The home of
Operation NICE!™
Natives Instead of Common Exotics
Web site: http://npsot.org/Boerne
NEWSLETTEr
JUNE 2014
Volume 14 Number 6
Monthly Meeting Tuesday June 3, 2014
Cibolo Nature Center at 140 City Park Road, Boerne TX
Our June
meeting is going to be, what you might call, an á la mode social. We started off with an
idea for an ice cream social but the Board, along with suggestions from other members, elected to
add desserts that pair well with ice cream like cobblers (be still my heart), pies (better have a
wheelbarrow to roll me out to the car), and cakes (I am all about frosting).
3rd
In addition to socializing and enjoying zero”” calorie a la modes, the “meeting” aspect of the evening
will include information and dialogue about the chapter’s projects, committees and opportunities for
members to be more aware of and involved in our outstanding NPSOT chapter. So come for dessert
and discussion.
As with our past social meetings, We request you bring a canned food item or full-size toiletry to be
donated to the Kendall County Womens Shelter. We have had a great response from our members in
the past and I know the families that find themselves in unimaginable circumstances greatly
appreciate the gesture. Come at 6:30 to socialize; dessert and discussion start at 7:00!
President’s Message
Greetings everyone!
With summer right around the corner, our Chapter will be taking our “summer break” to go into hiding
from the triple digit temperatures or heading off to visit family in milder climes.
This is not to say that there are not several opportunities to get your NPSOT fix during our downtime
though! We are still planning on participating in both the Berges Fest and July 4 th parades in Boerne
and Comfort, respectively. We are in great need of members (families are welcome as well) to help
pass out seed balls to the parade-goers! We held a well-attended seed ball packaging party back at
the beginning of May and made great headway in packaging up the thousands of seed balls Scott
Barthel created with his magical rolling machine! Next up, on Saturday July 19 th, the quarterly State
board meeting will be held in the CNC auditorium. These are open meetings and I strongly encourage
members to consider joining us! Our Chapter will be providing breakfast to the attendees.
The totals on the Mostly Native Plant Sale are in and we came in just under $2300.00. Thank you so
much to Betty Dunn and everyone who helped out during both the primary sale as well as the small
follow-up we held at the Herff Farm Farmers Market! This money goes into our general account to
fund the projects and programs we either head up or sponsor each year. Examples include the
demonstration gardens, the Bring the Monarch Back program, local school projects and the Regional
Science Fair Award.
I am still searching for anyone who may be interested in assisting in managing our Chapter
webpage. And, yes, I do mean assisting, not carrying the weight of the entire thing on your back!
There are a handful of maintenance tasks to be done to keep our content current. I am not in any
way, shape, or fashion a techie-type person, but I was able to figure quite a bit of it out. So, don’t let a
fear of computers thwart you. I can walk you step-by-step through it. Just let me know if you are
willing.
As you may have seen in a recent email from the State, we are looking for nominations for the
positions of VP of Administration and VP of Education at the State level. Pretty sure the Presidentelect slot is still open as well. Nominations have to be in by June 15th. If you would like to get involved
with a great organization beyond the Chapter level, either position would be a great place to start!
Kay Jenkins, the Nominations Committee Chair can be contacted at [email protected]
Along those same lines, summer time is when our Nominating Committee makes the call for next
year’s Board to assume the reins in October. Please consider taking on a seat on our Board. I started
out as Secretary and loved it so much that I requested to remain in that spot for the second year! It is
a great way to understand the inner workings of our Chapter, a great group of people to spend a
couple of hours with, and does not require any prior experience.
As we head into our “summer break”, I wish you all moderate temperatures, and appropriately timed
storms. Hope to see everyone back in September!
Still praying for rain!
Emily
Editor’s note: It rained most of the time I sat here working on the newsletter, so think I will call on
Emily in the future when in need of rain.
Chapter Activities
Berges Fest 2014
Ah Berges Fest - a time to kick back, eat a pretzel, bet on a wiener dog, and hurl seedballs at
innocent passersby. Okay, maybe not hurl. The Berges Fest parade is on Saturday, June 14th this
year and our Chapter is planning on entering as a walking group regaled in NPSOT shirts and overthe-top hats! The seedballs have been prepped and all we need are our walkers! Parade line-up
begins at 9am with the parade underway at 10am! For those who have participated in the past, you
know the parade itself does not last very long! Honestly, as we madly pass out seedballs to the
parade-goers, the time flies!
