This Week in my Garden - Oct 17

 

After being away from my garden for 3 months, it felt so wonderful to walk its paths again. There is a peace I find in the garden that I seldom find elsewhere. And after the stress of the last few months, it was incredibly welcome.

It was a brutal summer, and for the worst month of it, I was in Houston, and the sprinkler system was off, so I lost some plants (my Wafer Ash and Escarpment Black Cherry look dead, but I am still holding out hope!). But even more surprising is the number of plants that made it through. They all look a little worse for wear; some even died to the ground but are now starting new green shoots.

So, this week in my garden... 

Thursday saw a high close to 100. Friday, a cold front came through, and the highs dropped to the mid-70s, with evening temps in the 50s. It finally feels like fall!

I was surprised by a dart of yellow just outside the fence, in the cedar trees. With a quick look, I believe it was a Nashville Warbler flitting through the trees. It had a second bird close by, but I never got a clear glance at it. We refilled the feeders, and have had a Titmouse, Cardinal, and Carolina Wren return. It may take a while for the majority of birds to come back, but hopefully soon!

This week, my Almond Verbena is in bloom. This evening, when taking the dogs on their walk, the sweet fragrance drifted through the garden and found its way from the backyard all the way to the front door. I could smell it as soon as I stepped outside: a soft, sweet greeting of fall in the air. And during the days, its blooms were filled with bees. This plant is not even close to being a native, but I love its smell so much, I keep it around :)

And as I was planting some new natives in the back corner garden, I looked at my Anacacho Orchid, and saw these lovely guys enjoying a meal.

Seek says they are Io moths. Super beautiful, but google tells me their fuzzy little spines are filled with poison (!!). It seems like that I might have a gorgeous moth in a few weeks. So, I might need to take a nighttime walk to see if I can find them.

Anacacho orchid tree is a member of the Fabaceae family, which is in the pea-legume group, and the Io moth caterpillars favor plants in this family. So glad they found their way to my yard!

This week I bought and planted a large number of natives. It just felt so good to dig in the dirt again. So happy to be home!

This Week in My Garden - June 28

Another cool critter

While wandering through the garden today, Kyle and I noticed that my Blue Weeping Yucca looked a little worse for wear. There was a pile of brown debris around the top stem, and several leaves had clearly been enjoying life as someone's lunch.

After a bit of careful digging around the stem, we found the culprit—a Yucca Giant Skipper caterpillar tucked deep inside the plant. (Seek for the ID)

According to Google, the Yucca Giant Skipper is a fairly uncommon, large-bodied butterfly found throughout the southern United States, including central Texas. Its caterpillars burrow into the base of yucca plants, where they build a little upright silken "chimney" that serves as both a hiding place and an escape hatch from predators.

It has definitely done a number on this yucca, but thankfully they're tough plants, and I'm confident it'll bounce back. In the photo below, you can even see the little silk chimney sticking up from the stem.

I'll be keeping an eye on the garden over the next few weeks, hoping to catch a glimpse of the butterfly when it finally emerges.

Fig Season Has Arrived

For the first time since we planted them, both of our fig trees are absolutely loaded with fruit.

The Celeste has given us a handful of figs over the years, but the Alma has stubbornly refused to produce... until now. Maybe all the spring rain made the difference. Or maybe it's because our two very enthusiastic Whippets have decimated the local squirrel population. 

All of the branches are heavy with figs, and I'm looking forward to harvesting far more than we've ever had before.

I couldn't remember which varieties we had planted, so I searched back through this blog to find the original post. That turned out to be even more fun than I expected because I stumbled across photos from when I first planted them. It's amazing how much the garden has changed.

Celeste fig when planted in 2014

My garden in 2026

A rare find

I was looking through one of my gardens, and discovered a plant I didn't recognize. Seek has identified it as a Small leaf Ground Cherry. I found one of these in the back acre last year, but it died over the summer. Here is hoping this one lives

Wolly Ironweed in bloom

Another highlight this week is my Woolly Ironweed, which I planted last fall. I had been wanting this plant for awhile as it is fantastic for native bees and butterflies. But it is hard to find. I bought one two years ago at the native plant sale and put it in my street side garden, where it has grown very little. Last fall, I ran across another plant for sale, and planted it in my solar garden. It has finally started blooming, and the deep purple flowers are spectacular.

The one I planted near the street two years ago hasn't bloomed yet, which I suspect is because the soil there is much poorer. This one, tucked into more native soil, seems perfectly happy and is putting on quite a show.

This Week in my Garden - June 20

This week, I spent 4 hours scooping mulch from our neighbor's yard and transporting it into my front garden. While in the midst of this, Dave came out to say, "You've got to take a look at this.". 

In the backyard, up in our Chinkapin Oak was a *huge* moth. The guys identified it as a Polyphemus Moth which has a bizarre life cycle: “Adults do not eat and live for less than a week, while their large green caterpillars feed on trees like oak, maple, and willow before spinning a silk cocoon.”

I never saw the larger caterpillar this came from, but how exciting to see it in the garden now. It is around 6 inches across.

This Week in My Garden - June 13

Giant Swallowtail on a Wafer Ash

Native Plants: Feeding the Next Generation of Butterflies

One of the greatest rewards of planting native plants—and a few well-adapted companions—is discovering the wildlife they support. Every season brings new visitors, and lately my garden has become a bustling nursery for caterpillars.

