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Red Buckeye
Last year I planted four trees in the back yard (Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri), and Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora). Recently I bought a fifth for the collection, a Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia). It’s a small understory tree, so I’ve put it close to the back fence where it should… Continue reading
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Another Attempt At Swiss Chard
My first attempts to seed Swiss Chard in small mounds of soil were not successful. So I’m giving it another go with a different approach. With the help of a friend with a saw, I cut 6-inch diameter drainage pipe into 8-inch sections and pushed them into the ground to make tiny raised beds. Each… Continue reading
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Adding Extra Beebalm To The Front Meadow
My front yard “wildflower meadow” was seeded last fall with Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), Indian Blanket aka Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella), and Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata). The Bluebonnets and Indian Blankets have already grown and are blooming very nicely. I haven’t noticed any Spotted Beebalm yet, but it’s still a few weeks before the expected bloom time. I recently visited… Continue reading
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Defending Corn From Caterpillars
When I first posted about the new spikes of corn growing in my Three Sisters Garden, someone asked whether I expected problems with them being nibbled on by squirrels. In the center of the housing development where I am, we have no mature trees and I don’t see squirrel visitors here yet. However, I did… Continue reading
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Agave
Agave plants are spectacular members of the Century Plant family that can grow up to 6 feet across. After approximately 10-30 years of growth they produce a single bloom spike up to 25 feet tall, and then the plant dies! During a plant’s life, however, it produces small pups to continue the family line, and… Continue reading
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Three Sisters Garden Corn Is Growing!
On March 17, 2024, I planted four corn seeds in each of five prepared mounds, and have been keeping them watered if no rain. This is the first planting of a Three Sisters garden (a cooperative combination of corn, beans, and squash). By March 26, 2024, I could see 20 tiny corn spikes, which is… Continue reading
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A Non-Specific Spring Update
I have several projects in process at the moment and I’ll post about them when I have something to report. So today I thought I’d just include some photos of what I see when I’m outside enjoying breakfast/lunch/tea/whatever. These photos were taken on the morning of March 22, 2024. The first round of spring blooms… Continue reading
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Culling Sunflowers
Last year the land here was rather barren because it was a new development lot with nothing but builder-installed turf and landscape plants that were mostly not nature-friendly. As I was in the process of clearing, planting, and planning, I was thrilled to see volunteer sunflowers arrive and really cheer things up. Unless they were… Continue reading
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Wildlife Visitors
I am not building a garden to have a collection of pretty plants, although that will hopefully be a pleasant side-effect. The real goal is to create a small pocket of nature that will be healthy for the land and welcoming to wildlife. Here’s an example of what is happening, which encourages me. As I… Continue reading
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Three Sisters Garden #2: Corn
See this earlier post for a general summary of the Three Sisters Garden and preparation of the growing mounds. I built the mounds about a month ago to give them time to settle, and two of the five mounds each contain a trout fish as extra fertilizer! On March 17, 2024 (after supposedly the last… 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 