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 again.
My overall goals are the same:
- to capture and conserve water,
- to improve soil health,
- to prioritize native plants,
- to encourage and support wildlife visitors,
- and to be an ambassador for nature in my community.
The timeline so far has looked like this:
- YEAR 1 (2023)
- Certified as a Texas Master Naturalist
- Removed all Bermudagrass in back yard
- Brought in a few cubic yards of enriched topsoil
- Added organic matter to the soil whenever possible (ongoing)
- Planted trees, native grasses, and a couple of perennials
- Replaced landscaper plants in the bed in front of the house with pollinator-attracting natives
- Laid mulch pathways
- Installed rain barrels and compost system
- Created wildlife refuge places, e.g., log pile, rock pile
- Dug a swale for water capture
- Seeded annual plants
- YEAR 2 (2024)
- Learned from experiences in Year One, e.g., use a pickaxe to dig holes in this stony ground; do as much planting as possible in fall, not spring; don’t dig planting holes too deep
- Identified volunteer plants and kept some of the ones that are helpful natives, e.g., sunflowers
- Planted a few more perennials and seeded a few more annuals
- Started a native milkweed patch
- Installed an ecosystem pond (which replaces the swale)
- Shredded annual plants to be given back to the ground (ongoing)
- YEAR 3 (2025)
- Completed Native Landscape Certification Program
- Had an article published about the garden by Native Plant Society of Texas
- Added some berms to slow water movement through the back garden
- Started pruning trees for long-term shape and strength
- Started a shade garden on the north side of the house
- Planted a few more perennials and seeded a few more annuals
- Frogfruit is becoming well established in front of the house and successfully competing with the Bermudagrass
- Continuing to try to get native milkweeds to grow
- Saw several new types of fungus
- Continued to learn about creature visitors to the garden, e.g., birds, insects, spiders, reptiles, and amphibians
Unpacking the overall goals in more detail:
- Capture and conserve water. By prioritizing the use of native plants, I am developing a garden that has low water needs and with deep rooted plants that can help to retain water underground. Two 50-gallon rain barrels collect rainwater from the roof and are the primary source for supplemental water if needed (for new plants that are still being established, and in times of drought). If there should be surface water in heavy rain, a secondary capture system used to be a drainage swale but that has been removed to make way for the pond. A major flood event in July 2025 flushed the pond out and killed all the fish, so I’m continuing to think of ways to capture and/or deflect water when it comes too fast for the ground to absorb.
- Improve soil health. As a new developer lot, the soil here originally was extremely poor quality and it will take years to restore its health. I try to avoid having bare soil, using mulch or woodchip on places where there are no plants. Organic matter is added to the ground at every possible opportunity. Deep roots and insect activity help to aerate the soil. I compost as much as possible, some quickly in the composter and other things more slowly on the ground. When an annual plant has served its purpose for the season, it is given back to the ground in the form of shredded mulch or compost. Some plants have been chosen because of their feature of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, e.g., bluebonnets, clovers, legumes. Fungal and bacterial activities that enhance soil health are encouraged, and I add extra mycorrhizae when I plant new plants.
- Prioritize native plants. Plants that are native to this region, or well adapted without being invasive, will be key to this project. In particular, their role in conserving water means that the garden is resilient and even in times of extreme drought my supplemental water needs are minimal. Some of the plants here I have planted or seeded, but others have arrived as volunteers. Once I have identified a volunteer plant, I decide if it stays or goes. If something other than Bermudagrass grows in my front lawn, if it is not a weed to me, and if it will tolerate mowing, it is often welcome to stay. I have learned a great deal from my local chapters of (and the delightful people within) the Native Plant Society of Texas and Texas Master Naturalist.
- Encourage and support wildlife visitors. Wildlife in the context of this urban environment at the moment is generally going to mean birds, insects, spiders, reptiles, and amphibians. We don’t even have squirrels yet, because there are no mature trees in the development, but they and other small mammals may eventually arrive. Developing a wildlife habitat means providing food, shelter, places to raise young, and water. Particularly in the back yard, which is not visible to the public, my gardening strategies include things that might be thought to make a garden “untidy,” like leaving annual plants in place through the winter before cutting them back or leaving leaf litter on the ground. It is exactly this untidiness that can support the small creatures that are part of what makes a healthy ecosystem.
- Be an ambassador for nature in my community. I live in an urban area alongside properties that are often maintained in the “traditional” way — i.e., manicured lawns, sprinkler systems, and plants that do not provide food or shelter for wildlife. I want to create a healthy ecosystem on my own property to counteract those traditions, support nature, and encourage others to try some of the things that I’m doing. So for instance, I have “Pollinator Friendly Garden” and “Certified Wildlife Habitat” signs in my front yard, and have made it known in my neighborhood that I am pursuing a native gardening approach. I’m happy to share knowledge (and plants!) with those who are interested.
Following are photographs that illustrate some of the projects described above.
Bermudagrass on the north side of the house does not grow well in the shade. So I am embracing that fact by planting shade-loving plants there instead. Chile Pequin is one of those.
Last year I gave my oldest trees their first “grown-up” pruning. Here’s the Texas Mountain Laurel.
I have enjoyed learning about various creatures that visited the garden this past year. One example was a Green Lynx Spider with her egg sac and then spiderlings.
I’ve seen a lot of interesting fungi in the garden, some for the first time. Here is a cluster of bright orange Scaly Rustgill that appeared on the wood pile.
Indiangrass was the latest prairie grass to establish and bloom in the garden.
Frogfruit is doing very well as a front lawn substitute ground cover.
One of the new perennial plants that was installed in 2025 was White Mistflower aka Shrubby Boneset.
Despite 2025 being generally a poor year for Bluebonnets, the meadow in front of the house in only its second year produced a spectacular display.
When a photographer friend visited the garden, he captured some fantastic images, like this Black-Chinned Hummingbird feeding from Standing Cypress.
I built a few new berms in the garden, in an attempt to slow the passage of run-off rainwater through the lot.
Rewilding My Lot 
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