Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Everyone loves instant color when planting flowers and shrubs, but plants provide more than just visual appeal.

06—Usually they are producing fruits or nectar, some kind of food source that’s desirable.

Botanist, Dana Price, says our choice of plants can affect Texas wildlife that depends on them.

16—A lot of them are host plants for our native butterflies and monarchs; some of them are good hummingbird nectar sources. Many of them have berries that are good for birds. Native trees are hosts for all kinds of insects that are in turn food for our native birds.

Native plants also serve us by providing low-maintenance upkeep, even in the harshest conditions—such as the seemingly ever present
heat and drought that afflicts Texas.

07—Our native plants are very well adapted to the climate in Texas, which yes is very extreme a lot of times.We call planting and maintaining native vegetation for wildlife: Wildscaping. The goal: to provide places for birds, small mammals, and other wildlife to feed
and drink, and to escape from predators, as well as raise their young.

Find wildscaping information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.