So, come, join us! Just shoot me an email, give me a call, send message via armadillo to let me know
you can help out! [email protected] or 210.259.7009. We will also have the July 4th Parade
in Comfort right around the corner! So save the date!
Operation Nice!
NICE! ™Plant of the Month
June 2014
Frogfruit
Phyla nodiflora
By Emily Weiner
Frogfruit. The name conjures up images of bacchanal gatherings of amphibian friends lounging about
á la Caesar. Numerous searches yielded little on the origin of this peculiar epithet, but did turn up
crowds of followers proclaiming a love for this little, unassuming native. The name likely heralds its
affinity for moist environments, but as those of us who have spotted it growing along roadways and
between the cracks of seldom used roadways can attest, frogfruit is a hardy, drought-tolerant,
pollinator-attracting generalist!
Frogfruit, or Phyla nodiflora, makes a wonderful groundcover for sunny or partly shaded areas acting
as a larval host for the Phaon Crescentspot, Buckeye, and White Peacock butterflies. It is also a
nectar source for a wide variety of butterflies and bees. It readily colonies via stolons, but can be
managed with proper pruning in February or pulling of colonies that wander outside desired
boundaries. Frogfruit can handle a wide variety of soils including sandy, limestone, caliche, and clay
which lends to its ability to thrive in a wide variety of habitats from coastal to wooded, from fields to
ditches. Water requirements are low, but in areas where a thick cover is desired, watering will need to
occur on a more frequent basis than provided by our sparse rain events.
As a member of the Verbena family, its tiny, white, 5-petaled blooms encircle a deep purple seed core
giving it another common name, matchstick plant. The blooms persist from late spring through the
summer when other natives have given up in the Texas heat. The green leaves bear serrate, or
sawtooth margins, and take on a reddish to purplish cast during colder months. In warm climates,
frogfruit can be evergreen. These understated blooms - combined with its interesting foliage - add an
attractive texture under taller, more flamboyant natives, and can elegantly “fill in” glaring bare
patches.
Chances are good you already have frogfruit in your yard. While many may group it in with other
“weeds” destined to be shot with Roundup, you now know the virtues of this oddly-named native!
Some of our members have even begun potting it up for our plant sale! So, I encourage you to show
frogfruit a little love. It will repay you in butterflies!
Operation NICE! Tip: Frogfruit does not respond well to mowing while blooming and is reported to
take up to 2 years to recover. It is preferred that any pruning be done in February prior to late spring
bloom period. Use in place of common ornamental groundcovers such as ajuga, Asian jasmine, and
vinca. The 2014 NICE! poster and planting instructions for all of our NICE! plants are on our website:
http://npsot.org/wp/boerne/
Regional Stuff
The Hill Country Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist
June 23, 2014
Hill Country Native Plants We Need to Conserve
Bill Carr, botanist, will speak on native plants of the Hill Country we need to conserve. Included will be
rare plants, endemic ones, small plants we sometimes don’t notice, and some that are just his
favorites.
Bill received a B.S. in botany from The Ohio State University in December 1978 and wasted no time
moving to Texas settling in Alpine in January 1979, but eventually relocating to Austin. He spent 25
years working for Texas plant conservation programs, first with the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department and later with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Texas. He has contributed about
25,000 specimens to the herbarium at The University of Texas at Austin. Since leaving TNC in 2011,
he has been working with private landowners to help identify the special plants and habitats on their
properties. Bill is a coauthor of Rare Plants of Texas.
The monthly meeting of the Master Naturalist is free and open to the public. Meetings are held at the
Upper Guadalupe River Authority’s lecture hall, located at 125 Lehmann Dr. in Kerrville. Socializing
begins at 6:30pm, with the program starting at 7:00. For questions regarding this presentation, please
contact our program coordinator, Kathy Ward at 210-698-3421.
Master Naturalist Accepting Applications for Fall Class
The Texas Master Naturalist is a volunteer organization dedicated to learning about and protecting
and conserving nature and our native habitat. The organization is sponsored by two state agencies,
the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. The Master
Naturalist mission statement is “To develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education,
outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas
within their communities”.
To become a member of the Hill Country Chapter trainees must first attend 12 slass sessions plus
three field trips learning about all aspects of nature and land management. To become certified, a
member must perform 40 volunteer hours and attend 8 hours of advanced training.
