Blog
-
Dragonfly Behavior
I don’t write much about dragonflies even though they are a common feature here, because I find them almost impossible to photograph well. They move quickly, don’t like being approached, and their wings are almost transparent. It’s hard to get a proper focus. Dragonflies and damselflies are very similar and the main way I know Continue reading
-
Mid-Height Prairie Grasses
Around the perimeter of the back garden is a 6-foot border of short native grasses: Curly Mesquite, Blue Grama, and Buffalograss. This gives me a walkway around the edge, and maintenance access to the fence without disrupting the other plants. At the back of the garden there is a small area that I have designated Continue reading
-
Two Mexican Plants
It is my goal here to install plants that are native to this region. In doing so, the garden will be well adapted to our local environment, will only need minimal supplemental water, and will support local wildlife. As the climate changes, the range of some plants is adjusting over time as areas of central Continue reading
-
My First Four Trees Are Now Taller Than I Am
In front of the house there are two Live Oak trees that the builder planted. Behind the house there are four trees that I planted early in my time here (2-3 years ago), with the intent that they would become major features in the garden: Desert Willow, Texas Mountain Laurel, Mexican Olive, and Mexican Plum. Continue reading
-
When A Photographer Visits The Garden
The only camera I have is the one in my phone. For the convenient little device that it is, the quality of the photographs that I can get is pretty good. However, when my friend Ken Harvey visited the garden with his proper camera, the images he was able to capture were so much better Continue reading
-
New Pond Plants
On a recent visit to Pollinatives in Converse (my favorite semi-local native plant nursery), I had a lucky find of their last two native waterlilies of the season — I wasn’t expecting to see these in stock until later in the year. That purchase led to an unexpected and rather urgent pond session to get Continue reading
-
Recycling Annual Plants
Many of the plants currently in the garden are annuals, so after a season of growing, they disperse their seeds and die. This is an intentional part of my strategy, so that I can have a seasonal wildflower meadow in the front yard, and plenty of wildlife-friendly plants in the back yard to fill in Continue reading
-
Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars Doing Their Thing
I have seen plenty of Gulf Fritillary (Dione vanillae) butterfly activity around the Scarletfruit Passionflower (Passiflora lanuginosa), including some egg laying. So it was not at all surprising to notice one day that there was caterpillar frass on leaves of this plant. (It was just over a year ago when I discovered that the name Continue reading
-
Repopulating Pond Fish After A Major Flood
On July 5, 2025, the day after devastating floods in Kerr County, Seguin had its own flash flood event. I recorded 8.64 inches of rain in just four hours, which was a lot more water than my land could hold. In addition to standing water that was present for a few hours, for the first Continue reading
-
Gulf Fritillary Eggs & Tiny Caterpillars
When a butterfly visits a plant it is usually for one of two reasons: (male or female) to feed from flowers or (female) to lay eggs on leaves of host plants. It’s usually quite easy to tell which is happening by watching which parts of the plant are visited, for how long, and by whom. 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 