South Texas Border Chapter
Texas Master Naturalist

Professor Gregory A. Sword, Locust Watch presentation. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) Two of my favorite things – warning about invasive species and promoting citizen scientist projects. The new project: South Texas Locust Watch has been set up to track a nonnative locust that might soon be crossing into south Texas. Citizens are being asked to keep an eye out for it, photograph it, note its location and report it – a citizen scientist opportunity. A big thank you goes to Ashle

Christmas Senna. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) Published December 6, 2025, in the McAllen Monitor Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Annually in December or early January, I attend a special Texas Master Naturalist chapter retreat that is held at a private office on a ranch near the outskirts of Pharr. The first year, I saw the hostess slip out the back door of the great room with a pair of clippers in her hand. I followed her and came face to face wi

Please call for address and operating times; many native plant growers also do landscaping, consultation, lectures and presentations. Alamo Kautsch True Value (956) 787-2721 Mid Valley Garden & Pond (956) 650-0581 Edinburg Hui-xochitl Nursery (956) 562-6030* Harlingen Grimsell Seed Co. (956) 423-0370 Heep's LRGV Native Plant Nursery (Mike Heep) (956) 457-6834* Stuart Place Nursery (956) 428-4439 La Joya Perez Ranch Nursery (956) 580-8915 Laguna Vista J&R Landscaping

Margined Calligrapher Hover Fly on the flower of a Trans-Pecos Spiderwort. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) Published November 22, 2025, in the McAllen Monitor Story and photos by Anita Westervelt The cooler months are ideal for planting in the Rio Grande Valley. As Texas Master Naturalist members, we encourage planting native plants. Nonnative plants carry the potential to become annoying, get out of control or worse, become invasive and disrupt or destroy the native habitat. Alt

Evening Bat, safely rescued high up on a palm trunk. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) If you haven’t heard, November through February is tree planting time in the Rio Grande Valley. We are entering that cooler time of year when it’s kinder to plant trees and shrubs while they are dormant. They will establish over the winter, without the heat stress of summer, and then begin flourishing in spring. As Texas Master Naturalists, we promote native plants, of course, and I like to inclu

Purple Bush-bean. (Photo by Anita Westervelt) Published in the McAllen Monitor, November 1, 2025 Story and photos by Anita Westervelt I was first introduced to a lovely native vine called purple bush-bean, during a presentation given by Jann Miller, president of the Native Plant Project. Her lecture was about container gardening, one of her specialties, which is an impressive feat in the heat and wind of Deep South Texas summers. Purple bush-bean, Macroptilium atropurpureum ,