Blog
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Dragonfly Or Damselfly?
I took a photo of this colorful creature on Frogfruit and then asked iNaturalist to identify it. The app said Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile), a damselfly. Here’s a cropped version of the photo. It’s not very good resolution, I’m afraid — these tiny mobile insects are hard to capture! It’s perhaps a mystery why an… Continue reading
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Genista Broom Moth — A Choice Had To Be Made
Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) trees are slow-growing and expensive. So I was dismayed to check one morning and see 30 or so caterpillars munching on the fresh new growth of my tiny tree. The second photo is a crop of the first. ID with the help of iNaturalist told me that these are caterpillars… Continue reading
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Turf Leveling Pilot Project
I struggle to find words adequately to describe how badly the Bermudagrass turf was laid here. It is very uneven, which means that ankles can turn when you walk on it, mowing is patchy, and anything on wheels is hard to push. I am keeping the Bermudagrass in front of and beside the house, and… Continue reading
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Trimming Salvia
I learned at a gardening seminar that Salvias could produce more blooms by cutting them back more often than once a year (what I am used to doing), and that you can cut up to 2/3 off. Supposedly, even though flowers are lost in the trimming, a greater number grow back. So let’s see what… Continue reading
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Uncovering The Back Bed
Behind the house next to the patio a few months ago the Bermudagrass sod was manually removed. I knew that I wouldn’t be ready to plant things in that bed until the fall so for the summer I covered much of the ground with cardboard. That is also the current location of the Frogfruit “mother… Continue reading
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Ugly Utility Corner
When we moved here in February 2023, the lots on either side of us were vacant. Houses have since been built there and after their new turf was laid, this is what was left of the corner near our water meter. Although it is uneven, like the rest of the lot here, there seems little… Continue reading
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Flame Acanthus
I first became acquainted with Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii) when I started volunteering in Seguin’s Park West pollinator garden, where they have two of these plants. Once they started blooming (June), they were clearly very popular with hummingbirds, as well as bees and butterflies. So I decided weeks ago that I wanted to… Continue reading
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Finally, A Monarch Butterfly
I help to maintain a pollinator garden in a Seguin park, and one of the team there is a Community Scientist who monitors sightings and activities of Monarch butterflies in the garden. In that garden, there had been zero evidence of Monarch activity all year until a week ago, when we finally saw a caterpillar… Continue reading
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Correcting My Huisache Error
In the spring I planted a Huisache tree, because this native plant is resilient and drought-tolerant. I later discovered that Huisache has some significant disadvantages and I regretted that choice. (Not all native plants are ideal for all situations.) So then I condemned the tree to be removed when I had something more polite with… Continue reading
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Landscaping With Native Plants
When we bought this new development house, the front bed had a number of rather standard landscaping plants. Most of these have already been replaced, or will be. I want to choose plants here that have low water needs, and that offer something useful for wildlife, e.g., food or shelter. Here’s an example of 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 