Blog
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More Frogfruit Plugs In The Front Lawn
When I recently attempted to level the uneven front lawn with extra soil, I didn’t have enough soil to do anything with the front strip between the sidewalk and the street. I may do more leveling next year. This is the area I’m talking about, still growing back after the summer’s drought. The front lawn… Continue reading
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Settling The Garden For The Winter
One of my goals for this fall was to have every area here covered with plants, soil containing seeds, or mulch, so that there is a minimum area of bare soil that could be vulnerable to erosion (obviously I am hoping that my seeds will germinate!). Most of those activities have been achieved by now,… Continue reading
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Migrating Butterflies Fattening Up For Their Long Journeys
It was only recently when I learned that migrating butterflies need to increase their fat content in order to have enough fuel to journey south to their wintering sites in Mexico. As delicate as they appear, I hadn’t thought about them having fat at all. Monarch butterfly larvae will only eat Milkweed leaves, but the… Continue reading
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Red Yucca
In May 2023 I planted Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), which is confusingly not a yucca, but rather a member of the Century-Plant family. I wanted a way to use some of the stones that are abundant in the ground here (a builder “gift”!), and so I made a rock pile with three soil hollows that… Continue reading
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Sow Thunder Turf In The Fall/Winter, Yes Or No?
I recently reported that there is one area of Thunder Turf native grasses that I want to reseed, but I am hindered at the moment because the builder next-door is over-watering the new turf there, and my garden floods on that side every morning. I hope that once the next-door house is occupied, the watering… Continue reading
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An Ongoing Fall/Winter Task
When I first set up the cardboard & mulch pathways, the first covering of mulch was about two inches deep. That was enough to get started, but I knew that there would need to be more, not only to make the pathways thicker, but also on an ongoing basis to make up for compaction and… Continue reading
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More Native Grass Seed — Yes For One Area, No For Another
Last month I reseeded about a quarter of my original short native grass area, to fill in gaps. The seed I am using is Thunder Turf, which is a mixture of three short native grasses. Now I have reseeded about another quarter of the area, along the left side fence. This is where I have… Continue reading
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Some Good Rain News For A Change
I have reported before of disruptive rain events. But today I wanted to share a picture of the garden after a night of rain (0.5 inches) that was not harsh or flooding. As far as I can tell, everything got a good soaking, but is still where it’s supposed to be! Continue reading
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Lunch At The Pollinator Garden
We have a bench in our front porch, which faces east. So this is a favorite place for me to eat afternoon meals if I want shade, or morning meals if I want sun. Even in mid-November, here in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a, there are still plenty of plants in my little pollinator garden… Continue reading
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Digging A Swale
At some point I’d like to have an ecosystem pond here if there is enough room, but it’s probably going to be at least a year until I’m ready to research and create that if it seems doable. Meanwhile, in the time I have been here since February 2023 I have been studying the way… 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 