Blog
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New Blooms In The Back Garden
The past 2-3 weeks have seen an explosion of growth, color, and activity in the back garden. Here are some highlights. Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). For some reason the Firewheels behind the house are much more vigorous and colorful than the ones in front of the house. They are the red and yellow Continue reading
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Two Trees That Are Very Slow To Wake Up
There are a total of nine trees on this property, all young and varying in height from a few inches (Mexican Buckeye and Red Buckeye) to about 9 feet (Desert Willow and two Live Oaks). The other trees range in height from about 2-6 feet (Mexican Plum, Texas Mountain Laurel, Mexican Olive, and a dwarf Continue reading
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New Blooms In The Pollinator Garden
The pollinator garden in front of the house is waking up nicely and a number of things are now blooming. Most are perennials, which die back or lose their leaves during the winter break and then make new growth the next spring. Some are annuals, which grew from seed dropped last year. And note, this Continue reading
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Barn Swallows Have Eggs
After several days of work building their nest, our Barn Swallow porch lodgers settled into a routine where the female was spending most of her time on the nest. So of course I was suspicious that there were eggs. Being a curious person, I invested in a mirror on a telescoping handle in order to Continue reading
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Yellow Yucca Bloom Spike
From the date I first noticed the bloom spike on my new Yellow Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), March 15th, to the date when I saw flowers on the spike begin to open, April 7th, was 23 days. In that time it grew to a height of 38 inches, so an average of 1.7 inches a day. Continue reading
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Frogfruit As Lawn
I use Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) here as a sturdy groundcover. As a native plant, it’s healthier for the ecosystem here than is Bermudagrass, and I enjoy watching the tiny insects that feed and breed on it. Unlike behind the house, I have not removed Bermudagrass from the front lawn. However, I have intentionally not nurtured Continue reading
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Green Anole
Anyone with any sort of established garden might wonder why I’d post a picture of a common lizard. This a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis). However, in my situation, starting with the somewhat sterile environment of a new developer lot, finally seeing wildlife like this is a sign of progress. In my just over two years Continue reading
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Fostering Monarch Caterpillars
I have at least three kinds of native milkweeds here, and I’m part-way through writing a post to describe them. But in the meantime, this post describes how six almost-ready-to-pupate Monarch caterpillars arrived here for some late-stage foster care. A friend had so many Monarch caterpillars in her garden that they were in danger of Continue reading
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A Breakfast View Of The Front Garden
A few cold nights sent me to the east-facing front porch for breakfast where it’s sunnier in the mornings. So while I was there I took a few photos. I was supervised by our resident Barn Swallows. The female got the cozy nest, the male got to sit outside. They seem fairly accustomed to us Continue reading
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Barn Swallows In The Porch
We have new residents in the front porch — Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica). At the beginning of March 2025, a single swallow began to spend nights in the front porch perched on a high ledge. A few days later there were two, occupying opposite ledges, and a few days after that they decided to share 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 