Richard Dulaney examines plants at a sink hole near Hester Lake. Courtesy photo

By Jan Wrede
Guest Columnist

As Texans, rural landowners, suburban gardeners and urban apartment dwellers all share a love for wildlife.

Native plants are essential to land stewardship that benefits wildlife because they are the first link in essential food chains. Thus, it is important for all Texans to know as much as possible about native plants that are the foundation of our wildlife communities.

For example, if we want to attract eastern bluebirds or painted buntings to our place, we need to know the plant associations necessary to feed the insects on which these birds depend. If we want butterflies to adorn our garden we must have some plant species that are eaten by their caterpillars and others that produce nectar to nourish the butterflies.

Yes, understanding native plant communities of the Hill Country is a most basic step to sustainable natural resource conservation. So, where and how do we get to know more about these plant communities?

First, in many Texas Hill Country counties, there are chapters of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT). The group’s mission is “to promote conservation, research and utilization of the native plants and plant habitats of Texas—through education, outreach and example.”

Boerne is fortunate to have a very active NPSOT chapter that offers free native plant programs on the first Tuesday of each month. Members meet in the Cibolo Nature Center auditorium and their most recent program was on rare and endangered plants of the Hill Country.

Another opportunity to learn about native plants of the Hill Country is at the Mostly Native Plant Sale on April 5.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., you can buy native and adapted plants for your landscape, deck or patio. And you can visit information booths on topics such as compost and mulch, wildscape for wildlife and how to build and mount bird boxes that will attract songbirds to your yard.

This spring, the most comprehensive and unique program on native plants of the Texas Hill Country begins on April 7.

This is the first of three field trips to see and learn about native plant associations first-hand. We will visit a rugged canyon feeding into the Medina River, Hester Lake on Cibolo Creek and a pristine, cypress-lined section of Spring Creek.

For more information and to register, call (830) 249-4616.