NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS N e w s P€¦ · Schwartzman’s simple guide got me started, but within a...

February Program

"Pruning" by

Steve ChaneyTarrant County Extension Agent –

Home Horticulture

See page 4 for bio and program information

PS O T

NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS

N e w sNative Plant Society of Texas,

North Central Chapter Newsletter

Vol 32, Number 2 February 2020

Visit us atncnpsot.org &

www.txnativeplants.org

Chapter of the Year (2016/17)Chapter Newsletter of the Year (2019/20)

February 6 Meeting Pruning

By Steve Chaney

Normal Meeting Times: 6:00 Social, 6:30 Business

7:00 Program

Redbud HallDeborah Beggs Moncrief

Garden CenterFort Worth Botanic Garden

Purple Coneflower — Echinacea sp.

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http://ncnpsot.org

http://www.txnativeplants.org

President's Corner by Gordon Scruggs ..................... p. 3fFebruary program and speaker bio ........................... p. 4Flower of the Month, Prairie Phlox by Josephine Keeney ........................................ p. 5fNPAT and Paul Mathews Prairie By JoAnn Collins ............................................ p. 7ff Activities & Volunteering for February 2020 by Martha Mullens ....................................... p. 13fArchiving Eden, Seeds Project by Martha Mullens .......................................... p. 15Obedient Plant, NICE! Plant of the Season by Dr. Becca Dickstein ..................................... p. 16Answer to last month’s puzzle and a new puzzle ...... p. 17“February Calendar” Page by Troy Mullens ............. p. 18Butterflies in the Garden Tickets ............................... p. 19Butterflies in the garden volunteer help ................... p. 20Suzanne Tuttle Field Trip ........................................... p. 20Lost Words by Martha Mullens ................................. p. 21ffTrumpet Creeper by Martha Mullens ...................... p. 24fNot Plowing by Martha Mullens .............................. p. 26fHospitality Report by Corinna Benson .................... p. 27World's Largest Flower ............................................... p. 28Molly Hollar Wildscape by Erika Choffel ................... p. 29fParting Shots, News & Views by the Editors ........... p. 31ffMembershiop by Donna Honkomp ....................... p. 332020 State Fall Symposium ......................................... p. 34NPAT Photos ................................................................ p. 35fNC Texas Pollinator Garden Plants ........................... p. 37Pollinator Pledge by the Xerces Society .................... p. 38Half-Earth Pledge by E.O. Wilson ............................. p. 38Next Year's Programs by Ray Conrow ...................... p. 39Join NPSOT, Mission Statement, March Meeting .... p. 40Newsletter submission requirements ........................ p. 40

Index

Chapter LeadersPresident — Gordon Scruggs [email protected] President — Karen Harden Vice President & Programs — Morgan ChiversRecording Secretary — Debbie StilsonTreasurer — Vanessa WojtasHospitality Chair — Corinna Benson, Traci MiddletonMembership Chair — Beth BarberEvents Chair — Chairperson neededNICE! Coordinator — Shelly BordersPlant Sales Coordinators - Gordon Scruggs & Sandy Fountain & Josephine Keeney Education/Outreach Chair — Open Webmaster — Frank KeeneyField Trips — Eric JohnsonSpeaker’s Bureau — Theresa ThomasDonations/Grants Chair — OpenParliamentarian — Martha MullensFacebook Manager — Sandra FountainNewsletter Editor — Troy Mullens [email protected] Newsletter Editor — Martha MullensSouthwest Subcourthouse Garden Leaders Gailon Hardin & Dawn HancockNative Plant Gardens at the Southwest Regional Library Leaders — Theresa Thomas & Char McMorrowMolly Hollar Wildscape Garden Leader — Ann KnudsenFielder House Garden Leaders — Josephine Keeney & Jane OsterhuisO.S. Gray Natural Area — Josephine KeeneyWhite Settlement Waystation — Merita Knapp & Sandy FountainPublicity Chair — Chairperson neededNLCP Classes Coordinators — Merita Knapp, Bill Freiheit

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News Flash********************

Redbud Hall for the Feb 6 Meeting

mailto:[email protected]


February 2020 NPSOT News North Central Texas Chapter

The President’s Corner - February 2020 - by Gordon Scruggs

Before I retired, I thought I would be hiking ev-eryday! I wish I were hiking every day, but there just seems to be many chores to do now that I have retired. I told my friends at work that in re-tirement I was going to be collecting fossils and learning more about paleontology. It seemed like the natural thing to continue doing while hiking and I have always enjoyed studying ancient plants and particularly ancient animals. Now three years later, I do collect fossils and attend the paleonto-logical society meetings, but my outdoor time is consumed with photographing and cultivating native plants. What caused this change?

Although my primary outdoor interest had al-ways been animals, I decided that with retirement I would have plenty of time to learn more about plants. I figured that during my hiking excur-sions, I would have time to collect fossils and to photograph and identify plants. So I joined the Native Plant Society of Texas which I stumbled on to when doing a Google search. But at that time, I was thinking that identifying plants was just something to do while collecting fossils.

I retired in the spring, so it was only natural to start plant identification with the beautiful wild-flowers that were blooming. Since I only knew about a dozen wildflowers by sight, I needed a guide. So I purchased the foldout waterproof guide by Steven Schwartzman, Wildflowers of North Texas. It has photographs of about 90 spe-cies. I quickly learned that I was misidentifying several flowers. For example, I thought blanket flowers were paintbrush! Please do not tell any-one, because I have never admitted it.

Schwartzman’s simple guide got me started, but within a short time I had to upgrade. So I pur-chased Geyata Ajilvsgi’s, Wildflowers of Texas, which has photographs and detailed descriptions of 482 species. This book also provides informa-tion on the structure of flowers and has illustra-tions of the major vegetative zones within Texas. This book served me well, but I identified many

flowers that were not in the book. So last year I upgraded again to Michael Eason’s Wildflowers of Texas which has 1,170 species. Since Texas has over 5,000 species of native plants, you cannot have too many books!

As I studied my personal photographs and learned more about our native flowers, I realized that I knew very little and had never really looked closely at a flower. I thought all flowers were com-posed of one set of stigma, stamen, and petals. Then I found out about the Aster family where each flower is actually composed of many flowers called disk flowers and ray flowers.

I learned that deer and other mammals eat na-tive trees in addition to grasses and forbs. That some birds make their homes in the native bunch grasses. That as native plants disappear, so will the butterflies that use those plants as their hosts. With this knowledge came the understanding of the threat to our ecosystem caused by invasive species like the Japanese honeysuckle from Asia that is overrunning the native plants in the flood-plain of Bear Creek down the hill from our home.

At home, I quit planting the flower of the month from the local box store and started growing na-tives from seed or purchased at plant sale events. I stopped using pesticides, installed drip irriga-tion, and now operate my irrigation system man-ually only in the driest of seasons. Then I began digging up the non-native flowers and replacing them with natives. Next, much to my wife’s dis-may, I killed the perfectly fine St. Augustine grass in the backyard and planted seed for a butterfly garden. A year later, my wife loves the garden al-most as much as I do. We have about 60 native plants in our yard. We enjoy sitting outside and watching them grow and observing the many dif-ferent birds, butterflies, bees, wasps, dragonflies, moths, lizards, snakes, and other critters that now frequent our yard.

Continued on Page 4


The books are great, but much of my learning about native plants has taken place at our Chap-ter’s activities. Every time I work in one of our gardens, volunteer at a plant sale, or go on a field trip, I learn something new from our members. Not only is it great getting to know our wonder-ful members, but it is awesome being around so 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 plants are my passion. I am now beginning to un-derstand Buddha when he said, “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” I still have an interest in paleon-tology and collect fossils while hiking, but native plants are the focus of my attention and flowers have changed my life.

Native plants are crucial to sustaining and reha-bilitating our ecosystem. We have awesome mem-bers in the North Central Chapter. Come out and share your knowledge while working with us to preserve our native plant heritage at a demonstra-tion garden, on a field trip, or at another activity. I still have a lot to learn!

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly

our whole life would change" Buddha

The President’s Corner - February 2020 - by Gordon ScruggsContinued from Page 3

Speaker bio and program information - by Morgan Chivers

Steve A. Chaney, BS, MEdTarrant County County Extension Agent – Home Horticulture

Originally from a small town in South Oklahoma, Steve Chaney learned to love the garden from a very young age. After receiving two BS degrees from Oklahoma State University in Landscape Architecture and Marketing, he owned and operated a design/build firm for over ten years before joining the Extension family and acquiring his master’s degree in Agricultural Education. He first served as a CEA in Wichita County and, after four years, con-tinued his service to the community as a CEA in Tarrant County, where he continues to make a significant impact. His experience and expertise have helped to make the Tarrant County Home Horticulture programs recognized as “tops in the state”.

Steve will be speaking about pruning theory and techniques such as:

When to prune?Where to prune?How much to prune?What are the best pruning tools?Why call a professional with specialized skills?


More Photos on Page 6

Prairie Phlox — Flower of the Month for JanuaryStory & Photographs by Josephine Keeney

Prairie Phlox, Downy Phlox, Phlox pilosa. Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

This beautiful perennial flower blooms late March through early May and perfumes the garden with a most delightful fragrance.

