Rewilding My Lot

I moved to Seguin, Texas in February 2023, and that’s when I started the process of transforming our bare builder’s lot into a nature garden with priority given to native or adapted plants. We are in Plant Hardiness Zone 9a and our soil (below the builder rubble) is sandy, being part of the Post Oak Savannah ecosystem. Before this area was developed into housing, it was farmland.

This “rewilding” project is now in its third year, and I am pleased with how things are developing. I am learning a lot as I go, and enjoying watching the growing plants and the wildlife that visits them.

I keep a spreadsheet of everything I have planted and the beneficial volunteers that I recognize. An updated plant list is posted at the end of each year primarily for my own benefit, but perhaps others might find it interesting or useful. I don’t list things that were introduced by seed but that I haven’t observed yet. I do list annuals that I have seen at some point this year.

Trees:

• Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)
• Live Oak, unknown variety, planted by builder
• Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa)
• Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri)
• Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana)
• Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)
• Texas Mountain Laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum)

Shrubs:

• American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
• Barbados Cherry, dwarf (Malpighia glabra)
• Cenizo aka Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens)
• Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum)
• Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)
• Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii), red and orange varieties
• Gregg Salvia (Salvia greggii)
• Kidneywood (Eysenhardtia texana)
• Lindheimer’s Senna (Senna lindheimeriana)
• Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) – not native
• Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala)
• Skeleton-Leaf Goldeneye (Viguiera stenoloba)
• Texas Lantana (Lantana horrida)
• Turks Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii)
• White Mistflower aka Shrubby Boneset (Ageratina havanensis)

Forbs (non-woody herbaceous plants):

• American Basketflower (Centaurea americana)
• Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
• Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum)
• Bluebonnet, Texas (Lupinus texensis)
• Common Rue (Ruta graveolens) – not native, but host plant
• Cowpen Daisy (Verbesina encelioides)
• Dill (Anethum graveolens) – not native, but host plant
• Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
• Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)
• Frostweed (Verbesina virginica)
• Gayfeather aka Texas Blazing Star (Liatris punctata)
• Golden Tickseed (Coreopsis basalis) – volunteer
• Gregg’s Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii)
• Horseherb aka Straggler Daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis)
• Lanceleaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata)
• Lazy Daisy (Aphanostephus skirrhobasis)
• Lemon Beebalm aka Purple Horsemint (Monarda citriodora)
• Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
• Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea)
• Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida) – not native
• Milkweed, Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula)
• Milkweed, Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
• Milkweed, Zizotes (Asclepias oenotheroides)
• Pigeonberry (Rivina humilis)
• Pink Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)
• Powderpuff aka Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa)
• Prairie Verbena (Verbena bipinnatifida)
• Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)
• Pussyfoot (Dalea obovata) – volunteer
• Redwhisker Clammyweed (Polanisia dodecandra) – volunteer
• Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)
• Scarletfruit Passionflower (Passiflora lanuginosa)
• Sharp Blazing Star (Liatris acidota)
• Silver Ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea)
• Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium) – volunteer
• Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
• Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra)
• Sunflower, Beach (Helianthus debilis) – volunteer
• Sunflower, Common (Helianthus annuus) – volunteer
• Sunflower, Maximilian (Helianthus maximiliani)
• Tall Blazing Star aka Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera)
• Tall Poppymallow aka Annual Winecup (Callirhoe leiocarpa)
• Texas Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) – volunteer
• Texas Verbena (Verbena halei) – volunteer
• Wooly Croton (Croton capitatus var. lindheimeri) – volunteer
• Yellow Sneezeweed (Helenium amarum) – volunteer

Succulents:

• Agave Americana (Agave americana)
• Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), red and yellow varieties
• Spineless Prickly Pear (Opuntia ellisiana)
• Twistleaf Yucca, Blue (Yucca rupicola x pallida)

Grasses:

• Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
• Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides)
• Curly Mesquite (Hilaria belangeri)
• Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
• Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)
• Inland Sea Oats aka Inland Wood Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium)
• Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
• Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
• Texas Grama (Bouteloua rigidiseta) – volunteer

Aquatic Plants:

• American White Water-lily (Nymphaea odorata)
• Aquatic Milkweed (Asclepias perennis)
• Banana Waterlily aka Yellow Waterlily (Nymphaea mexicana)
• Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
• Whitetop Sedge (Rhynchospora colorata)

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Here are a few photographs of the front and back gardens taken this past year. (The shrub pictured at the top of this post is Rock Rose in November 2025.)

The back yard in May 2025:

The back yard in June 2025:

The back yard in November 2025:

The succulent area in November 2025:

The front meadow in November 2025. Young wildflowers are already poised to bloom next spring:

The wildflower meadow as it was in April 2025:

Frogfruit in October 2025, functioning well as a front lawn substitute: