Category: Anita’s blog

  • Yellow Butterflies

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Big and little yellow butterflies fill the sky By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Sunshine, warm days, butterflies. What more could one ask of a perfect late fall Valley day? The ever faithful big yellow butterflies are out in numbers, commanding attention as they flash their bright yellow wings. These mid-sized beauties are year-round residents…

  • Texas Thistle

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Texas thistle is a valuable Valley native By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Spring is here. I know because I saw an American robin — harbinger of spring in the Mid-west — hopping around the yard. An uncommon sight in the Valley, for sure, but an encouragement after such a feisty Valley winter. In the…

  • Glorious hibiscus

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    Anita Westervelt
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    The glorious hibiscus By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Who doesn’t love the glorious hibiscus? Not many can pass by the giant blooms without a trickle of delight. More than 300 species of hibiscus grow throughout the world in warm, tropical, subtropical and warm-temperate countries. In a spectacular array of colors, shapes and sizes, pink,…

  • Cool Weather Blooms

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Blooms for cooler weather By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Texas lantana, Lantana urticoides, is loving the cooler January weather. It may look like it sports three colors of flowers, however, the corollas, the collective name for all the petals of a flower, open yellow and then turn orange or red. This plant loves poor,…

  • Olive Trees

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Two olive tree species grow in the Valley By Anita Westervelt, Rio Grande Valley Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist The Rio Grande Valley boasts two species of olive trees; one is native to Texas and the other has been adapted to our native footprint. Native wild olive, Cordia boissieri, is popular in home and public landscaping.…

  • Old Man’s Beard

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    Anita Westervelt
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    The many stages of Old Man’s Beard By Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist. An interesting late summer sight along city fences, fields and roadsides may seem like a fluffy mass of colorless fuzz. Something to ignore as uninteresting and messy. Don’t disregard it. If the opportunity arises, it’s a native plant worthy of closer inspection.…