Blog
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Working On The Tall Grass Area
Early on in my time here, I set aside a portion of the back garden to be an area for mid-height native prairie grasses and the one I particularly wanted to grow was Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). I introduced that by plant and seed. Sometimes I plan one thing, but nature, increased knowledge, or random… Continue reading
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What Happened To The Fish In The Three Sisters Mounds?
Back in February 2024, I created five mounds of soil and compost in which to grow Three Sisters Gardens, a cooperative planting technique for corn, beans, and squash developed by Native Americans. Indigenous peoples would often bury fish in their soil as fertilizer, so by way of experiment, I buried an uncooked trout in two… Continue reading
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Three Sisters Status, And A Decision
The Three Sisters Garden was supposed to be a cooperative planting of corn, beans, and squash. The corn stalks would support the beans, the beans would feed the soil with nitrogen, and the squash leaves would shade the soil. And theoretically the three could be harvested together. Soup, anyone? In reality, my experience has been… Continue reading
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Texas Mountain Laurel Seedlings
Two weeks after potting Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) seeds, there are now 18/28 that have green shoots (18/24 for the seeds that had germinated by the time I potted them). For now, they will stay in the guest room here because I think it would be too hot for them outside. There is still… Continue reading
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Paper Wasps
In my Desert Willow tree, not doing any harm, there is a nest of Apache Paper Wasps (Polistes apachus). It is fairly low down in the tree, just below the green tape. Paper Wasps are interesting and useful, and since they are not bothering me then I will not interfere with them. Paper Wasps are… Continue reading
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Pond #2: Prepping The Area
To prepare for the installation of an ecosystem pond, a few things needed to happen. The first step was to clear the quadrant of the garden where the pond will be located; that task started a few weeks ago. This zone had annual plants (mostly Firewheels), so there was no damage done in removing them.… Continue reading
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Red Yucca Seed Pods Are Rattling Now
This year I have one bloom spike on my collection of Red Yuccas (Hesperaloe parviflora). The spike is 65 inches tall and is still producing flowers from which hummingbirds feed. The last time I wrote about this plant, there were five green seed pods on the bloom spike. Now these seed pods are black and… Continue reading
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Pond #1: Why
We live on an urban property in a new housing development in Seguin, Texas. When we moved here in February 2023, from a nature point of view the land was virtually sterile. Any soil that had originally been fertile had been scraped away to be replaced with stones, sand, and poor quality dirt. Also, plants… Continue reading
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A Nice Color Contrast
When I last saw a Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans), it was resting on the green leaf of my Mexican Olive tree. On this occasion, however, I spotted one on the very purple Leavenworth’s Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii). Green Lynx Spiders are more often found on the green leaves of plants. They are hunters that are… Continue reading
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Tall Grass Is Not What I Thought It Was
I have a small area of the back garden that I designated for mid-height prairie grasses. Some of the intended plants were transplanted in and some were seeded. One of the grass clumps that grew was clearly going to be tall, but I couldn’t identify it until it flowered. By the time that happened, the… 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 