Blog
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Keeping The Maximilian Sunflowers Tied Up
In two years, one Maximilan Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) plant has expanded into a significant clump. Last year these sunflowers grew very tall (12 feet) and splayed out in a rather inconvenient way. This year I decided to do a “Chelsea Chop” of the Maximilian Sunflowers to reduce their final height, and also to tie the… Continue reading
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Barbados Cherry Looking Good!
I planted a Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra) in 2023. I didn’t realize until I got it home that it was a dwarf variety, so it’s likely to grow in a shrubby form and only reach a height of 4 feet or so. Every winter this plant has frozen back to ground level, but each spring… Continue reading
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Volunteer Milkweed Plants
Milkweeds are the only plant that Monarch butterflies will use to lay their eggs and host their caterpillar larvae. However, Monarchs will feed from a lot of other nectar sources, as will other creatures, and so before planting milkweeds I focused more on building a garden with a variety of food sources at different times… Continue reading
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A Rare Sighting For Me
I am not a nocturnal creature, unlike some of the occupants of this garden. So one morning, just after dawn, I was treated to a rare sighting of a Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), which is nocturnal. It’s also known as a Turkish Gecko, as represented in its Latin name, or a Moon Lizard, because… Continue reading
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The First Sighting Of A Texas Spiny Lizard Here
The most frequently seen lizard here by far is the Common Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis gularis). I’ve also once seen a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis). Recently I had my first sighting of a Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) in the garden, a few feet up the trunk of the Desert Willow tree. I’m always excited to… Continue reading
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A Wasp Meal For A Green Lynx Spider
I have often seen Green Lynx Spiders (Peucetia viridans) in the garden. They are hunters that do not use a web — their strategy is to wait in some setting that is green so that they are camouflaged, and then to pounce on their prey. As I was walking past my Barbados Cherry shrub, I… Continue reading
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Black Vulture In The Neighborhood
A few days ago I happened to notice a large bird sitting on a nearby light pole. My attention was drawn to it because of its size, and the pair of mockingbirds that were flying around it while making a lot of noise. This large bird was a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus). Their natural habitat… Continue reading
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When The Garden Is Ignored For A Week During Summer
I’ve recently returned from a vacation, and so the garden was ignored for nine days with no rain and with daytime temperatures hovering around 100 degrees F. Many of the plants thrived and grew while I was away. Native plants have evolved to endure the hot and dry conditions of a Central Texas summer. Here… Continue reading
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Liatris/Gayfeather Comparison Update
There are several different Liatris plants (five listed in the Native Plant Society of Texas database), with the Gayfeather aka Texas Blazing Star (Liatris punctata) probably being the best suited for my ecosystem — in particular, it is the most drought-tolerant of the gayfeathers. Last November I inadvertently started an experiment to compare three different Liatris plants here when… Continue reading
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Mexican Buckeye Has Doubled In Height
In 2025 I planted a Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) seedling. It dropped its leaves over the winter, as expected, and at the time of my annual tree report in January 2026 it was 7 inches tall. This is what it looked like in March this year. There is a bamboo stick marker next to it… 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 