What a welcome sight it is, after the long dull winter, with its beautiful shades of pink and lavender purple. Together with yellow Columbine. it brings lovely pastel color to the garden.

It is easy to propagate by cuttings in the spring and division in the fall. It is very reliable and it spreads itself to make lovely drifts of color.

This plant deserves a very special place in every garden.

At home


Continued from Page 5

Prairie Phlox — Flower of the Month for January

Prairie PhloxPhotographs by

Josephine Keeney

LeavesClose up

Woodland Flower bed


NPAT and Paul Mathews Prairie - by Jo Ann Collins

NPAT’S PRAIRIE PATCH Native Prairie’s Association of Texas

We save the habitats of the plants NPSOT loves!

NPAT is a 501c3 accredited land trust that is current-ly managing over 5000 acres of native Texas Prai-ries across the state. Our mission is dedicated to the conservation, restoration, and appreciation of native prairies, savannas, and other grasslands in Texas.We protect prairies through acquisition, partner-ships, and conservation easements. NPAT has con-served more than 4,000 acres of native Texas prairie, including 1,340 acres of endangered tallgrass prairie. NPAT-owned properties include Maddin Prairie Pre-serve near Colorado City, Lawther-Deer Park Prairie in Deer Park, Mary Talbot Prairie and Talbot Brothers Prairie near New Boston, Reisel Prairie near Marlin, and Paul Mathews Prairie near Greenville.

We restore native prairie on our own lands, work with landowners to restore their lands, and promote res-toration on other private and public lands to benefit the native plant communities, pollinators, grassland birds and other prairie wildlife of Texas. We share informational resources and advice on restoration. Maddin Prairie Preserve, conservation easements at Daphne Prairie near Mount Vernon and the Kirchoff

Family Farm near Floresville host regular restoration and workshop activities.

We teach about the prairie and its value through our chapter efforts, workshops, presentations, field trips and many types of volunteer opportunities

Historically the Blackland prairies of Texas consisted of about 11,500,000 acres, including the San Antonio and Fayette prairies. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 99.9% of the Blackland prairie is lost to other land uses. Only a few remnants are protected as hay meadows or conservancy land. The topogra-phy of these prairies is gently rolling to nearly level, and well dissected for rapid surface drainage. Average annual rainfall ranges from 30 to 40 inches increasing from west to east. May is the peak rainfall month for the northern end of the region. The soil is characterized by fairly uniform dark-colored, alkaline clays (vertisols) interspersed with some gray, acid sandy loams. Microtopography such as gilgai (shallow depressions) occur on vertisols.The Blackland Prairie is a tallgrass prairie with little bluestem as a climax domi-nant. Other important grasses are big bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, Eastern gammagrass, sideoats grama, hairy grama, tall dropseed, silver bluestem and Tex-as wintergrass.

Paul Mathews Prairie cont. on Page 8


Paul Mathews Prairie The Blackland Prairie

HUNT COUNTY

The Paul Mathews Prairie is a rare and pristine rem-nant prairie of the Blackland Prairie near Floyd, TX in Hunt County. Mathews Prairie is a very unique and extremely valuable remnant prairie that was once part of that larger, original landscape, Black-land Prairie! It is an original, native, natural, grass-land community that has survived on a site to the present day; it has never been plowed. [In contrast, a restored prairie is a native ecosystem that has been taken over to some degree by another plant commu-nity and is being managed to restore the land to its state “pre-settlement vegetation state” (that is, pre-1850’s).] It is densely grassed, heavily forbed, and rid-dled with deep gilgai impressions!

History of Paul Mathews Prairie A Tale of 3 Sales

This prairie is named for Paul Mathews, who was the owner from 1969 to 2005. Paul was born in 1904, and played in this prairie as a child. He always wanted to preserve it and was finally able to buy ‘Paul’s Prairie’ in 1969. The conservation easement with TNC was placed in the 1980s, and was one of the earliest in Texas. Paul managed the prairie by haying until about 1996. In 1998, he received the Texas Parks and Wild-life Department’s Lone Star Land Steward Award for his care of this prairie. Paul maintained the prairie until his death in 2005, at age 101. It was then sold to Dr. Jim Conrad, a university archivist at Texas A&M-Commerce, who credited Matt White in rec-ognizing its value. Dr. Conrad made plans to sell it in 2017. TNC then approached NPAT about purchasing the prairie.

NPAT was able to raise the funds in a very short time thanks to an energetic fundraising campaign, led by our former Executive Director Pat Merkord and North Texas chapters. Special thanks to Jason and Lisa Spangler who offered matching funds, and Evaline Woodrey whose contributions took us to the top.



Our partner conservation organizations were very generous. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) provided managerial support. The North Central and Collin County chapters of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) stepped up with financial support. Fort Worth chapter member, Suzanne Tuttle delivered a presentation to the North Central NPSOT Chapter about NPAT’s efforts, and the chapter voted to make a very generous contribution to the Paul Mathews Prairie Fund.

Please join us on a open prairie day at Mathews Prairie!


Evaline Woodrey


History of the Paul Mathews Prairie Recollections

by Jim Eidson TNC

I joined The Nature Conservancy in October 1994, as North Texas Land Steward. It was very shortly after that I met Paul Mathews. We immediately became fast friends. Nothing particularly special about me, but Paul made friends and kept them easily.

At 90, Paul was still pretty spry, and we managed to make our way around his gilgai prairie, Paul hanging onto my arm, all the while telling me stories. Not long before his death, Paul told me that when an old man died, a library burned down. And when Paul died, we lost a big one.

I had more than a few of those metaphorical books checked out when he passed, so not all of them were lost. So for you I attempt to paint a picture of Paul, his life, his times and his prairie.

One can hardly imagine the expanse of grassland that was once that part of Hunt County. Tall and often lush, with trees confined to the rivers and little creeks that divided the relatively flat land. Mathews Prairie was in a place where forty or more inches of rain fell in a year, a wet place where only fire and grazing kept it from going to shrubland and woods.

I am sure Paul’s ancestors saw at least the last glimpse of what John Graves called “the big spraddling mess” of unspoiled grassland wildness. By the 1880’s the rail had accessed Hunt County, and that was the be-ginning of the cotton boom and the end of the Texas Blackland Prairie.

A quote from a source long forgotten has it that, upon the closing of the frontier, an old drover looked over the vastness of the prairie and said, “Shan’t be long before it is all Baptists, cotton and Johnsongrass.” He was right.



Paul was born in Floyd, Texas in 1904, just a couple of decades after the cotton bonanza began. Floyd ap-peared to be a town with one or two churches per ten residents, banks, grocery stores and schools. With the exception of a few teachers, preachers and merchants, everybody farmed.

The territory around Mathews Prairie is now go-back land, full of those struggling weeds and exotic grasses that can make a living on exhausted soil. But in those days, every square inch of rich, black ground was committed to row crop, and of that almost all cotton. There was one place, just north of Floyd, however, which had escaped the plow. It was a 200-acre prai-rie hay meadow, kept for the purpose of producing fodder for the draft animals. Ironically, the calories produced by the rich native grasses were expended on plowing under the last of the rich native grasses. As a young boy, Paul ranged widely this part of north-western Hunt County. He explored the creeks, prob-ably rode his horse farther than he should have. He talked of certain boundaries he would not trespass, referring to “some big ol’ boys” who lived “back in the sticks,” and who would cut your throat if they could catch you.

But, this last piece of neighborhood prairie was a paradise for Paul as a young boy. He explored there and hunted rabbits. I imagine laid on his back in the tall grass, admiring the sky, sheltered and warm on a windy winter day. In so doing, he became infected with the spirit of the place, as many of us do with our first love — the land we connect with as children.

In the 1960s, Paul had a ranch on the Sabine bottoms, part of which was condemned to make way for Lake Tawakoni. Now with a little cash on hand, he cast about for another piece of land to replace it. It hap-pened that 100 acres of a 214-acre prairie patch near Floyd was available. It was half of his boyhood para-dise. Paul bought it, to produce hay for his livestock, he said. But I knew he bought it for the love of the land.





Paul was a man of great Christian faith, and he told me the prairie was exactly as God had made it. To him, it was a sacred place, and owning it imparted on him a sacred obligation. He wanted it preserved so that future generations could see what God hath wrought.

In the late 1980s, Paul donated a conservation ease-ment on his land to The Nature Conservancy to pro-vide for its perpetual conservation. Unfortunately, the 100-acre prairie parcel adjoining Paul’s was plowed in the late 1970s, a victim of high demand for wheat. But for Paul’s foresight, his beloved prairie meadow would have gone that way as well.

Paul used to call me, at least monthly during the growing season and say, “Geum. They’s sticker bushes comin’ up on my prairie meadow. Can ya help me?” In those days, I was limited to limb loppers and bow saws and a little squirt bottle to stump treat the cut honey locust. He would follow me across the prairie in his pickup truck, jouncing over the gilgai, and oc-casionally spinning out in one.

Early on, he used a local with a 5-foot sickle bar to cut the prairie. The old hay cutters eventually retired or passed on and were replaced by younger ones with disc mowers and expensive apparatuses. Several of the latter rattled to their last stop negotiating the deep gilgai.