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars on Passionfruit Vine

Earlier this week, I noticed that my Passionfruit vine was looking a little worse for wear. The leaves were ragged and disappearing quickly. Today I found the culprits: two Gulf Fritillary caterpillars happily munching away.

Rather than being disappointed by the damage, I was thrilled. Gulf Fritillary caterpillars feed exclusively on Passionflower and Passionfruit vines, so their presence means my garden is providing exactly what they need. Seeing them discover my vine felt like a small victory.

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Common Buckeyes Find the Snake Herb

Not long ago, I spotted three caterpillars feasting on my Snake Herb. Using the Seek app, I identified them as Common Buckeye caterpillars.

A little research confirmed why they had chosen this plant. Snake Herb is an important larval host for the Common Buckeye butterfly, as well as the Cyna Blue butterfly. It's always exciting to learn that a plant is serving a purpose beyond simply looking beautiful in the landscape.

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A Hungry Pipevine Swallowtail

I've been keeping a close eye on my Dutchman's Pipevine, hoping to find Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars. For weeks, I saw nothing. Then one day I discovered a single, very large caterpillar—and very little pipevine left.

The hungry caterpillar had nearly stripped three of my streetside plants. To give it a better chance, I carefully moved it to the Dutchman's Pipevine growing in my backyard, where it continued its feast.

A few days later, it disappeared.

I'm hopeful that it successfully pupated and that I'll soon spot a Pipevine Swallowtail fluttering through the garden. Of course, nature has many outcomes, and it's possible the caterpillar became a meal for a bird. Either way, the ecosystem benefited.

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Lunch on my new Wafer Ash

And today, I was very excited to see what I first thought was a piece of leaf litter, or maybe even bird droppings, but as I looked closer (and had Dave take a photo) I realized it was some sort of Swallowtail. 

I purchased this tree specifically because it was the larval food for the Giant Swallowtail. 

So, very excited when Google images id'ed it as a Giant Swallowtail. Google tells me that the caterpillar used mimicry to look like bird droppings. (It worked!)

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The Garden Comes Full Circle

One of the most satisfying parts of gardening is watching plants become part of a larger story. The leaves that disappear today become the butterflies that drift through the garden tomorrow.

Seeing caterpillars thrive on the plants I've chosen reminds me that a garden is much more than a collection of flowers—it is a habitat.

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A Bonus Visitor: Bordered Patch Butterfly

Near the Common Buckeyes, I also spotted a beautiful Bordered Patch butterfly.

These butterflies are especially fond of Zexmenia, which grows abundantly throughout my yard. It's another reminder that when we plant for wildlife, the wildlife often finds us.

Every caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly is proof that even a small garden can make a difference.

This Week in My Garden - October 30

The Day the Monarchs Stopped by

Today, the Monarchs came through my yard. At one point, I counted sixty—scattered between the front and back gardens. They weren’t fluttering so much as clinging, their wings folded close as they fed. The Shrubby Boneset and Plateau Goldeneye were heavy with them, and even the self-sown Drummond’s Aster in the back corner shimmered with orange.

They seemed hungry—driven. When I stepped closer, they lifted briefly into the air, then settled again, clinging to the blossoms like living ornaments.

By the next morning, a cold front had swept in, and the garden felt strangely still. I haven’t seen many butterflies since.

Still, watching them pass through was a beautiful reminder of the quiet power of planting native species — how even a single yard can become a small haven on their long journey.

This Week in My Garden - Sept 8

Ahhh — the first tender breath of autumn has arrived. 

Yesterday’s rain summoned a few mushrooms from the earth. And above me, a soft, swirling column of wings— a gentle spiral of at least 200 Mississippi Kites, slowly drifting southward in quiet grace.

A few of my fall favorites are beginning to reveal their seasonal colors. The golden blooms of Esperanza and Lindheimer Senna brighten the landscape, while the Beautyberry offers its striking contrast—lime green foliage adorned with vivid clusters of purple. Nearby, the soft lavender spikes of Obedient Plant and the deep, velvety purple of Mexican Bush Sage begin to glow in the gentler light.

It’s that quiet turning point in the garden—the time when purples and yellows take center stage, weaving together summer’s warmth and autumn’s hush in one last burst of color.

This week in my Garden - August 17

Ripe Persimmons (sort of)

I have been watching my newly discovered Persimmon tree on a daily basis. And yesterday saw a black fruit that was sort of squishy. I thought I'd try my luck and wait just one more day! I came back today, and it had disappeared. Not surprising, as their is not much fruit available to our wildlife this time of year. But, I did learn online that Texas Persimmons will ripen off the tree. So I picked three mostly black but still hard persimmons, and put them on my inside windowsill. Since I am the only one in the household who has ever eaten a persimmon, I want the first time to be a sweet experience. So hopefully in a few days, they can give them a try, and will like them!

More Sweet Everlasting?

I have seen a few of these growing in the back lot, but wasn't sure what they were. Seek didn't provide any answers, but google thinks they might be Sweet Everlasting. Given the large number of Sweet Everlasting plants in the back, i am guessing that is correct. This Wikipedia article indicates the plant is a biennial, so next year it will shoot up. Seem believable, as compared to the biennial Standing Cypress I have grown. I will keep a watch over time to see if it shoots up.

I can't find much else about this plant online. But did find this site that says " The plant also gives off a wonderful maple syrup smell, making it a nice addition to any garden." Not something i noticed, even when taking cuttings from it (all of which failed)