Central Texas Chapter Page 3 The President’s Corner - February 2020 - by Gordon Scruggs Continued from Page 3 The books are great, but much of my learning Native plants are crucial to sustaining and reha- about native plants has taken place at our Chap- bilitating our ecosystem. We have awesome mem- ter’s activities. Every time I work in one of our bers in the North Central Chapter. Come out and gardens, volunteer at a plant sale, or go on a field share your knowledge while working with us to trip, I learn something new from our members. preserve our native plant heritage at a demonstra- Not only is it great getting to know our wonder- tion garden, on a field trip, or at another activity. I ful members, but it is awesome being around so still have a lot to learn! many people who are very knowledgeable about native plants and work to preserve our native plant heritage. Through this experience, I began to realize native "If we could see the miracle plants are my passion. I am now beginning to un- of a single flower clearly derstand Buddha when he said, “If we could see our whole life would the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” I still have an interest in paleon- change" Buddha tology and collect fossils while hiking, but native plants are the focus of my attention and flowers have changed my life. Speaker bio and program information - by Morgan Chivers Steve A. Chaney, BS, MEd Tarrant County County Extension Agent – Home Horticulture