barometer bush
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New Blooms In The Pollinator Garden
The pollinator garden in front of the house is waking up nicely and a number of things are now blooming. Most are perennials, which die back or lose their leaves during the winter break and then make new growth the next spring. Some are annuals, which grew from seed dropped last year. And note, this Continue reading
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Cenizo Is Finally Blooming After More Than A Year
Cenizo aka Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) was one of the first things (2023 spring) that I planted in the bed in front of the house, what I now call the pollinator garden. It was a little thing then (back left with the grey-green leaves)… …and look at it now! One of the common names for Continue reading
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New Plants For The Front Pollinator Garden
If you want to skip the preamble, I have a list of plants further down this post. Last year I planted several native plants in the flower bed in front of the house to make a small pollinator garden (replacing builder-installed plants that were not wildlife-friendly). I was pleased with the growth of the plants Continue reading
barometer bush, beebalm, bluebonnet, cenizo, chile pequin, fall aster, flame acanthus, gregg salvia, gregg’s mistflower, gulf muhly, horseherb, lantana, lyreleaf sage, mealy blue sage, native plants, pink evening primrose, pollinator garden, prairie verbena, scarlet sage, silver ponyfoot, skeleton-leaf goldeneye, smallflower desert-chicory, straggler daisy, texas sage, texas toadflax, tickseed, volunteer plant, yarrow, zinnia -
Tree & Shrub Growth Report, January 2024
I think that about once a year I will take approximate measurements of the trees and shrubs that I have here. Like children, when you see them every day, sometimes you don’t appreciate how much they’re growing (or not). The measurements were recorded on January 6, 2024 and the photos were taken a day or Continue reading
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Lunch At The Pollinator Garden
We have a bench in our front porch, which faces east. So this is a favorite place for me to eat afternoon meals if I want shade, or morning meals if I want sun. Even in mid-November, here in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a, there are still plenty of plants in my little pollinator garden Continue reading
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Nature Gardening vs. “Neighbor” Gardening
This ant pile is underneath a Texas Barometer Bush (Leucophyllum frutescens) in my front flower bed. It’s not in my way and the plant seems happy, so I’m leaving the ant bed in place. I’d rather support what nature is doing than make the garden “picture perfect.” The ground here is badly compacted from the Continue reading
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Two Grasshoppers Just Chilling
And “chilling” is perhaps appropriate, given that the temperature when these photos were taken was 43F — quite a contrast from 100F just a month ago. These are two American Bird Grasshoppers (Schistocerca americana) resting on a Texas Barometer Bush (Leucophyllum frutescens). I didn’t see any evidence that they had been eating the plant. They Continue reading
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My Little Pollinator Garden
I’m taking different approaches for the front and back gardens in this new lot. The back area is a major work-in-progress that will probably take 2-3 years to take shape. In contrast, the front — and more visible to the public — area is intended to look more managed, even as changes are being made. 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 