Paul loved a gala, and was a frequent attendee of TNC fundraising events in Dallas. He seemed to thorough-ly enjoy them, and was always a greatly appreciated guest there. Paul always seemed to be in love with life; he knew how to have fun, and he never knew a stranger.

In the early 2000s, I nominated Paul for the Texas Land Steward Award. He won the statewide award, and shook then Governor George Bush’s hand. I was unable to go to Austin with him, but he called me around 1 a.m. on his trip home. He was a very happy man, to say the least. If he had been capable of a cart-wheel, he would have.

Paul Mathews was a pillar of the community: a bank-er, church officer, and philanthropist. He was instru-mental in establishing the Audie Murphy Cotton Museum in Greenville. He was well known and loved across much of northeast Texas.

Paul once asked me to take him to Lennox Woods, a TNC preserve north of Clarksville in Red River County. On the 2-hour trip to the preserve, he regaled me with stories. On the way back, he asked if we could make a stop along the way so he could say hello to an old friend.

The return trip was 4 or 5 hours. Turned out there were about a half dozen such stops along the way. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. I miss Paul, but am so glad to have had his friendship. I am glad Paul found his land and had a land ethic that preserved it. I congratulate NPAT on its acqui-sition. I am relieved and happy that it is in capable hands. I am sure Paul would approve.

NPAT’S PRAIRIE PATCH By JoAnn Collins

I’m a native Fort Worthian having gone to school in Fort Worth through college becoming a teacher for Arlington ISD. I am also a Master Naturalist and Na-tive Plant Society member from Fort Worth. In the years since becoming a Master Naturalist I have been involved with many projects, but the one that cement-ed me squarely in prairie conservation was the time I spent trying to save a native prairie on the southwest side of Fort Worth. During that year and a half, I orga-nized monthly hikes on this native prairie. The pivotal moment that proved to me that prairie preaching was a worthy endeavor happened when I saw hundreds of monarchs using that prairie as a layover on their trek to the Oyamel Fir trees in Mexico.

NPAT cont. on Page 11




NPAT cont. on Page 12

My monthly jaunts on this prairie to stir public in-terest instilled a love of prairie that I could not shake from my shoes or my soul.

After the sale of my prairie, I needed a new prairie cause. The work I had done there put me in contact with NPAT at the state level. When our little prairie group heard that a National Grass Conference was being held in Fort Worth, we were thrilled and helped to organize it. The conference led to the establishment of the Fort Worth and Dallas chapters of NPAT, now I had my prairie cause!

I became a charter member of the Fort Worth chap-ter and now serve as the Outreach Coordinator. You can find me along with my partner in crime, Evaline Woodrey, at various events preaching about prairies! Evaline, a key person in this story, ended up playing a key role in my assertion that the prairie needs your voice!

When NPAT added the capital campaign to purchase Mathews I had already had some practice in deliver-ing my prairie spiel! I also had a personal interest in helping to buy the Mathews Prairie, you see, prairie is in my DNA! My parents were both North Texas prai-rie children! And Mathews, it seems, was a mere 35 miles from my dad’s childhood farm!

Back in the day, driving the country roads on visits to the area, my dad would regale us with farm stories. He spoke of picking cotton (in fact, “cotton pickin” was his favorite cuss word!). He spoke of hog wallows, bodarks, and highgear grain which you stored in the barn, but had to stir or it would spontaneously com-bust! As a child, belly full of chicken fried steak, that my grandmother had tenderized on an old wooden board (we said she was killing it again!), I would take a cotton string tied with bacon fat and find that just right wide crack in the black earth to catch me a craw-dad! Surmising they needed water, I remember won-dering why the crawdad was 30 yards from the tank. I figured they dug underground tunnels to the tank my grandad had to water his cattle.

My grandparent’s place was right on the edge of town on the corner of Hwy 69 where they had moved when they gave up farm life and my grandad took a job as a nightwatchman for the Lewisville Water Department. For the longest time there was a huge rock pile that the highway department stored right by the highway. It held plenty of sparkly treasure for a preteen rock hound! They had a big garden and always had a steer or two since my grandfather was a cattle trader after they moved to town from the farm. I even remember going in to town to the ice house to get a block of ice so we could make home-made ice cream on the porch that we could eat after shelling black eyed peas!

I lost my dad before we could walk their old farm. His family had lived in the Taylorville Schoolhouse while farming cotton and high gear. I can only imag-ine the adventures that farm boy had exploring the land with his big brother. They were there when the county finally turned on the electricity and my grand-mother got to use her new iron! Of course he had to walk 5 miles (uphill in the snow) to go to high school in Leonard, but usually someone came along to take him the rest of the way. They were still there when during WWII my uncle died on a German battlefield. Not long after the war, my dad who had just graduat-ed moved to the big city of Fort Worth where his dad had gotten him a job at Convair and a rooming house to live in on Hemphill. Of course this is where he met his prairie girl wife, my mother, who had moved to the big city from the farm too! My grandparents even-tually moved into town and when we sold their place after my grandmother died at 98, the entire house was moved by truck down the road, just like it had been moved there by my grandfather! In fact, if you drive by the Sonic in Leonard, you are looking at their place! To have an NPAT prairie so close to my family’s roots was a super exciting proposition to me!




You see, while I was still teaching, back before I be-came a Master Naturalist it was a gilgai that finally brought me back to the prairie. I went to the New York Blackland Prairie in Arlington looking for some help with a school garden that was nearby and heard my first prairie preacher.

We were just doing maintenance but someone there imparted his knowledge of the mysterious gilgai! This fortuitous gilgai meeting led to help for my garden and eventually led to me becoming a Master Natu-ralist myself. So when I visited Mathews for the first time, I was well acquainted with these geologic fea-tures. However, nothing prepared me for the gilgai at Mathews! Walking on that prairie is indeed like walk-ing on a waffle. You must be careful lest you trip and fall! Brandon Belcher of the Nature Conservancy met us at the prairie and filled our group with the history of the prairie and what important work needed to be done there. I came home with an even stronger desire to save this prairie.

Toward the end of October when we had gotten close to 40k, I received a call from Pat Merkord, the Ex-ecutive Director of NPAT, asking me if knew Evaline Woodrey. It seemed that this person had donated $10,000.00 for Mathews and no one at the state level knew who she was!

So evidently when I was in my prairie preacher mode at all of those events, someone was listening! Evaline, my partner in crime, who sits with me at all of my prairie preaching events had finished the fund drive! Mathews was saved! Now to be fair, Evaline was al-ready a prairie nerd, having planted natives on her property long before many of us. But now she has her own little piece of prairie in Hunt County that has her heart print on it! I’m here to tell you that not only your hands volunteering will get results, but your voice might be even more crucial if we are to make a real difference in prairie conservation.

For those of us who volunteer with our hands and voices more than our pocketbook, we often wonder if what we do makes a real difference! So do I want you to join me as a member of NPAT? Of course I do, but I know how hard it is for me to keep current on all of my nature memberships. I just can’t afford to belong

to all of the ones I want to support. Those of us in the prairie nerd world often preach to the choir, but if we break out of our comfort zone and speak of prairies in other places we just might find the next Evaline that will be the answer to getting broader support from the public. So even more important than your member-ship is your voice! Your voice in your neighborhood associations, your voice to city councils, your voice on building committees, your voice in scout groups, even your voice in yoga, keno, or church groups, or as I have done many times, even using your voice with the people in line at the grocery store! In fact, right now you can use your voice to support the ef-fort underway to add acreage from Broadcast Hill to Tandy Hills by writing the mayor and city council of Fort Worth! Won’t you join me and become a prairie preacher too! Who knows maybe together we can all find an Evaline!

To lend your voice to the Tandy Hills effort see this link, or contact Don Young with Friends of Tandy Hills on their Facebook page.

I hope to see you on the prairie soon! Until then…Keep Preaching!

