The votes are in for 2020’s Unofficial Pollinator Plant of the Year, and the winner is…Gregg’s mistflower, Conoclinium greggii. The Texas native perennial with fluffy lavender blooms carried our informal poll when pitted against Frostweed, Verbesina virginica, its lesser known pollinator plant colleague. The … Read More
Way to go, pollinator habitat fans! You rallied to help us surpass our goal of 500 habitats pledged by 2020. As of this writing, the San Antonio-based initiative brags 510 gardens pledged. The effort known as 500 by 2020 and … Read More
After San Antonio exceeded 300for300, its Tricentennial goal of creating three pollinator habitats for its 300th birthday in 2018, the Alamo City moved the pollinator gardening goalpost: 500 gardens by 2020. With three and a half weeks to go until … Read More
The question of what to do with late season butterflies can be problematic. Should we bring them inside or let Nature take her course? The question arises frequently in late fall, when temperatures vacillate wildly. San Antonio saw temperatures span … Read More
Natural Wildlife Federation author and naturalist David Mizejewski will appear at the 2019 Monarch Butterfly Festival on Sunday, October 20, to discuss and sign his book, the second edition of Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and other Backyard Wildlife. Don’t let the title … Read More
In June we posed the question: should we push for 500 pollinator habitats by 2020? The overwhelming community response: “Let’s do this!” An informal two-question poll of 96 community members conducted on various social media platforms resulted in 93 YES … Read More
It’s been a little more than a year since we launched our 300for300 Pollinator Habitat Challenge, a community initiative to encourage pollinator friendly landscaping in San Antonio. In March of 2018, we set out to create 300 pollinator gardens for San … Read More
Recent rains and a campaign to get Cowpen Daisies into area gardens as San Antonio’s “unofficial” pollinator plant of the year appear to have spawned an early crop of Bordered Patch butterfly caterpillars in the Alamo City. A mound of Chlosyne lacinia caterpillars … Read More
No longer the niche interest of gardening geeks, pollinator gardens and native plants are gaining traction–especially in areas of the country prone to long hot summers and drought. Growing awareness of climate change, sustainability issues, and insect decline have encouraged … Read More
Like many members of the sunflower family, Cowpen Daisy, Verbesina encelioides, germinates easily from seed. Sometimes called Butter Daisy or Golden Crownbeard, Cowpen Daisy is sometimes included in native seed mixes, but it’s almost impossible to find the seeds for sale on … Read More