Blog
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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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Tree Growth Report, January 2026
Each January I take note of how my trees and shrubs are doing. Like children, when you see them every day, sometimes you don’t appreciate how much they’re growing. This post addresses trees. There will a separate one to describe the shrubs that I have (here). The measurements and photos were recorded on January 11, Continue reading
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Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars
Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae) butterflies and caterpillars are frequent visitors to my Scarletfruit Passionflower (Passiflora lanuginosa) vine. Our winter thus far has been exceptionally warm, and even in January I have blooms and visitors on this plant. Gulf Fritillary butterflies are predominantly orange with additional black and white markings. They flit around a lot so photographing Continue reading
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Pruning: Texas Mountain Laurel
The Texas Mountain Laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) was the very first tree that I planted here, in spring 2023. During its first year, half of the tree appeared sickly and pale. I never did find out exactly what the problem was — perhaps the most likely explanation was iron deficiency caused by some root issue on Continue reading
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Climbing A Ladder To See A Caterpillar
While recently looking up to the top of my 10-foot-tall Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) tree, I noticed an odd shape that I thought at first might be a mutant seed pod. On closer inspection it turned out to be an enormous caterpillar (within the blue circle in the photo below). I tried to get good 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 