AT23-280 Hybrid NPSOT: Mimic a Natural Woodland in Your Own Yard, Fredericksburg

Event/Webinar Title: Mimic a Natural Woodland in Your Own Yard

AT-VMS: AT: Native Plant Society of Texas (Enter AT#, Class Title as posted, Name of NPSOT Chapter, and Presenter)
Comments: AT23-280 Hybrid NPSOT: Mimic a Natural Woodland in Your Own Yard, Fredericksburg, Presenter: Deborah Simmons (AT=1h)

Event Date: 8/22/2023
Event Time: 6:30p-8:00p

Event Summary:
This month’s meeting of the Fredericksburg Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) will focus on creating a landscape that mimics a natural woodland habitat. In its native state, a natural woodland is an open meadow dotted with dense clumps of trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers.

Event Description:
Deborah Simmons, President of NPSOT’s Fredericksburg Chapter, will speak about this and share lessons learned while creating woodland habitat quite by accident, adding to trees and shrubs that were already there, and later finding resources to help the projects along.
“We plant native landscapes because they are easier to grow and take less water overall,” said Simmons. “Native plants are adapted for our area, so they can handle the peculiarities of our climate. We are even more successful when we plant native plants in the micro-habitats for which they are adapted in groupings similar to what Nature arranges on her own. The more we mimic Nature, the easier our job.”
How small a space can support a rich woodland habitat? To make the space inviting to creatures, the vegetation must be sufficiently thick that you cannot see through it. A 12’x12’ square is about as small as you can successfully go, so a small yard is sufficient.
“If you think of your neighbors’ lawns as meadows, and you create a dense planting in your small yard, you mimic this natural landscape, creating a rich habitat for birds, small mammals, lizards, butterflies, and bees,” Simmons continued.
Simmons has been a lover of plants since she was a toddler, first hiding beneath the green curtain of a weeping willow tree, then at age 5, watching zinnias sprout from seeds she had planted in her mother’s birdbath. She spent her professional life working with people, not plants, but always maintained a garden to breathe life back into herself. Simmons has been gardening in the Hill Country for 15 years. Learning through trial and error, if there is a mistake to be made, she has probably made it. She and her husband, Mark, operate a 90-acre conservation ranch in Doss under a wildlife management program. They are restoring meadows, removing invasive species, adding biodiversity to the woodland areas, and maintaining the riparian areas along their creek.

Cost: no charge

Register: not required
Unable to attend in person? Join the meeting with ZOOM @ 7:00 p.m.
https://npsot-org.zoom.us/j/9598029940
or use
Meeting ID: 959 802 9940 on your zoom app.

Presenter:
Deborah Simmons

Event Location:
St. Joseph’s Halle
212 W. San Antonio St.,
Fredericksburg

Contact Information:
https://npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg/

Organization Website:
https://npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg/

Sponsoring Organization:
Fredericksburg NPSOT