sunflower
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A Two-Week July Vacation
Vacations are fun, and what is also fun is seeing what the garden did during my time away (without it being watered!). I was recently gone for two weeks in July 2025 and this is what caught my eye when I got back. Sunflowers had grown A LOT. I will need to cut some of Continue reading
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Returning To The Garden After Nine Days Away
I was recently away from home for nine days, right after a week when we had over six inches of rain. I expected to see changes when I got back of course, but I didn’t know exactly what I’d find. Here are some highlights. Some plants had grown a lot. Sunflowers were about a foot Continue reading
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Starting The Spring Clean Up
A few weeks ago, I trimmed back dead parts of the pollinator garden that is in front of the house. From a nature (habitat) point of view I should have left it longer before tidying up, but I did that particular project to keep the front of the house “neat” for the neighborhood. The larger 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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Hummingbirds At Rest
I’ve remarked before that I get numerous hummingbird visitors now, but it would take more time and patience than I have to capture good photographs. Occasionally, instead of hovering to feed, they will sit on sunflower branches for a few moments. On this particular day, I saw what seemed to be a pair of Black-Chinned Hummingbirds Continue reading
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Big Clean Up In The Back Yard
This year I filled almost all unused space in the back yard with annual wildflowers, some seeded by me and some volunteers. This “green mulch” approach is intended to capture water, improve soil health, and support wildlife visitors. Since these plants are not permanent fixtures, I am free to remove any of them to make 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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Insect Poop Is Called Frass
One of the host plants for Bordered Patch butterflies, which I have seen here, is sunflowers and I do have an abundance of those. I wrote last year about observing Bordered Patch caterpillars, and I am starting to see them again. These caterpillars seem to travel around a sunflower plant as a pack, which surprises Continue reading
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The Tallest Plant In The Garden Is Not A Tree
There are several volunteer Common Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) here. I have removed many of them because I don’t have room for them all, but there are probably about 20 still here. They are growing rapidly now, and the tallest is currently about 8 feet tall, towering over my biggest trees, which are 6 feet tall. Continue reading
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Scarab Beetle
This shiny dark green beetle on an old sunflower head caught my eye as I was passing. It’s a Dark Flower Scarab (Euphoria sepulcralis). They are not known to eat seeds, but perhaps it was after pollen or nectar. Such a beautiful creature! 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 