Blog
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Big Clean Up In The Back Yard
This year I filled almost all unused space in the back yard with annual wildflowers, some seeded by me and some volunteers. This “green mulch” approach is intended to capture water, improve soil health, and support wildlife visitors. Since these plants are not permanent fixtures, I am free to remove any of them to make… Continue reading
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June Pruning Advice For Native Plants
Drake White, Owner and Founder at The Nectar Bar, is very knowledgeable about Central Texas native plants. She recently posted with recommendations for June pruning. This is what she said, and I’ll follow her list with notes about my own plants, almost all of which are in my pollinator garden near the front porch. (Some… Continue reading
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Lady Beetles After Rain
I often walk around my garden just to see if there’s anything interesting going on. One of my favorite times to do that is just after a rainfall — the cooler air is refreshing and the plants look particularly perky. The photo above is of a Lady Beetle on an American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and… Continue reading
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A New Gulf Muhly Has Joined The Tribe
Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is a native plant, although as the name implies, it prefers the moister climate of the gulf coast where I first encountered it in Houston. (On average, the annual rainfall in Houston is 20 inches more than in Seguin.) Last year I learned that Gulf Muhly will certainly grow here, but… Continue reading
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A Spider And Its Breakfast
I half walked through a spider’s web one morning before I noticed it. I caught enough of the web to lay it to one side and watch, because clearly I had interrupted a food-wrapping project. The two objects (one spider and one partially wrapped victim) were several inches apart after my blunder, but the spider… Continue reading
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Corn Harvest
On June 7, 82 days after planting seeds, I harvested two ears of corn to test them. They were cooked and eaten. The taste was fine, although the kernels were a bit chewy. That was perhaps from harvesting them too late or not watering the plants enough. This was a bicolor variety (Ambrosia), so I… Continue reading
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Hummingbirds
I see Black-Chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) on a regular basis now (several times a day). Their favorite plants to visit are Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra), Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), and surprisingly, sunflowers. Surprising, because sunflowers don’t have tubular flowers. On this particular day, just after dawn, I saw two of these… Continue reading
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Two Pretty Spiders
I often encounter spiders here, hopefully before I have accidentally walked through their webs (which does sometimes happen, especially when they are across pathways). Here are two examples of spiders who were just quietly going about their business in the garden. Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) A distinctive feature of the Yellow Garden Spider is… Continue reading
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A Caterpillar In Disguise
One evening while I was looking closely at my Frogfruit, I saw what looked like a piece of dirt moving around. On closer examination I saw it had legs! This is the caterpillar of a moth in the genus Synchlora. Adults often have green wings, while larvae occasionally adorn themselves with pieces of plants to… Continue reading
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Tidying Up The Native Flower Meadow
The native plant meadow is my most visible project, right in the middle of the front lawn. Therefore, I want to keep it relatively tidy (inasmuch as a wild nature project can be), and one recent morning’s gardening session was devoted to cleanup in the meadow. By now, I am confident that a lot of… 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 