mulch
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Weightlifting In The Garden
A huge benefit to me is that the City of Seguin offers free woodchip mulch for its residents. I have made much use of that in building pathways and tree circles at no cost besides the effort of hauling it home. Early in my time here I bought four sturdy reusable bags for this transport. Continue reading
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Recycling Annual Plants
Many of the plants currently in the garden are annuals, so after a season of growing, they disperse their seeds and die. This is an intentional part of my strategy, so that I can have a seasonal wildflower meadow in the front yard, and plenty of wildlife-friendly plants in the back yard to fill in Continue reading
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Bluebonnets Growing In Shredded Mulch
Not long ago, I put some shredded annual plants on ground that is in need of restoration — it’s north-facing, shaded, and eroded from roof runoff. I knew that the material I spread was likely to contain wildflower seeds (especially Bluebonnet and Firewheel aka Indian Blanket) but I don’t mind if they grow for now. Continue reading
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Enhancing Mulch With Mushroom Blocks
At a recent meeting of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) Guadalupe Chapter, there was a speaker from the Central Texas Mycological Society, a group dedicated to working with fungi, which are key for the health, stability, and abundance of soil, plants, and fresh water. One of the things that this group does is to Continue reading
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More Mulch On The Pathways
Apart from the walkway of Thunder Turf around the perimeter of the back yard, my pathways are made from free city mulch, originally placed on a layer of cardboard. Over time they compact down and so periodically they get an inch or two of fresh mulch on the top. I had intended the pathway “refreshing” Continue reading
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Adjusting Pathways And Reclaiming Land
Most of the mulch pathways that I first laid here last year are still in a good location and all I am doing to maintain them is periodically to add more woodchip. (The City of Seguin very helpfully allows residents to take as much as they want.) There is one strip, however, where I had Continue reading
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Giving The Pollinator Garden A Soil Boost
The soil around this newly built house is very poor quality and it will take years to make it more healthy. Where possible, I am adding organic matter and choosing plants and gardening strategies that should help with this process. One of the few places that has received no help from me so far is Continue reading
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Working On The Tall Grass Area
Early on in my time here, I set aside a portion of the back garden to be an area for mid-height native prairie grasses and the one I particularly wanted to grow was Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). I introduced that by plant and seed. Sometimes I plan one thing, but nature, increased knowledge, or random Continue reading
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Shredding Before A Storm
This week a tropical storm was forecast to hit Texas and so I hustled to finish the current shredding task. I had Firewheel and Sunflower stalks that were already cut and drying out, and I didn’t want to get them wet again so out came the trusty shredder. This time I put the resulting mulch Continue reading
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Paying It Forward In The Wildflower Meadow
Once the majority of Bluebonnets and Firewheels had finished blooming in my native wildflower meadow, they were cut down to the ground and the stems moved to the back garden to dry. A few days later it was shredding time. By then I had accumulated quite a lot of material, due to cutting down most 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 