Blog
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Freaky Storm Event Yields Seed Gifts
We recently had a very heavy storm pass through, which brought 1.45 inches of much-needed rain. Accompanying the rain was hail and extremely strong winds. The hail and/or wind was enough to flatten some plants and tear a few small branches, but nothing serious. The winds were also fierce enough to blow open the large… Continue reading
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Native Milkweeds
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 to be more generally… Continue reading
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Trauma At The Barn Swallow Nest
There has been some traumatic event at the barn swallow nest, which now appears to be abandoned. Here’s where I wish I had installed a camera to watch it so I’d have more information. As it is, I can only look at the evidence and deduce a hypothesis. Here’s a timeline: In the last part… Continue reading
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Pond Blooms
There are three aquatic plants in the pond that are now blooming or budding for the first time. I thought that I had purchased two American White Waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) plants in November 2024, which would have blooms that are white or pink. However, the waterlily that is blooming now has a yellow flower, so… Continue reading
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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
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 