Additional photosand

NPAT holdings on Pages 35-36


BRIT, Registration Required. ($20 members/25 nonmembers)Sat., Feb. 1 10 AM-noon Vegetable Gardening and Planting Sites Sat., Feb. 1 1:00-3:00 PM Spring Pruning in the GardenFri., Feb. 28 5:30-7:30 PM Conservatory Grand Re-opening (BRIT members only registration required by Feb. 14)Sat., Feb 1 10:00 AM-3:00 PM Introduction to Colored Pencil ($85 member/ $95 nonmembers)Wed., Feb 5, 12, 19, 26 6-8PM Painting the Plants and Landscapes of Texas ($150 members/$165 nonmembers)

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge $5 Fee Non-members, Members Free: Weekends: 9-11:00 AM Nature Hikes February 1, 2, 8, 9,15,16, 22, 23, 29Wednesdays: 9-11:00 AM Walk with Naturalist February 5, 12, 19, 26Sun., Feb. 2 1;30-2:30 PM Animal Tracks and SignsSun., Feb. 9 1:30-2:30 PM Marine FossilsSat., Feb. 15. 1:30-3:00 PM Orienteering (scavenger hunt)Sat., Feb. 22 1:30-2:30 PM Backyard Wildlife HousingSun., Feb. 23 1:30-3:00 PM Treading Oak Motte Trail (hike)Sat., Feb. 29 11 AM-noon Life of Herpes___________Sat., Feb. 8 1:30-4:00 Pm Winter Woody ID-Suzanne Tuttle ($5 members /nonmembers $10) preregistration required

Native Prairies Association of Texas Fort Worth ChapterMichael Saenz Conference Center, Northwest Campus TCC, Fort Worth Mon., Feb. 10 6:30 PM Marine Creek Land Scholars: students from Chisholm High School working on a prairie restoration at TCC-NW Campus

Cross Timbers Master Naturalist FWBGMon., Feb. 17 7 PM Awards Ceremony

Tarrant County Master Gardener AssociationThurs., Feb. 6 FWBG Update & Gardening Tips by Bob Myers Director FWBG

North Central Chapter of Native Plant Society of TexasThurs., Feb. 6 6:30 PM Pruning by Steve Chaney, TX Agri Life Board Meeting: February 25 6:30 PM FWBG

Volunteer Opportunities Cont. on Page 14

January 2020 Activities - by Martha Mullens


Volunteer* at our Demonstration Gardens

Fielder House Butterfly Garden 1616 W Abram St, Arlington Leaders: Josephine Keeney, Jane Osterhuis, Charlie Amos 2nd & 4th Mondays 9 AM-noon February 10, 24

Molly Hollar Wildscape Veterans Park, Arlington Leader: Ann Knudsen (Josephine Keeney)1st Sat: Feb 1 (most Saturdays) Every Wed.: February 5, 12, 19, 26 9 AM-noon

Knapp Heritage Park Pollinator Garden 201 West Front Street, ArlingtonFirst Monday: February 3 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)

River Legacy Park 701 NW Green Oaks Blvd., Arlington Volunteer Manager: Sherrie Ripple3rd Monday: February 17 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney)Opportunities on website: riverlegacy.org or call 817-860-6752 ext. 109 or [email protected] 817-459-5474

OS Gray Natural Area2nd Saturday: February 8 9 AM-noon (contact Josephine Keeney) Native Plant Gardens at SW Regional Library at Hulen 8 AM-noon, 4001Library Ln, Fort Worth Leaders: Theresa Thomas, Char McMorrow2nd & 4th Thursdays: February 13, 27

SW Tarrant Co. Sub Courthouse 8:00AM-12:00 PM 6551 Granbury Rd, Fort Worth Leaders: Gailon Hardin, Dawn Hancock 2nd Sat.: February 8 last Wed.: February 26

Volunteer at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge 9601 Fossil Ridge Rd, Fort Worth 76135Volunteer Coordinator: Laura Veloz fwnc.org 817-392-7410Volunteer Positions: Docent, Outdoor Conservationist (Natural Guard). Restoration Greenhouse,Visitor Center Host, Special Events, Animal Care

Volunteer at White Settlement Monarch Waystation Leaders: Sandy Fountain, Merita Knapp 3rd Sat. February 15

Volunteer for Native Prairies Association fortworthnpat.wordpress.com

Volunteer at BRIT 1700 University Dr, Fort Worth 76107

Manager of Volunteers: Montana WilliamsTo volunteer: go to brit.org , pull down bar “Get Involved”, click on Volunteer, click on “Become a Volunteer” and fill out an application.

* Note: Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners can get volunteer hours for work performed.

Continued from Page 13Jan. 2020 Volunteer* Opportunities - by Martha Mullens

http://riverlegacy.org


http://fwnc.org

http://fortworthnpat.wordpress.com

http://brit.org


Archiving Eden, Seeds Project - by Martha Mullens

A photographer, Dornith Doherty, has spent 10 years capturing the beauty of thousands of seed varieties in a project she calls Archiving Eden. She is amazed that such tiny grains are so delicate and vulnerable, but so hardy as to sometimes with-stand the elements for years, eventually germi-nating and producing exquisite blooms. She says: “they have the power of life” and she finds them “magical”.

She researched the seed bank in Svalbard, Nor-way, which stores seeds in order to preserve a food supply. It is a way of protecting against such dam-ages as climate change, famine, political strife, and other unforeseen catastrophes. The idea that somebody had built a “Noah’s Ark on the North Pole in an effort to preserve plant life on Earth and possibly the human race itself ” sparked her interest.

A native Texan, Doherty is a research professor at the University of North Texas, where she teach-es photography. Using her own money and time, she started a photo series on not just Svalbard, but other seed banks. When her project became known, she was invited to photograph collections in the USA, England, Svalbard, Russia, Australia, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

There are several purposes for seed banks. They stockpile reserves of countless seeds from all corners of the world to help ensure food securi-ty, preserve diversity in the plant kingdom, and guard against species extinction. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault can store up to 2.5 billion seeds. For maximum viability, the seeds are kept at low humidity and a minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure low metabolic activity. They are wrapped inside special foil packets and placed inside boxes on shelves which line the vault. The seeds should stay viable for decades, centuries, or possibly thousands of years. Because the Svalbard vault is within a mountain, the permafrost maintains the desired conditions even if the electricity fails.

Because Doherty is a photographer, she was in-terested in capturing the images of these seeds in an innovative way so she decided to use X-rays which produce a black and white image. At each location the scientists gave her specimens which were set aside for research, not for storage. After taking the photos, and transferring them to a hard drive, she brought them back to her studio in Tex-as. Here she turned the photographs into colorful images, collages, or animations using Photoshop. The colors she chose have specific meanings. Some of her animated images shift from green to brown, which represents the drying process. Some shift from green to blue to illustrate the idea of being frozen. Her work is ongoing.

Her work is a marvelous way to interest people in preserving plant life for future generations. She has done this in such a way artistically that may capture people’s interest more than scientifically. She is a true modern female innovator and one that we can be proud to call a Texas botanist.

If you wish to see more of her work, it is in the March 31, 2019 issue of National Geographic on-line. If you wish to purchase the book Archiving Eden, it is available at Amazon or eBay for $40-$60. Half Price Books has it for $30.

Archiving Seeds, National Geographic article, Online, March 31, 2019


Fall 2019 Plant of the Season Native Plant Society of Texas, North Central Chapter NICE Native Plant Partners Natives Improve and Conserve Environments

Fall Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana: Shade to part-sun perennial Description: Fall Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana, also called False Dragonhead, is in the mint family. It grows 2-5 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide, with square stems and opposite, toothed leaves that grow up to 5” long and 1.5” wide and are smaller at the top of the stems. The plant’s common name comes from the observation that individual flowers in the flower spike will stay in place if they are manipulated into a new position.

Flowers and Seeds: Fall Obedient Plant blooms in late summer through mid-fall in North Texas. The 2/3-1” white to light- to deep-pink to lavender flowers are found on 4-6” spikes that start blooming at the bottom of the spike to the top. Several cultivars varying in flower color are available. Dead-heading the flowers encourages more blooms. The flowers are followed by seed capsules with small black self-sowing seeds.

Planting sites: Fall Obedient Plant thrives in part shade to sun and a range of soil types, including clay and poor soil. In the wild, it can be found in marshy sites. During drought, it may go dormant.

Watering Instructions: During dry spells, Fall Obedient Plant will appreciate supplemental water, especially if planted in full sun. Unlike many other native Texas plants, it tolerates poor drainage, making it valuable for rain gardens.

Comments: Fall Obedient Plant is great in border, meadow, butterfly, cutting and native plant gardens, as well as pocket prairies or close to a water feature. Taller plants may need to be staked if they become floppy. It is easy to propagate by seed or by digging up the roots. It spreads easily by rhizomes and can be aggressive, a characteristic common to mint family members. However, its shallow roots mean that it can be easily weeded out where it is not wanted. Fall Obedient Plant attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and native bees and is deer resistant. Consider planting Fall Obedient Plant instead of invasive, non-native yellow-flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) and Umbrella plant (Cyperus alternifolius). Although Fall Obedient Plant is related to both Spring Obedient Plants (P. intermedia and P. pulchella), it blooms at a different time. Because all three have otherwise similar soil and water needs, consider growing them as companion plants. Other companion plants include the perennial Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and the annual Texas Bluebells (Eustoma exaltata var. grandiflora). Big Red Sage (Salvia penstemonoides) and Texas Betony (Stachys coccinea) are also suitable companions for Fall Obedient Plant in areas with good drainage.

Look for the NICE Plant of the Season signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating North Texas nursery. Thank you for using native plants in your landscapes.

The Native Plant Society of Texas, North Central Chapter meets on the 1st Thursday Feb thru Jun, Aug thru Dec at 6:30 pm @ Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens, Deborah Beggs Moncrief Garden Center, Redbud Room.

https://media.txnativeplants.org Written by Dr. Becca Dickstein

Photo courtesy of Barbara Brown

NICE! Plant of the Season Reported by Shelly Borders

[email protected]

http://[email protected]


Answer to Last Month’s Puzzle and A New Puzzle by Troy Mullens © 2020

Answer to last months puzzleWesternmost range is the

"Grand Prairie Eco-region

of Texas"Elephantopus tomentosus.

Elephant's foot

New Puzzle

An easy onethis month

Purple pineapple?