Classes, which are half–day sessions held at the Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville, begin on
Wednesday, August 20. Training topics include ecology, botany, zoology, hydrology, geology,
ornithology, entomology, herpetology, grassland, woodland and riparian area management, land
stewardship, native plants and animals.
Counties served by the Hill Country Chapter include Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall and Kerr plus the
western counties of Edwards, Real, Kimble, Mason and Menard. Volunteer locations include all local
nature centers, state parks, Love Creek Preserve, plus numerous opportunities to educate others,
both adults and children.
Here is your opportunity to become part of a group dedicated to the outdoors that provides the
opportunity to learn and serve, and to make friends that share your enthusiasm for conservation and
nature.
To learn more about the Hill Country Chapter, its 380 enthusiastic volunteers and our many projects,
or to apply for this year’s class, visit our website http://txmn.org/hillcountry/. If you have questions,
please contact Becky Etzler, Membership Director at [email protected] or 830285-1258.
News from the Balcones Satellite of the Texas Invaders
Awareness of the problems of invasive plants is increasing exponentially! That’s the good news.
The bad news is that individuals are struggling with how to tackle invasive plants in their yards and
neighborhoods. Some of the comments that we hear include: the plants were in the yard when they
bought the house; they don’t know that a plant is invasive; it is a favorite; it thrives and provides
privacy.
As citizen scientists with the Invaders of Texas program, we fully understand your dilemma. We have
struggled to eliminate invasive plants in our yards and have felt the frustration of finding appropriate
replacement plants in local nurseries.
Are you willing to undergo short term losses (shade, privacy, beauty) for long-term gains, including
the return of butterflies, birds and insects to your yard? Are you willing to eradicate your invasive plant
to prevent its spread into vulnerable habitats? If you have tried, but failed, have you considered other
eradication strategies? We are available to help. We have multiple resources at our disposal. And, we
offer the opportunity for you to join us in the field to learn more about invasive plants, including
eradication strategies.
We are asking for your help. In San Antonio, local volunteers are needed for eradication of invasive
plants. No prior experience is required. Wear sturdy shoes, long-sleeved pants and shirts and gloves.
Bring water. We have a supply of tools, but welcome anyone who brings their own. For details of
exact location and directions, contact Lonnie at [email protected]. Those on the mailing list
will receive notification of the location of the eradication area and cancellation for severe weather
conditions. June schedule: Tuesdays 7:30 to 9:30 am on the Leon Creek Greenway
Happenings – the Calendar
June 3 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM. Monthly meeting.
June 14 (Saturday)- Berges Fest parade – see the President’s message above
July 4th Comfort parade – we will have a float, see the President’s message above
July 19th (Saturday) – NPSOT state board meeting, Cibolo Nature Center, Boerne. All are welcome.
September 2 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM. Monthly meeting – more info to come.
To find out about activities and workshops with other organizations call or visit their websites:
Cibolo Nature Center (830.249.4616)
http://www.cibolo.org/calendar
Master Naturalist:
San Antonio, Alamo Chapter
http://txmn.org/alamo/
Kerrville, Hill Country Chapter
http://txmn.org/hillcountry/
Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park (210.372.9124)
Medina River Natural Area Second Saturday Programs (210.624.2575)
For more information or to RSVP for any event please contact by telephone. Website: www.sanaturalareas.org

Our meetings are free and open to the public. Join us the first Tuesday of the month, January-June and SeptemberDecember, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cibolo Nature Center, Boerne, Texas.
Our Sponsors
Please support the following businesses that sponsor our newsletter
HILL COUNTRY
AFRICAN VIOLETS
& NURSERY
32005 IH 10W
Boerne, TX
830-249-2614
BERGMANN
LUMBER CO.
236 S. Main
Boerne, TX
830-249-2712
830-816-2193
MEDINA GARDEN
NURSERY
Growing Native Plants Since
1999
3417 State Hwy 16-N,
Medina, TX 78055
(830) 589-2771
STONE & SOIL
DEPOT INC.
26923 IH 10 West
Boerne, TX
210.687.1005
http://medinagardennursery.com/
Become a Sponsor!
A LITTLE
NATURE STORE
106 E. Theissen St.
Boerne, TX
830-249-2281
REMAX
ASSOCIATES-BOERNE
Bob Bockholt, GRI
309 Water Street,
Boerne, TX
830-816-2660
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