-
Plant List, December 2025
I moved to Seguin, Texas in February 2023, and that’s when I started the process of transforming our bare builder’s lot into a nature garden with priority given to native or adapted plants. We are in Plant Hardiness Zone 9a and our soil (below the builder rubble) is sandy, being part of the Post Oak Continue reading
-
Updates To The Milkweed Area
When I started constructing this wildlife-friendly garden in 2023, I knew that native milkweed plants would eventually be included (to provide a place for Monarch butterflies to breed). However, I had more pressing priorities to deal with first and I didn’t start adding milkweeds until last year. On the subject of Monarchs, you don’t necessarily Continue reading
-
Sleeping Bee? Spider?
There are three Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) plants here. This (third) year has been the first time that I’ve seen all of them bloom fully and they do look very attractive with their feathery pink seed heads. One cool morning just after dawn I was eating breakfast in front of the house and happened to Continue reading
-
Green Lynx Spiderlings
A few days after noticing a female Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) guarding an egg sac on the Texas Mountain Laurel tree, I found baby spiderlings! I think there may be about 50 of them, and they are staying in the vicinity of the egg sac. When it’s colder in the mornings I find them huddled Continue reading
-
Yellow Yucca Late Blooms
A year ago I was gifted two Yellow Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) plants that were dug out of a friend’s garden. I was pleasantly surprised when in their first spring here, they both produced bloom spikes. Yellow Yuccas (and Red Yuccas, their more common variant) generally bloom in spring and summer. However, one of mine is Continue reading
-
Three Different Blazing Stars
In spring 2025 I planted a Gayfeather aka Texas Blazing Star (Liatris punctata) behind the pond. It cheerfully bloomed a few months later and because the stems are tall and rigid, it’s a favorite resting spot for dragonflies. There are several different Liatris plants (five listed in the Native Plant Society of Texas database), with Continue reading
-
A Mid November Look Around The Garden
It is already mid November, but even for central Texas we still have unusually high temperatures (daytime 80s F). Despite the warmth, the garden is clearly making seasonal changes so I thought it might be interesting to take a look around. I keep the area in front of the house fairly neat. For instance, I Continue reading
american beautyberry, beach sunflower, blackfoot daisy, bluebonnet, common sunflower, cowpen daisy, fall, flame acanthus, food, frogfruit, frostweed, habitat, indiangrass, leaf litter, meadow, mealy blue sage, mexican mint marigold, mexican plum, native grasses, rock rose, season, shelter, shrubby boneset, texas mountain laurel, white mistflower, yellow yucca -
Green Lynx Spider With Egg Sac
I regularly check my Texas Mountain Laurel tree for Genista Broom Moth caterpillars, which can eat a lot of tender new foliage if they get out of control. On this particular morning I did see a couple of caterpillars, which were plucked off and flung away. The Texas Mountain Laurel tree is a common resting Continue reading
-
My Story, Told By Native Plant Society Of Texas
Months ago, a little after two years into my “rewilding” project, I responded to a call from the Native Plant Society of Texas for descriptions of gardens that would survive in heat and drought. They didn’t use my piece then, but they did publish the article in the 2025 fall issue of their magazine, which Continue reading
-
Another Prairie Grass
The mid-height prairie grass area is developing quite nicely. There are established populations of Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), and Gulf Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris). There is also some intruding Curly Mesquite (Hilaria belangeri) from the Thunder Turf grasses nearby, which I have allowed to stay until now. However, for 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 