Henbit was introduced to the Wildflower Garden by Eloise Butler on Sept. 8, 1919 when she got plants from Lyndale Gardens, a nursery in Minneapolis. The plant was known to her from Maine and Massachusetts and was one of those species she thought should have a place in the new Wildflower Reserve. In was introduced from Europe, some sources say probably no longer ago than the 1920s, but Ada George already had it in her book A Manual of Weeds in 1914 and listed extensive U.S. distribution.

It may have been here much earlier, but was possibly overlooked as a small weed.

More on Eloise Butler next month.


Butterflies in the Garden Tickets

“Celebrate the Change” in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s recently restored conservatory and marvel at a multi-tude of butterflies during “Butterflies in the Garden,” the largest exhibit of live, exotic butterflies in north central Texas, starting Feb. 29, 2020 and running through April 12, 2020. The six-week exhibit will be open daily, including Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Beautiful, exotic butterflies of every hue and size will be flying in the conservatory,” said Gail Manning, Fort Worth Botanic Garden entomologist. “People will have a chance to walk among hundreds of fluttering butterflies from around the world, watch them land on tropical flowers and lush foliage — maybe even on their shoulders — and learn about the amazing life cycle of the butterfly.”

Co-hosted by the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and BRIT, Butterflies in the Garden will offer educational programs, exciting exhibits, gift shop items and more designed to enhance the visitor experience.

The exhibit will feature Central American butterflies such as the Starry Night Butterfly (Hamadryas Iaodamia), the Mosaic (Colobura dirce), the elegant Glass Wing (Greta oto), Small Postman (Heliconius erato), Pink-Spotted Cattleheart (Parides photinus), the green Malachite (Siproeta stelenes), Tiger Longwing (Heliconius hecale), and Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides). Of these, the Blue Morpho is the most striking and a perennial favorite among visitors. Also included in the exhibit will be butterflies from North and South America, Africa and Asia.

Tickets for timed entrance may be purchased online starting Dec 1. Admission is $12 for ages 16-64; $10 for se-niors (65+); $8 for ages 6-15; and free for children under five. School groups of 20 or more may purchase tickets in advance for $8 per person. GROW members receive a discounted price of $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $6 for children. For those who want to visit both the Garden and the butterfly exhibit, the price is $18 for adults and seniors and $10 for children.

Free Plants by BRIT

The Botanic Garden, in conjunction with BRIT, has created a Pollinator Pathway between BRIT and the Garden Center.

In evaluating our current plantings, we have found that we have an overabundance of a couple of plants. We hope that we can rehome some of these lovely natives in other gardens and prairies in the area.Both of these plants are perennials. Plants are Bushy Bluestem and Maximillian Sunflower.Contact Keith Brock at [email protected] to set up a time to come out.



Butterflies in the Garden Volunteer Help by Theresa Thomas

We will be hosting the return of the Butterflies in the Garden event this spring and need as many volunteers as we can recruit. Many of the butterflies in the exhibit are native to Texas so this event should hopefully qualify as a way for your members to earn volunteer credit for your program. If possible, would you please include the following blurb or the attached flyer: The Butterflies in the Garden event will be returning this spring and volunteers will be needed every day from February 29th through April 12th to help with greeting, way-showing, and educating our guests. Volunteers are absolutely crucial to run help run the event and we won’t be able to host it without your support. Interested partic-ipants will need to attend our required training, which is scheduled for the following dates:

Tuesday, February 4th Saturday, February 8th1:00 pm to 4:00 pm 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Please sign up for a training shift via the GROW Volunteer Portal or by emailing [email protected]. As always, thank you for your interest and support in the GROW collaboration. Sincerely, Montana MONTANA WILLIAMS | VOLUNTEER MANAGER | BRIT.ORG | 817-392-5543 | 1700 UNIVERSITY DRIVE, FORT WORTH, TX 76107

Suzanne Tuttle Field Trip - by Eric Johnson

Suzanne Tuttle is leading a field trip on Feb-ruary 22, 2020, at the Southwest Nature Preserve on Bowman Road in Arlington. The focus will be on identifying deciduous plants in the winter time after they have lost their leaves. Meet up is at 1 pm, & the outing will last about 3 hours. Sign up sheets will be available at the Feb. meeting. Those who aren't able to attend the meeting are welcome to contact me to register at my email address, [email protected].

Southwest Nature Preserve5201 Bowman Springs Rd

Arlington, Texas 76017©2017 Post Oak in winter, Suzanne Tuttle

mailto:[email protected].


Lost Words by Martha Mullens

Lost Words continued on Page 22

Eric Johnson recently contacted me about writing a review of the book Lost Words. A quote from him “I think a fellow member of NPSOT posted the arti-cle on facebook that I read. What got me interested was the origin backstory, how the publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary decided to remove a group of words from the Junior Edition to make room for new words that pertained to the internet, cell phones, and computers. I think that the original article was published in the Guardian newspaper. It must have taken time and effort to get organized, but now there exists a working group of British artists who compose and perform music, and also, who put together and published the book about the missing words. “

Call it serendipity, call it luck, call it ESP, or call it weird. Whatever you call this coincidence, I was al-ready writing a review of Lost Words when Eric con-tacted me about doing a book review. A couple of weeks before that, Troy told me about the book and suggested that I review it for the next newsletter. He was so impressed that he ordered a copy from Am-azon. When it arrived, I read through it and agreed with him.

This book contains words in alphabetical order from acorn to wren about plants and animals. Each word is illustrated with fantastic drawings. Although some of the references do not strictly apply to our area, since the author and illustrator are from England, enough are pertinent to make it interesting. For an adult read-er, the book is easy to read without any scientific jar-gon. There are stories and/or poems about each word with liberal illustrations for each. It is the type of book that you can enjoy for a little while, put it down, and come back to it later. You can read just one, or two, or three word references at a time. I would suggest that this book is appropriate for all ages with the ca-veat that for younger children (maybe ages 5-7) they should be read to by adults and only one story at a time. Middle school children should be capable of reading this and understanding it on their own. I be-lieve the concept put forth in this book is important to consider no matter the age of the reader.

Here is some background on the emergence of the book. In early 2015, when the 10,000 word entry for the Oxford children’s dictionary was to be pub-lished, the editors chose to drop about 50 words re-lated to nature, such as fern, willow and starling, be-cause these words were considered outdated. Words such as broadband, cut and paste were deemed more pertinent and replaced the nature ones. Some of the world’s most prominent authors composed an open letter of protest and alarm at this “impoverishment” of children’s vocabulary and its diminishment of chil-dren’s understanding of the natural world. Among them was one of the great nature writers of our time: Robert MacFarlane. Troubled by this loss of vital lan-guage, MacFalane teamed up with Jackie Morris who is an author and illustrator of children’s books. She had already contacted him to write an introduction for a sort of “wild dictionary” that she wanted to cre-ate to counteract the erasure by Oxford Publishing. Together they created The Lost Words: A Spell Book which he described as “an uncommonly wondrous and beguiling act of resistance to the severance of our relationship with the rest of nature, a rerooting into this living world.” McFarlane also quoted John Muir “when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe”.

Lost Wordsby Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris

Book Review by Martha Mullens


MacFarland believes that each word is hitched to all words and to the entire web of being.

Because I cannot put into such eloquent words as Ma-ria Popova of Brain Pickings, I would like to give you a quote: “While children’s experience is at the heart of this quiet masterpiece, MacFarlane and Morris in-tended the large, lavishly illustrated book for children aged 3 to 100— a book to conjure back the common words and species that are steadily disappearing from everyday life — and especially from children’s stories and dreams, a book to catch at the beauty and wonder — but also the eeriness and otherness — of the nat-ural world. What emerges is a lyrical encyclopedia of en-chantments, radi-ating the sensibility of classical natural history illustration but illustrating a more natural fu-ture for the gener-ations ahead.”

To quote further from Popova: “Each word occu-pies three lavishly illustrated spreads: a poetic summoning spell in the form of an acrostic to conjure back the lost word in a rhythmic incan-tation composed to be read aloud, a wordless visual eulogy for its vanishment, and a typographic botany of letters spelling it back into language, hearts, minds and landscape.”

MacFarlane opens his book with an image of this world bereft of the words for birds and plants and other beings and thus regard and concern for them. To quote the author:“Once upon a time, words began to vanish from the language of children. They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no one noticed — fading away like water on stone. The words were those that children


used to name the natural world around them: acorn, adder, bluebell, bramble, conker — gone! Fern, heath-er, kingfisher, otter, raven, willow, wren… all of them gone! The words were becoming lost: no longer viv-id in children’s voices, no longer alive in their stories. You hold in your hands a spell book for conjuring back these lost words. To read it you will need to seek, find and speak. It deals in things that are missing and things that are hidden, in absences and in appearanc-es. It is told in gold — the gold of the goldfinches that flit through its pages in charms — and it holds not poems but spells of many kinds that might just, by the old, strong magic of being spoken aloud, unfold dreams and songs, and summon lost words back into the mouth and the mind’s eye.”

As lovers of the natural world, we want future gener-ations to appreciate the outdoors as much as we do. A lot of us are engaged in programs to physically bring children outside to experience nature. Sometimes this is not possible. This book is a substitute for that. It teaches reading skills, encourages problem solving, and conveys the appreciation of art and poetry. Be-sides all that, when you look through this book, you cannot help but be intrigued by the living world.

