https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog daily 0.75 2026-03-22 https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/oak-tree-versus-insidious-clay monthly 0.5 2026-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/118d2049-ed4f-42d6-92c9-c148f2a2e4df/crackedclaysoil.jpg Blog - The Oak Tree Versus the Insidious Clay - [Image: cracked black clay soil, just a little dry, not even in drought] Clay soil has a life of its own. It expands and contracts depending on available moisture. These effects become very obvious during drought; the bare soil cracks, sometimes deep into the ground if the drought lasts for awhile. That is the contraction phase at work. Then when the rains finally come, the soil expands again, and the cracks, no matter how deep, disappear. This constant movement of the ground is a major issue for any flat concrete structure on the ground, notably slab home foundations. In the clay sections of Central Texas, home foundations, as well as sidewalks and driveways suffer from this continual expansion and contraction. It's hard to find a driveway in my neighborhood that doesn't have large cracks in it. (On a lighter note, in my driveway it gives my bluebonnets a great place to grow.) https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/recognizing-the-escarpment-live-oak monthly 0.5 2026-03-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/2a987380-88c1-4ef5-ad64-db6e293d2ab6/liveoak.jpg Blog - Recognizing the Escarpment Live Oak - [Picture: Escarpment or Texas live oak tree near my home] Later, however, I discovered that there are actually two main types of live oak in the US, and the one common in Central Texas is not Quercus virginiana, but Quercus fusiformis. Its common name is escarpment live oak, or, get this, Texas live oak. Main range is Central Texas, Edwards Plateau, and the Hill Country, you know, here. (When I was in college, fusiformis was considered a subspecies of virginiana, but later taxonomy improvements elevated it to full species status.) The distinction between the two matters, because Quercus virginiana isn’t well adapted to Central Texas conditions. It prefers moist, well-drained soils and performs poorly in dry, rocky, or caliche soils, which tells you right off that it wouldn’t form a forest here. Quercus fusiformis, on the other hand, handles heat, wind, and drought well, and is even more cold-tolerant than virginiana. It thrives in limestone-based landscapes, that thin, rocky, alkaline soil so common in Central Texas. No wonder Quercus fusiformis dominated the ancient forest that was here. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/epicormic-branches monthly 0.5 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/7f3022de-ef5f-4d74-b70b-e9e5261f67bb/epicormicbranch.jpg Blog - Did You Say Epicormic Branches? - [Picture: Epicormic branch growing from old main branch, distinguished by its smoother bark. Stump of old trunk on the left.] After some further research, I discovered that the new branches on my ash were what are called epicormic branches. Not the same thing as suckers; those actually start from the roots. Epicormic branches may not fully succeed in becoming productive parts of the tree, but with the right circumstances, they can. The tree was on the road to recovery. I pruned away small weak branches, as well as branches growing downward or on the trunk. Left the rest to do their thing. Arborists did a good job cutting away all the deadwood, which included a large main trunk. Over the years, a number of the epicormic branches have grown tall and strong. At least in my case, the epicormic branches saved the tree. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/cleavers monthly 0.5 2025-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/15143fa1-e009-494d-8df2-3dfa64dcb4e7/cleavesburs.jpg Blog - Awash in Cleavers - The seeds of this plant are sticky little balls, with a mechanism similar to velcro. Although this isn't the exact plant that inspired velcro (that was burdock), they work the same. The seeds stick to each other, bunching the stems as they climb into the air. Vast numbers shoot up, groups of stems glommed together, and cover every other plant near them. In someone else's yard or a vacant lot, that's actually an impressive sight - such a small spindly plant making such a fuss. Then they die, fall onto the surroundings and smother whatever is there with a dense mat of dead stems. Cleavers are extremely prolific. When I first tried to control them, I spent several spring seasons filling the garbage can week after week with sticky plant matter. Finally, I learned to identify their winter growth form and began pulling them before they went to seed. Much easier. Still, any time I think I have eliminated them, more will inevitably pop up. What a seed bank! And of course, they very efficiently stick to the fur of cats and squirrels, finding their way back to my yard. That's the whole point of the stickiness, after all. I will never be completely rid of them. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/managing-spiderwort monthly 0.5 2025-12-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/e4300492-e056-4d0a-87b9-b7ad7b4adb67/spiderwort.jpg Blog - Managing Spiderwort - [Picture: Spiderwort in bloom, with tomato cage to repel neighbor’s lawnmower] Aggressive Then it began to spread - over to a crepe myrtle close by, then way over beyond the HVAC unit in a corner by a fence not often visited. Still seemed to be a modest little plant, with nice beautiful flowers. Next it hopped over the fence into the backyard and sprouted up near a red oak seedling. Now this red oak was coming up just a few feet away from the stump of a huge old hackberry that fell on the roof and had to be cut down. The area needed a major tree replacement, and this little red oak was in exactly the right spot. I remembered reading that all plants should be removed within a certain radius of tree seedlings to give them a chance. This spiderwort was too close, so I set about pulling it out. Easier said than done. I kept digging and digging and found this seemingly dainty plant had a rhizome that I would call a tuber. It was huge, reminded me of a sweet potato. I got it all out, and the tree is doing quite well. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/pale-dayflowers monthly 0.5 2025-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/251b75c4-1531-4b73-9394-da951609c2d8/dayflowers.jpg Blog - Pale Dayflowers - Dayflower is one of the winter annuals, germinating in the fall, thriving through the winter, flowering in spring. Oddly, I've never seen many pollinators, although their actions are evident. Each year there have been more and more seeds, leading to more and more plants. The birds love the seeds, especially the white-winged doves. I've often seen flocks of them in a corner of the yard, pecking away. Clearly conditions in my yard suited this plant, and its numbers skyrocketed. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/the-indomitable-wren monthly 0.5 2025-11-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/ccedc6f0-fceb-44e6-b2f8-1fe434e411a6/wren.jpg Blog - The Indomitable Wren - Different Most birds in this area sing during mating season in the spring and summer. Calls are territorial and for seeking mates. The wrens, however, are different. Although they also use their calls for those purposes, wrens sing all year long. Male wrens seem to call to a one another at a distance, using a large repertoire of songs. Countless times, I've heard the repeated call of a nearby wren, then an answering call from a distant wren. I suspect they communicate various things important to birds, like food sources and potential dangers. This explains the need for such a high volume. As with many birds, wrens need to be heard over great distances. Of course, it doesn't take size to make big sounds, so the wrens developed what they needed in their tiny bodies. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/gracklethe-obnoxious-bird-with-a-good-side monthly 0.5 2025-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/d8676fd3-3287-454a-a9ad-b0714f1d8050/grackle.jpg Blog - Grackle—the Obnoxious Bird with a Good Side - Show-Offs with Style I have to admit, though, that male grackles are quite handsome, with their glossy black feathers and striking yellow eyes. They are also entertaining at times. For example, they can imitate the sound of a lightning strike while rapidly fluttering their wings, a mating display meant to impress the ladies. It's amusing to watch them put on such a production when the female in question is so often gathering nesting materials. She's obviously not on the market, having mated already. Then there are the male tribal rituals, where the alpha male will subdue and actually sit on his subordinates to clarify the pecking order. Makes me laugh to think about it. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/is-it-hackberry-sugarberry monthly 0.5 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/6c360eb8-1277-4d91-9fc3-9a32942fa055/hackberrytrees.jpg Blog - Is it Hackberry? Sugarberry? - Foragers often prefer the alternate name: sugarberry. The fruits they produce live up to that name, being full of sugar and nutrition. They are a favorite of squirrels, birds, and many other creatures. Humans have valued these berries in the past, but they must be ground before being eaten; otherwise they’re tough on human teeth. Beyond food, hackberry trees provide excellent shelter. Birds use them for nesting, and damaged trunks can provide cavity nesters a home. As shade trees, they are outstanding. One huge old tree growing in my backyard kept the temperature a full 10 degrees cooler than the ambient air temperature. A little oasis of coolish in those intensely hot Central Texas summers. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/beyond-ladybugs-the-beneficial-insects-that-last monthly 0.5 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/57b988e1-e874-48cc-8450-82d2f0b4a1bf/greenlacewing.png Blog - Beyond Ladybugs: The Beneficial Insects That Last - [Picture: Green lacewing at rest on the wall] So what did stay? Green lacewings. They are also beautiful, with pale green, lacy wings that reflect their name. And they're also effective at pest control. I released lacewings into my yard many years ago. They didn't seem to have a direct effect on the garden that was the target, but they settled into the trees and shrubs and thrived. Before the 2021 Texas Snowmageddon took its toll, the ash tree in my front yard had branches stretching across the driveway. I used to watch swarms of lacewings at night, backlit by a street light, fluttering in and out of the ash tree leaves. Quite a sight. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/doug-tallamy-book monthly 0.5 2026-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/1762013448262-A8VU6NGUFSYI4D1NOCUD/thebook.png Blog - I Found It! - The book stuck with me, but I had borrowed it from the library. So when I wanted to reference it for this blog, I couldn't find it at first. I knew the author was an entomologist, so did some searching. The name Douglas Tallamy sounded familiar, so I looked at a couple of his books - not it, not it... Until it was! Yay! The book is Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. Because Tallamy is an entomologist, a lot of it focuses on insects. After all, who would buy a book called, Let the Insects Live: The Basis of Animal Life Is in Trouble? Still, native plants are central to the message - enough to justify the subtitle. But that was probably the key insight I took from this book - just how vital insects are. They are far more important that we tend to give them credit for, and their decline threatens all animal life on land, including us. We need the insects! And they are indeed in trouble. