Blog
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A Non-Specific Spring Update
I have several projects in process at the moment and I’ll post about them when I have something to report. So today I thought I’d just include some photos of what I see when I’m outside enjoying breakfast/lunch/tea/whatever. These photos were taken on the morning of March 22, 2024. The first round of spring blooms… Continue reading
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Culling Sunflowers
Last year the land here was rather barren because it was a new development lot with nothing but builder-installed turf and landscape plants that were mostly not nature-friendly. As I was in the process of clearing, planting, and planning, I was thrilled to see volunteer sunflowers arrive and really cheer things up. Unless they were… Continue reading
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Wildlife Visitors
I am not building a garden to have a collection of pretty plants, although that will hopefully be a pleasant side-effect. The real goal is to create a small pocket of nature that will be healthy for the land and welcoming to wildlife. Here’s an example of what is happening, which encourages me. As I… Continue reading
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Three Sisters Garden #2: Corn
See this earlier post for a general summary of the Three Sisters Garden and preparation of the growing mounds. I built the mounds about a month ago to give them time to settle, and two of the five mounds each contain a trout fish as extra fertilizer! On March 17, 2024 (after supposedly the last… Continue reading
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The Last Tree To Wake Up
There are four young trees in the back yard here. From tallest to shortest they are Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri), and Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora). Until this week, all but the Mexican Plum had put out new leaf growth, and the Texas Mountain Laurel has also… Continue reading
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Volunteer: Red Pricklypoppy
By this time of year (mid-March), most of the volunteer plants that have bloomed here so far this spring have been colored yellow or purple. So I was surprised one day to look up from my lunch on the patio and see a beautiful deep red flower that I had not noticed before. It’s a… Continue reading
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“Tandem” Flies
I am in my garden multiple times every day, often not to work, but simply to watch. There is always something going on! On this occasion I spotted a pair of mating flies, species unknown, in my Desert Willow tree. Continue reading
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16 Inches Of Growth In 8 Days
Last spring I bought one pot of Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), which had four growing points. I split the clump into four portions and planted them in a rock pile (trying to make use of the many stones that are in the ground here!). The plants didn’t bloom last year, but given the insult of the… Continue reading
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Bluebonnet Seeds Are Already Starting To Form
Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) are annuals and therefore need to reseed each year. Last year I scattered seed in the fall. However, given how many plants I have here now, I should not need to buy seed again if I let these seed themselves. The easiest way to do that is just to leave the plants… Continue reading
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Two Plants I Thought I Had Lost, And A Visitor
Mexican OliveI didn’t realize it at the time, but of the trees I have planted here, my Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri) was at greatest risk during the winter freeze when temperatures got as low as 16F. The strongest factors in choosing plants here have been that they are preferably native and highly resistant to heat… 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 