Lost Words continued on Page 23




Even without the words, the illustrations are fantas-tic and thought-provoking. However appealing the drawings are, the words are the foundation upon which the author and illustrator are trying to convey the idea that we need to make sure that future genera-tions recognize these lost words and understand their meaning.

You can obtain a copy of this book from Amazon, eBay, Half Price Books, or Barnes and Noble for about $20-$25. Buy one for yourself. Gift one to a child who spends too much time in front of a computer or vid-eo game. Bring one to a group of children to read to them and instill in them the love of nature. The future dividends will be worth the price.

Reference to Brain Pickings by Maria Popova:https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/06/17/the-lost-words-macfarlane-morris/



Before I became interested in cultivating native plants, I considered this plant a nuisance because it will grow over every bush, tree, fence, and pole and reproduces profusely. When I was a kid, I remember my father cutting it out of our bush-es and trees every year. At the time, I thought it was a shame because the trumpet-shaped orange blooms were so pretty dangling off of the taller plants and fence. He explained that it had to be cut back or it would “take over”. I didn’t fully un-derstand this until I had a yard of my own. When we moved into our present home, the property had been unattended for a year. Japanese hon-eysuckle vines and trumpet creeper had literally grown over every bush, tree, and fence. I spent years getting rid of the honeysuckle and trying to eradicate the trumpet creeper. Both tasks have proven to be impossible. After 30 years, I am still fighting them. At least I have pushed them into some specific spots where I can enjoy the smell of the honeysuckle blossoms and the color of the trumpet creeper flowers.

Anyway, after becoming aware of native plants versus exotics, I believed that the trumpet creeper was nonnative because gardeners always frowned at the mention of the trumpet vine and suggested a Virginia creeper as a replacement. Last October at the annual plant swap, someone brought a nice potted trumpet creeper. Several people wanted it. So it got me wondering whether it is native or not. It is not included in several of the field guides, but after some research I did find it listed in oth-ers. It is a native of East Texas. It thrives best in disturbed areas or along stream beds, but it can grow in sun or shade and almost any soil type. It is most commonly found in creek bottoms, old home sites, roadsides, and fencerows. Therefore, it will grow well in your yard.

Trumpet Creeper - by Martha Mullens

Another name for trumpet vine, trumpet-honey-suckle, or trumpet creeper is cow itch. The rea-son is that it can cause a rash in some people who are sensitive, so be careful handling it if you have sensitivities. Also, be aware when planting it be-cause it can be aggressive. Sometimes it colonizes so densely as to become a nuisance earning the names Hellvine and Devil’s Shoestring.

I have only mentioned the negative aspects of the plant, but there are many positives also. If you want a plant that grows rapidly, is very hardy, and will cover a pole, wall, or fence with pretty green leaves and beautiful orange to red blossoms, then this one is for you. It blooms all summer, May to September, and attracts hummingbirds and long-tongued bees which pollinate it. Some people call it foxglove vine because of the resemblance of the flowers.

Trumpet creeper has anti fungal properties and has been used as a soaking agent to heal athlete’s foot and toenail fungus.

Trumpet Creeper photos continued on Page 25

TRUMPET CREEPER, Campsis radicansKeep It or Whack It? by Martha Mullens


Continued from Page 24Trumpet Creeper - by Martha Mullens

Yeast infections have been treated with a wash made from the leaves and the flower.

Trumpet creeper is a drought-resistant woody vine or shrub which provides good browse value for goats, deer, and cattle. Thus another name is cow vine.

Humans have a narrow view of what is of value. We are mainly concerned with what is of value to us personally. Taking a broader look at most liv-ing things reveals that there is something of val-ue to almost everything in the natural world. So we may not treasure the trumpet creeper because it gives us a rash or is invasive in our neat little gardens. The hummingbirds, bees, and deer don’t care, they like it. If you like the hummingbirds, or raise goats, then the trumpet vine might be of value to you so don’t snub it till you try it.

Resources:

Curry, Mary, North Central Texas Wildflowers, Mary Curry Pub., Decatur, TX, 2015Diggs, George, Barney Lipscomb, Robert O’Kennon, Shinner’s and Mahler’s Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas, Austin College and BRIT Publishers, 1999, pages 572-4Enquist, Marshall, Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country, Lone Star Botanical, Austin, Texas, 1987Linex, Ricky, Range Plants of North Central Texas, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Weatherford, TX, 2014Loughmiller, Campbell and Lynn, Texas Wildflowers, A Field Guide, University of TX Press, Austin, TX, Revised 2006 Nieland, Lashara, Willa Finley, Lone Star Wildflowers, A Guide to Texas Flowering Plants, Texas Tech Univ. Press, Lubbock, TX, 2009Wills, Mary Motz, Howard Irwin, Roadside Flowers of Texas, Univ. of TX Press, Austin, Texas, 1961

Online sources:

Flora of North America, floranorthamerica.orgLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, wildflower.orgUSDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, plants.usda.gov

http://floranorthamerica.org

http://wildflower.org

http://plants.usda.gov


Not Plowing by Martha Mullens

After thousands of years of tilling, farmers are finally realizing they’re killing the micro organisms that keep soil alive. To till means to dig it up, stir it, or turn it over. Whether it is done with a shovel, a hoe, a pick or a plow, the goal is to turn over the upper layer of the soil, bringing fresh nutrients to the surface, while burying the weeds. Tilling has been the hallmark of agriculture since its inception. But 10,000 years af-ter we started doing it, humans are finally starting to question whether digging up the earth is the smartest way to produce crops.

Americans first began to question the wisdom of plowing after the Dust Bowl of the 1930s turned a large chunk of our prairies into barren wasteland after 60 years of deep plowing. A farmer’s joke was about a Native American who commented after see-ing a plowed field for the first time in the 1870s that it was “wrong side up”. Perhaps the joke was on the farmers because when native grasses and their deep roots were flipped upside-down, it decomposed the soil’s organic matter faster. This created an abundance of nutrients available to the first round of cultivated crops, but left the soil more and more depleted each year it was tilled. This is also true in rain forests where the top layer is very thin.

The Green Revolution of the 1940s-1960s brought in synthetic nutrients to replace the ones lost, but this was a temporary fix. The problem is fertile topsoil is far more complex than nitrogen, phosphorus, and po-tassium. It requires all the microorganisms that help it retain and absorb these nutrients and others. With-out them, the nutrients and soil get washed into the rivers, lakes, and eventually the oceans. This leaves the soil infertile and causes silt to accumulate in the waterways which causes problems for the aquatic ani-mals and plants and contributes to flooding.

The revolutionary idea of no-till farming was first in-troduced in the 1940s with a book by Edward Faulk-ner called Plowman’s Folly. Now that farmers are facing many of the same problems as they did during

the Great Depression, many of them are beginning to take Faulkner’s idea more seriously. Some farmers have realized that all that tilling doesn’t improve the soil but destroys the natural architecture of the soil and makes it harder for plants to grow. The acreage dedicated to no-till farming of soybeans has doubled in the last 15 years. More than 50% of the farmers in Virginia have switched to no-till farming.

Growers save a lot of time, money, and fossil fuel by not practicing “sod busting”. At least 30% of a farm-er’s machinery is tied up in tillage equipment. The drought and flooding that has plagued much of the country in recent years has caused farmers to rethink the idea of tilling.

To quote Howard Buffet, son of billionaire Warren Buffet, who is a proponent of soil conservation, “there is really nothing that natural or necessary about dig-ging. Home gardeners who are continuously digging and tiling their vegetable gardens are still living in the dark ages of agriculture. Many don’t realize that their plowing and tilling is as silly and dangerous as ‘bleed-ing’ a patient in the hopes of curing a disease.”

This statement could also apply to gardeners of native plants besides killing valuable microorganisms in the soil, seeds of annuals might be buried never to sprout.

Soil is its own complex ecosystem, teeming with life. There about 50 billion microbes in 1 tablespoon of soil, including bacteria, fungi, yeast, protozoa, algae, and nematodes. The microorganisms are responsible for making nutrients accessible to plants, structur-ing the soil for water and air movement, and plant growth. Turning soil over exposes it to the air, which dries it out, and to the UV rays of the sun, which ster-ilize it. Also, tilling releases a lot of the soil’s nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen. Without organic matter, it doesn’t retain water which can lead to erosion.

Continued on Page 27

The No-Till RevolutionReview of an online article by Martha Mullens


When you first dig up the soil, plants grow better be-cause the microorganisms die and release their nutri-ents into the soil. This only works once because then your soil is dead and requires chemical fertilizers which kill any remaining microorganisms.

In no-till gardening, organic matter, such as manure, compost, straw, or leaves, is layered on top of the soil surface. This is called “sheet composting’, where gar-den beds essentially become large composting areas. Weeds are killed and kept at bay by mulching. Let the ‘experts’ do the digging. Earthworms can turn over about 50 tons of soil per hectare a year, while aerating the soil and improving water filtration. Worm cast-ings contain phosphorus levels 4 times higher than surrounding soil and also nitrogen, thus eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers.

