My garden has been through many changes since 2011. I've experimented, failed, and tried again. After all this time, I feel like my garden has finally developed some structure and enduring greenery. As trees have grown, sunny areas have become shady, impacting established plants and my choice of new ones. Many plants have (sadly) died, even though they are native or adapted. Extreme heat or cold, too much water or not enough, poor drainage, not in the right spot, all possible

My purpose here is not to give detailed species and care information--there are expert sites for that; instead, my experiences, some particulars to be aware of, and some perspective on how long it might take to go from sun to shade is what I offer. When I bought the house in 2006 there were two trees in the back yard: a Cedar Elm about 15 ft tall, and a Chinquapin Oak about 10 ft tall which I eventually cut down because it wasn't healthy and was too close to the elm anyway. A

Red Tip Photinias Two red-tips along the fence before they died. Also, a feathery bamboo muhley, which I moved later, and a very young abelia hanging over the path One of the first things I planted along the fence soon after I bought the house (pre-prayer garden) were several Red-Tip Photinias. I chose them because my sister had them as a tall and beautiful privacy hedge between her and the neighbors; but they are prone to a fungal disease and not recommended, which I didn't

Some illusions had to die After the basic hardscape elements were completed, and water and electric were in, I began planting in earnest, but I had a lot to learn. I have hundreds of plant tags and can't even estimate how many of those plants were unsuccessful. At the beginning, I had an unrealistic picture of what I wanted my garden to look like, and some illusions had to die: that it would happen fast, that plants would stay where I put them, that they would thrive if I pro

In February of 2021, a record-breaking winter storm brought 5 days of below freezing weather to Texas. I had never experienced anything like it before. I did my best to cover or bring in what I could. For everything else, it was a test of hardiness. Just a few months before, I had planted a Little Gem Magnolia, two Loquats, and two Pineapple Guavas. I was hopeful, but the new plantings hadn’t had much time to establish. When the winter siege ended, I uncovered my beloved plan

June 2021 The cool wet weather we had through May has been a gardener’s dream—green lushness and flowers all around are marvelous. But enough is enough. It’s time for some sunshine, because plants, and people, need that too. I won’t plant anything else until next Fall because summer heat is brutal on young plants. Then I’ll see how everything has filled in and decide where I can tuck in something else. And I already have a plant-in-waiting to tuck in somewhere that was an une

A Tale of Earliest Tree Planting in the Garden It was a blank slate: a bare back yard waiting for its destiny. Facing south, the full Texas sun moved across the big sky all day long. One fairly small Cedar Elm that might’ve shaded a squirrel or two and a half-dead Chinkapin Oak were the only trees. Then came the patio. The patio was a big slab of concrete that absorbed heat. The pergola with open slats didn’t help at all. I needed shade, and it couldn’t come fast enough. The