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Catching Up On The Blog So Far
If you’re catching up on reading about my urban “rewilding” project that started in February 2023, here are some key posts: And here’s a cloud image of the 100 most popular (as defined by WordPress!) key words and phrases in the posts I have written. Selecting any of these tags will pull up related posts,… Continue reading
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An Unexpected Visitor At This Time
Just after dawn on February 14, 2026, a Monarch butterfly visited the garden. I could not tell if male or female. It was there for at least an hour, but then I had to go out and I didn’t see it again. While is it not unheard of to see Monarchs in Texas in February… Continue reading
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Replenishing The Mulch Pathways
I have several mulch pathways in the back garden, to define areas and give access to key plants or features. Most of the pathways are in the same place as when I defined them three years ago. However, the convenience of using mulch is that I can redirect, create, or decommission pathways as needed, and… Continue reading
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How Did The Garden Handle A (Wet) Freeze?
Since the garden here is primarily made up of native plants, I generally don’t need to worry about winter freezes — the plants have evolved to handle those situations. However, there are a few protective things that I do before, during, and after freezes to take extra care. Here’s a summary. Until January 2026, the… Continue reading
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A Review At The End Of Year Three
My garden “rewilding” project is now almost three years old, and this time of year (January 2026) is a good time to reflect on progress achieved and lessons learned. Planting is finished until spring and projects now largely involve tidying, trimming, or fixing things here and there, and waiting for the garden to wake up… Continue reading
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Shrub Growth Report, January 2026
It is now an annual tradition that I take note of how my trees and shrubs are doing. This post addresses shrubs, and when I have multiple copies I refer to the one growing most vigorously. Trees are described in a previous post. The measurements were recorded on January 30, 2026. Some of these measurements… Continue reading
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What Frostweed Looks Like After A Thaw
In last week’s freeze, one of my new Frostweeds (Verbesina virginica) produced its first ice sculpture (see photo above). This is something that these plants do after the first hard freeze of a winter. In this case, the ice structure was in place for two nights and the day in between. On the second day,… Continue reading
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Location, Location, Location
A couple of years ago I planted a Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum) behind the house (facing west). I thought that location would be shaded enough by the house for this plant, but failed to account for the brutality of the afternoon sun in Central Texas. The plant is still alive, but small and I don’t… Continue reading
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My First Frostweed Ribbon
In fall of last year, I planted two small Frostweeds (Verbesina virginica) that were dug out of a friend’s garden. This plant is known for forming ribbons of ice sculptures when the stems split during their first hard freeze of the winter. My plants are so young that I didn’t know whether I’d see that,… Continue reading
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Pruning: Live Oaks
When we moved into a newly built house in Seguin, there were two young Live Oak trees in the front yard. These were probably cheaply bought by the developer in bulk, sight unseen. Nevertheless, three years later, they seem to be reasonably happy and the main trunks are vertical. In their first year here, I… Continue reading
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2025 Rainfall Summary And Drought Status
The rainfall in Seguin, Texas on average is about 20 inches less per year than Houston, Texas, where I lived before (30-34 inches vs. 50-54 inches). That fact, plus the knowledge that central Texas has been experiencing a prolonged drought and likely future droughts, meant that water management would be an important part of my… Continue reading
About Me
Nature Lover.
Inquisitive Observer.
Student Gardener.
I invite you to join me on my journey to convert my sterile (from a nature point of view) new house lot to a healthy and diverse ecosystem, as I make discoveries, mistakes, and hopefully progress. I am not an expert or professional. The project started in February 2023 and the location is Seguin, Texas, USA.
Rewilding My Lot 