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Mexican Plum Tree — Good News After A Winter Scare
My Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) tree has been here almost two years. Last year it only produced leaves; this year I hoped for blooms as well. Spoiler alert: yes, there are blooms. That alone would make me happy, but given that this tree was sick during the winter I am even more thrilled to see Continue reading
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Building Berms
From the time I arrived here two years ago, I have known that excess rainwater drains from neighbor properties behind us into our garden on the back right side and exits from the front left (looking at the back garden from the house). From there it runs beside the house and into the street. Ideally, Continue reading
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Transplanting Lyreleaf Sage
Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) is a hardy low-growing plant that can tolerate a variety of conditions (wet, dry, sun, shade!), and it spreads gently by clumping or self seeding. It’s evergreen and I like the interesting pattern of its leaves with the red veining. Purple blooms appear in the spring. I introduced this plant here Continue reading
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Mushroom Blocks As Compost
The Central Texas Mycological Society is a group dedicated to working with fungi, which are so important for the health, stability, and abundance of soil, plants, and fresh water. One of the things that this group does is to divert used compost blocks from mushroom farmers into the community so that people can grow their Continue reading
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Signs Of Spring
Spring is my favorite time of year. Almost on a daily basis I can see new life forming, either for the first time or emerging from its winter rest. This year, just when we thought we were finished with freezing nights, we had another round in February. So a few things that had already sprouted Continue reading
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Thunder Turf Spring Mowing
Thunder Turf is a blend of three short prairie grasses (Buffalograss, Blue Grama, Curly Mesquite). Clearing Bermudagrass away from an area around the perimeter of the back garden and seeding these native grasses was an early months-long project here. This grassy area is now quite well established. It’s not pure, in that I know Bermudagrass Continue reading
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Bluebonnets — Good News and Bad News
I have been looking forward to this year’s display of bluebonnets in the “meadow” in front of the house since there are a much greater number of plants than last year. Last year’s plants produced plenty of seed and I’ve been watching the hundreds of new plants grow since November. They stayed close to the Continue reading
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A Frog Gift!
I have made it known in my community that I am a nature lover, so when a neighbor found a frog in her garden she asked if I would like it. Of course I did, and so a few minutes later it had taken a short ride in a bucket to be introduced to the Continue reading
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Trimming Standing Cypress
There is a defined area towards the back of the garden that includes three trees (Desert Willow, Mexican Plum, Red Buckeye), one shrub (Rock Rose), and the rest of the area is filled with taller annual or biennial plants (some seeded, some volunteer). Last year the plants predominantly filling that area were Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis Continue reading
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Trimming The Clump Grasses
Around the perimeter of the back garden there is a strip of Thunder Turf, a blend of three short native grasses. Those grasses grow low to the ground and get mown a couple of times a year. Toward the back of the garden there is an additional area for native grasses (the triangle in 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 