mexican plum
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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 -
My First Four Trees Are Now Taller Than I Am

In front of the house there are two Live Oak trees that the builder planted. Behind the house there are four trees that I planted early in my time here (2-3 years ago), with the intent that they would become major features in the garden: Desert Willow, Texas Mountain Laurel, Mexican Olive, and Mexican Plum. 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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Trees With New Leaves

This post describes two more trees that have put out new leaves for spring. (I am still waiting for Mexican Olive and Barbados Cherry to wake up.) Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana). This was the first year for this young tree to bloom but the second year for it to grow leaves in spring. As the Continue reading
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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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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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A Resting Sphinx Moth On Mexican Plum

I am outside every morning at 7am to take a rain gauge reading for CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network). When it’s the right season to be light enough, that’s a good time to wander around looking for other interesting things in the garden. One early spring morning, I saw a Sphinx moth Continue reading
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The Last Tree To Wake Up

There are four young trees in the back yard here. From tallest to shortest they are Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana), Mexican Olive (Cordia boissieri), and Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora). Until this week, all but the Mexican Plum had put out new leaf growth, and the Texas Mountain Laurel has also Continue reading
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Short-Term Effects Of The Freeze

In the past week we have had five nights of below freezing temperatures, with the lowest recorded here of 16.0 F. I expected to see some wilting, blackness, or loss of leaves and we certainly had that. With native plants, that is almost never a concern, and it’s just a part of nature cleaning up. 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.