For further information and thorough instructions check out the book: Lasagna Gardening: A New Lay-ering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding. It is available on Amazon, Half Price Books, or eBay for about $2-$6 pre-owned or $15 new. There are other books by the same author, Patricia Lanza, that deal with no till-ing and are specific for small gardens, herb gardens, etc. You can read the complete online article where I gleaned this information on the link below.

https://returntonow.net/2018/01/27/no-till-garden-ing-revolution-farmers-putting-plows/


Not Plowing by Martha Mullens

February 2020 Hospitality Report by Corinna Benson

Just to remind everyone there will be a sign up sheet passed around at the February general meet-ing and please consider helping to bring snacks for next year. In February I would like to thank Meina Sergeant, Kathy Crow and Eric Johnson for bringing snacks.

https://returntonow.net/2018/01/27/no-till-gardening-revolution-farmers-putting-plows/

https://returntonow.net/2018/01/27/no-till-gardening-revolution-farmers-putting-plows/


World's Largest Flowerby Troy Mullens

The rafflesia plant is often referred to as a "monster flower" for its parasitic properties and repugnant stench. Indonesian wildlife officials might've found the most monstrous flower of them all.

A rafflesia that recently bloomed in a West Sumatran forest is nearly 4 feet in diameter -- that would make it the largest flower ever recorded, according to the Natural Resources and Conservation Center in West Sumatra.

Curiously, it was the same location (and host plant) that produced what was the largest rafflesia ever re-corded back in 2017. But this monster flower is 4 inches wider, CNN Indonesia reported.

The plant has no roots or leaves -- it's parasitic. The rafflesia feeds on a host plant to live, drinking its water and nutrients. It's only visible when it bursts through the host plant to reveal its flowers.

The flower's menacing open mouth emits a foul odor similar to rotting meat, earning it the nickname "corpse flower." That stench attracts the insects that pollinate it.

But for all it's glory, the rafflesia's life is tragically short. Its mouth remains open for just one week be-fore it rots and dies -- so the largest flower on Earth is on borrowed time.

Reported by CNN


Molly Hollar Wildscape Visit - by Erika Choffel

I live about 3 miles from the border of Tarrant and Dallas County, and spend plenty of time in the Dallas County master gardener projects. But last Saturday, a warm and sunny day, I ventured out to the Molly Hollar Wildscape in Arlington. I primarily wanted to see the rain garden, since we have a damp, low, shady spot in our yard that begs me for company every month. My 40-min-ute drive was so worth the trip!

As I drove along the Veteran’s park boundary, I spotted a possumhaw in full glory. I figured I was on the right track. I was greeted by some of the happiest gardeners I’ve met, sharing tools, stories, smiles and information.

Continued on Page 30

Molly Hollar 1 Wildscape Possumhaw

Possumhaw

Goldenrod photo by James Reveal, LBJ Wildflower


Molly Hollar Wildscape Visit - by Erika ChoffelContinued from Page 29

About a ½ dozen people were shoveling out soil from the bottom of the rain garden and mixing it with beautiful fresh compost from up the hill there. I was able to try out a “scuffle hoe” or “stirrup hoe” on weeding a gravelly spot. This tool is amazing. I then helped cut back some goldenrod, pulled a few “weeds” from a flowerbed filled with perfect compost, had a tour of the area, and decided I needed to return!

I went to the website to learn more about the Wildscape, and saw photos of plants there in full bloom, as well as of plants from the Fall plant sale: penstemmons, columbines, carolina phlox, obedient plant, and the exotic-looking passion vine. Take a look at http://www.thewildscape.org and click tab on left for Fall Plant Sale Photo Gallery.

If you want to know more about the person of Molly Hollar, there’s a great TX Parks & wildlife article about her from March, 2009 here https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/mar/legend/

I hope to meet more of you there on their workdays: Wednesdays and 1st Saturdays 9:00 AM to Noon - All year round. Most Saturdays include a mini-class for volunteers.

Photos by Erika Choffel

Mixing compost with existing soil for the rain garden

Hula Hoe is a brand of scuffle hoe that works well at surface level of plant

http://www.thewildscape.org

https://tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/mar/legend/


Parting Shots - Last Minute News & Views of the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Volunteer Opportunities in a Leadership Role

Your chapter of NPSOT needs you. We have openings for chairpersons for Events, Field Trips, Dona-tions and Grants, Education/Outreach, and Publicity. We also need one or two more volunteers to help with the website and Facebook. You do not have to have any experience because the current chairpersons will train you. Contact your President, Gordon Scruggs, or reply to [email protected].

A New Trail Coming Soon

Dogwood Canyon was awarded a Texas Parks and Wildlife Recreation Grant to add a new trail that will allow visitors viewing access to the Flowering Dogwood grove in the canyon. The trail will extend off from the West Loop and will add about one mile to the current two miles of trail. A viewing platform will be added from a safe distance of the Dogwood trees, thereby protecting the grove, while still providing a treetop view when the trees are in bloom. The trail is being built by S&S Trail Services with a target of opening in late winter or early spring 2020. [email protected]

Oldest Wildflower Garden in USA

Henbit was introduced to the Wildflower Garden by Eloise Butler on Sept. 8, 1919 when she got plants from Lyndale Gardens, a nursery in Minneapolis. The plant was known to her from Maine and Massa-chusetts and was one of those species she thought should have a place in the new Wildflower Reserve. Martha Crone did not list it on her 1951 Garden census.

Henbit is found in all of North America except the far northern Canadian Provinces. In many areas it has not made extensive inroads but in a number of states in the west and south it is extensively found and is a serious agricultural pest. In was introduced from Europe, some sources say probably no longer ago than the 1920s, but Ada George already had it in her book A Manual of Weeds (Ref. #6b) in 1914 and listed extensive U.S. distribution. In Minnesota the DNR surveys have found populations in Carver and Dakota Counties. It is the only species of Lamium the DNR reports in Minnesota although the U of M Herbarium reports a collection of Lamium album, White Deadnettle, in Ramsey County.

https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/funds/saleitems.html#idbook

More discussion about the 'oldest wildflower garden' in the next issue.


https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/funds/saleitems.html#idbook


Parting Shots Page 2 - Last Minute News & Views by the Editors by Troy & Martha Mullens

Hello Members, Help needed

I am reaching out to you to ask for your help in getting the native plant garden at the Soutwest Sub-Courthouse ready for spring planting. Recall that last year at this time the garden was completely inundated with noxious weeds because most of the scheduled work days were rained out. So this year, the plan is to take advantage of any Saturday that will allow volunteers to come out to get the garden ready for re-planting of native plants lost to last year's rains and weeds. Your help would be greatly appreciated this Saturday starting at 9 AM. The weather is supposed to be cool but sunny...perfect for gardening. The address is 6551 Granbury Rd., Fort Worth 76133. Water is provided but it would be kinder to Mother Earth if you could bring your own reusable bottle plus weeding tools, etc. Thanks in advance.

Dawn Hancock, Co-lead

Michelle Villafranca is changing jobsLink to the article:

https://tinyurl.com/wgmjg23

Ed. Note: Good article

https://tinyurl.com/wgmjg23



February Membership by Donna Honkomp

One of the perks of being a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, is that you are eligible for a 10% dis-count to the NICE (Natives Improve and Conserve Environments) nurseries as noted on our website. Not sure what this all means?? Go to our website at http://www.txnativeplants.org and click on "Learn" at the top of the page; scroll down and click on "NICE". There you will see the seven nurseries that participate in this endeavor.

Please make sure to print your ID card that you received via email from the NPSOT state office once you re-newed or joined with us. Present this card to the vendor for your discount. If you cannot locate your card, you can email [email protected] and we will send it to you.

Please welcome our new Membership Chair, Beth Barber, to our organization. Beth has already taken an active role in attending the board meetings and being an active participant in all of the chapter activities. Beth has so much energy and is excited to meet all of the NCC members and to encourage others to get to know about our native plants. Stop by to say hello to Beth and Marianne at the membership table.

Remember that when you renew or join online your statement receipt will be “Network for Good”. We are an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

The North Central Chapter has a photo directory. If you have not done so, please email a photo of yourself to [email protected], care of Theresa Thomas to be added with the others. In the subject line please state photo directory and your name. This will help everyone get to know each other and recognize each other at the monthly meetings and special events.

As of 01-15-20, we have 198 current/active members.

If you are interested in obtaining the permanent yellow badges that members wear at the meetings and events, please plan to attend the North Central Chapter Meeting on February 6, 2020. Bill Hall will be present at 6:00 pm to take your order. Please bring exact change when you place your order by cash. Now $7.00 for a yellow badge payable by check, cash or CC. Your new badge will then be available for pick up at the March General Meeting.

Please continue to help us spread the word about Native Plants and invite your friends, coworkers & family members to join the North Central Chapter-NPSOT. To join go to http://www.txnativeplants.org, then click on "About", and then click on "How to Join".

