beach sunflower
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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 -
Wildflower Meadow Nearing The End Of Its Season

The current status of the wildflower meadow in front of the house is that much of the area is empty and the flowers that remain are mostly yellow and white. Primarily what is growing at the beginning of October are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis), Yellow Sneezeweed (Helenium amarum), Lindheimer’s Doveweed aka Woolly Croton (Croton lindheimeri), Continue reading
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When A Photographer Visits The Garden

The only camera I have is the one in my phone. For the convenient little device that it is, the quality of the photographs that I can get is pretty good. However, when my friend Ken Harvey visited the garden with his proper camera, the images he was able to capture were so much better Continue reading
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New Blooms In The Back Garden

The past 2-3 weeks have seen an explosion of growth, color, and activity in the back garden. Here are some highlights. Firewheel aka Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella). For some reason the Firewheels behind the house are much more vigorous and colorful than the ones in front of the house. They are the red and yellow Continue reading
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Clearing This Year’s Bumper Crop Of Sunflowers

In this first full year on the property, I let annual plants take the lead as I considered what more long-term plans could be for the garden. Annual plants fill space to capture water and reduce soil erosion, and encourage wildlife visitors (birds and insects). When they are finished and cut down, their decaying roots Continue reading
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A Sea Of Sunflowers

There are primarily two kinds of sunflower here, both volunteers: Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) and Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus). I have mostly allowed them to grow in the furthest part of the back garden, which was seeded with tall plants. Of the three types of seed that I dispersed in that area, only one grew Continue reading
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Clearing A Back Corner

In this second year of my “rewilding” project, I am using annual native flowers (seeded or volunteer) to cover most of the back yard. This “green mulch” approach allows me to capture water before it runs off, prevent soil erosion, improve soil health, and host wildlife visitors while I continue to make more long-term plans 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.