If you have any questions or simply any suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Please email them to [email protected] and someone will get back with you.

http://www.txnativeplants.or




2020 Fall Symposium by Trinity Forks

Fees for Fort Worth Botanic GardenJust a reminder that as of July 19, 2019, there will be a fee to enter Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. This fee does not apply to attendance at meetings, such as NCC NPSOT or Master Naturalist’s. The regular admission is $12 for persons age 16 and older, $10 for seniors 65 and older. $6 for children 6-15. No charge for children 5 and under. $1 for adult SNAP/SIC recipients and no charge for their kids under age 15. Yearly memberships are $50 for individuals and $80 for families. There are many programs that offer free admission under certain circumstances, such as active military are free between Memorial and Labor Day, and local students may enter free from 3-6 PM if they are Fort Worth residents.

The money collected in fees will be used for repairs, especially to the conservatory which was closed in 2016. Restoration will allow the return of such programs as Butterflies in the Garden in late February 2020.

Other planned maintenance and repairs will include upgrading of greenhouse service, renovation The Gardens restaurant and resto-ration of its adjacent fragrance garden with increased color plants. Also planned, is a new, open-air electric tram service to transport patrons throughout the gardens.

Fort Worth will now join most of the nation’s largest cities in charging admission to its botanical gardens and conservatory.

Ray Conrow adds:The Botanic Gardens now charges for admission during normal operating hours. However, admission will not be charged for our general meetings. The Gardens will close for regular public events at 6:00 and a security guard will be stationed at the main (clock) entrance off University. The north entrance off Trail Drive will be locked. Tell the guard you are there to attend the NPSOT meeting. Park where you usually do and enjoy!



NPAT and Paul Mathews Prairie Photos - by Jo Ann Collins

Photos continued on Page 36

CONSERVATION HOLDINGS

NO. FEE SIMPLE ACRES COUNTY1 Lawther-Deer Park Prairie 51 Harris2 Maddin Prairie Preserve 1114 Mitchell3 Mary Talbot Prairie 115 Bowie3 Talbot Brothers Prairie 360 Bowie4 Peters Prairie 4 Collin5 Riesel Prairie 5 Falls17 Paul Mathews Prairie 100 Hunt

NO. CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ACRES COUNTY6 Drews Prairie 4 Falls7 Wieting Prairie 17 Falls8 Lehmann Prairie 11 Falls9 Simpson Prairie 75 McLennan (Two conservation easements)10 Mezynski Prairie 8 Falls11 Tanglewood Prairie 31 Lee12 Edmoore Creek 392 Wood (Two conservation easements)13 Russell Grassland and Forest Preserve 832 San Jacinto (Two conservation easements)14 Kirchoff Family Farm 200 Wilson15 Clymer Meadows Preserve 197 Hunt (Three conservation easements)16 Daphne Prairie 922 FranklinTOTAL ACRES CONSERVED: 4438

JoAnn Collins

Crawdad Hole

Amy Martin walking in a waffle.

Brandlon Belcher



NPAT and Paul Mathews Prairie Photos - by Jo Ann Collins


This is meant to be a starter list only and by no means is inclusive of all the wonderful native plants that can be in a pollinator garden. Ask your local NPSOT Chapter (npsot.org) or native nursery’s staff for advice on other choices for your pollinator garden.

Small Trees: Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Goldenball Leadtree (Leucaena retusa), Eve’s Necklace (Styphnolobium affine), Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria), American Smoke Tree (Cotinus obovatus)

Bushes/shrubs: Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides), Turkscap (Malvaviscus drummondii), Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens), Flame acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus),

Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)

Milkweeds: larval host plants for Monarch and Queen butterflies. Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Antelope horns (Asclepias asperula), Zizotes (Asclepias oenotheroides), Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis)

Others: Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea), Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii), Winecup (Callirhoe involuncrata), Four-nerve daisy (Tetranuris scaposa), Zexmenia (Wedelia hispida), Gayfeathers (Liatris spp.), Goldenrod (Solidago spp.), Maximillian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani), Fall blooming asters (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), Purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.), Pitcher sage (Salvia azurea) , Scarlet sage (S. coccinea), Frostweed (Verbesina virginica), White mistflower (Ageratina havanensis), Gaillardia (Gaillardia spp.), Little Bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), Sideoats grama grass (Bouteloua curtipendula), Blue Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri), Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)

NPSOT mission: Promoting research, conservation and utilization of native plants and plant habitats of Texas through education, outreach and example. (npsot.org)

For information on plant bloom times, sizes, water needs and more go to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s native plant data base. wildflower.org

The following sources have more information on pollinators.

Xerces - protecting invertebrates and their habitats. https://xerces.org Audubon - protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. http://www.audubon.org NABA - North American Butterfly Association http://www.naba.org Monarch Joint Venture - Partnering to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. https://monarchjointventure.org

All photos copyright: K. Conrow 2017

Short List of Plants for a

North Central Texas Pollinator Garden


The Pollinator Pledge - by the Xerces Society Reported by Troy Mullens

To Bring Back the Pollinators, I will: 1. Grow a variety of bee-friendly flowers that bloom from spring through fall. 2. Protect and provide bee nests and caterpillar host plants. 3. Avoid using pesticides, especially insecticides. 4. Talk to my neighbors about the importance of pollinators and their habitat.

Sign the Pollinator Protection Pledge Today! https://xerces.org/pollinatorprotectionpledge/

The Half-Earth Pledge - by E. O. Wilson Reported by Troy Mullens

As a global citizen, I pledge to do what I can to support the Half-Earth Project:

• Take action to support species conservation; start by exploring the Half-Earth Map con-servation priorities areas, as well as information about my home and other areas of interest to me. • Share information about the Half-Earth Project with my network; ask friends and family to join me by signing the Half-Earth Pledge; share my pledge with my social media followers. • Participate in local conservation events; attend a Bioblitz or join a nature group in my area; use the iNaturalist app and upload species observations on my travels in nature. • Support policies that protect the Earth’s lands and oceans; keep up-to-date on local pol-icies; contact your representatives and share your thoughts and opinions on policies, because each policy action plays a role in reaching the grand, achievable Half-Earth goal.

https://www.half-earthproject.org/pledge/

https://xerces.org/pollinatorprotectionpledge/

https://www.half-earthproject.org/pledge/


Partial list of Next Year's Programs Reported by Ray Conrow and Morgan Chivers

2020 Date Name Title of Presentation

February 6 Steve ChaneyTexas Agrilife Extension Service

“Pruning”

March 5 David DowneyFort Worth Botanic Gardens (FWBG)

Tinsley-Rock Springs Native Garden at FWBG

April 2 Carol Clark—Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas(BBMT)

TBA—Monarch Theme

May 7

June 4

August 6 3 Members TBA Native Gardens of our Members

September 3

October 1 Show and Tell and Trade! Native Plant Exchange

Bring a Texas Native Plant to exchange for another. FUN!!!

November 5

December 3 Holiday Social Pot Luck Dinner, Awards and Introduction of New Officers. FUN!!!


March 5 Program"Tinsley-Rock Springs

Native Garden at FWBG"By David Downey, FWBG

Visit us on the Webat

www.txnativeplants.org

The purpose of the Native Plant Society of Texas is topromote the conservation, research, and utilization of the

native plants and plant habitats of Texas througheducation, outreach, and example.

Join the Native Plant Society of Texas!

Become a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. Membership is open to any individual, family, or organization. Membership is renewable annually and extends for a year from the date we receive your original payment. Note new prices effective April 1, 2019. If you wish to join, please indicate your category of membership, then clip and mail this application with the appropriate remittance to:

Native Plant Society of TexasPO Box 3017, Fredericksburg, TX 78624

___ Student $35 ___ Family (2 or more) $60___ Senior (65+) $35 ___ Patron $100___ Limited Income $35 ___ Benefactor $250___ Individual $45 ___ Supporting $500___ Lifetime $1200 ___ Additional Chapter(s) $6Name: ________________________________________________________Address: ______________________________________________________City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________County: ______________________________________________________Phone: _______________________________________________________Chapter Affiliation: _____North Central Chapter_____________________E-mail: _______________________________________________________ Go to https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/ for an on-line sign-up form or for additional information. A printable form is also available there.

The North Central TexasNPSOT News

is a monthly publication ofthe North Central Chapterof the Native Plant Societyof Texas.

For changes of address orinformation about contribut-ing to the newsletter, pleasecontact the newsletter editor.The deadline for submittingarticles for inclusion in thenewsletter is the 15th of everypreceding month.

Troy Mullens, [email protected]

Newsletter Requirement Suggestions1. All submissions due by the 15th of the preceding month. Exceptions are at the discretion of the Editors.

2. Articles (text) should preferably be in plain text form. (No pdf ’s). Any special formatting requirements should be noted. ( .doc .pages and .odt are OK)

3. Photographs & charts should be sent separately as large as possible. Location within the article should be noted. Example <Photo 1 goes here>

4. Do not embed the photographs in the article. Re-member, the article will most likely be in two column format for easy reading.

5. Please include a caption with each photograph and note any individual names of people.Examples:Photo names: Photo1.jpg, Photo2.jpg, Photo3.tiff etc.Photo Caption examples: Photo1- Bluebell in my Garden Photo2 - Field trip group, names (l to r): Bill Smith, Mary Jones, etc. Photo3 - Black Willow at FWNCR Photo4 - Flower, (Credit - Name, organization)

http://www.txnativeplants.org

https://npsot.org/wp/join-renew/


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