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/caterpillars-vs-the-bees monthly 0.5 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/25c00125-77db-4e7d-9a94-c4eacd6593aa/passionflowerpeaking.jpg Blog - Caterpillars vs. the Bees - [Picture: one side of the peaking flowers with at least 16 blooms visible] The passionflower vines erupted in blossoms, too. I had never seen so many at one time - over 30 between the two masses of vines. The bees had almost more blooms than they knew what to do with. Along with the other insects, Gulf Fritillary butterflies returned in force, laying eggs on every available leaf and tendril. Soon the caterpillar assault was on. At first I was elated. I had wondered where they went, and was relieved they could rebound so quickly. With the vines being healthy through the drought, there were plenty of leaves to eat. But soon the plants showed stress. Even with all that foliage, the constant munching slowed flowering to a crawl. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/passionflowers-carder-bees monthly 0.5 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/201f90b5-986f-410e-bf18-7e8a04b22f48/passionflower-carderbee.jpg Blog - The Passionflowers and the Bees - [Picture: passionflowers with a wool carder bee, and two buds in the background] The flowers attracted many bees, some tiny, some shiny green, some normal honeybees. But one group of bees really stood out. They seemed way more intelligent that your average honeybee, hovering and darting about like little reconnaisance helicopters, only faster. The honeybees seemed confused by the complicated blossoms, but these bees knew exactly what to do, often wearing a veritable vest of pollen that led me to believe for a time they were two species of bees. It took me a long time to identify these bees. At first I thought they were bumblebees. But no, that didn't fit. Turns out they are European wool carder bees, so called because they scrape hairs from leaves to use in nesting. It was a bit disappointing to find that they are not native. But they are wild, pollinate well, and don't go overboard competing with native species. Wild bees that need help, native or not. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/watching-metamorphosis-in-the-vines monthly 0.5 2025-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/b0efee9c-d8ba-4dcc-9be5-64c569abb785/gulffritillarydrying.jpg Blog - Watching Metamorphosis in the Vines - [Picture: Gulf Fritillary butterfly drying out after emerging from the chrysalis it hangs from.] The caterpillars the wasps and wrens don't eat will go on a trek once they're big enough, slowly crawling along to find the right spot to make a chrysalis. It can be from the trellis, from the roof, in the vines. Once found, they attach one end, hang down, then shed their spiky outer coat. I sometimes find a chrysalis by first spotting this caterpillar coat debris on the ground. The finished chrysalis looks much like a dead leaf. And to my amazement, I found they are conscious in this phase! If you barely touch them, they move. I once found one vigorously shaking back and forth. Looked it up to find they can do this when they perceive a predator threat. How in the world can something be aware when it's just a bunch of goo? I guess if slime molds can do it, it's not so strange for caterpillars. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/my-very-own-butterfly-magnet monthly 0.5 2025-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/41574bb2-3640-41fc-9f3a-427554138c5f/gulffritillarycaterpillars.jpg Blog - My Very Own Butterfly Magnet - [Picture: caterpillars of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. Notice the chewed leaves.] But the butterflies can see and smell the leaves, and the plant gives them just what they want and need. This is the larval host plant for Gulf Fritillary butterflies, a butterfly that's just about as big and colorful as a Monarch. They seem to like these modest little passionflowers better than the big showy ones. Several of those grow in the neighborhood, yet I’ve never seen as many caterpillars on them as on my native vines. An interesting thing about these caterpillars is their coloration. They are red with black spikes which should indicate poison and scare predators away. But often wrens aren't fooled. One year, I noticed a wren calling from the front yard several days in a row. Then for several more days, the vines were visited by various wren families. Kept the caterpillars a little bit in check. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/nurturing-butterflies monthly 0.5 2025-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/b8a7d314-e7bc-44f1-ad9f-724c3425cae3/swallowtaillantana.jpg Blog - Nurturing Butterflies - [Picture: Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly] Of course, if you’re not keen on seeing lots of holes in your plants' leaves, this may not sound appealing. That's where balance comes in. Sacrificing a few leaves for constant butterfly companionship isn't really so bad, as long as they don't go overboard. And if they like living in trees, you've got the best of both worlds - butterflies without those pesky holes staring you in the face. Some butterflies are generalists and can thrive on the leaves of a number of different plant species. Eastern tiger swallowtails are generalists, and among the trees they can use are ashes. My neighborhood is full of ash trees, with a big one in my front yard. So the larval host plant issue is painless - I don't even see the damage to the leaves and get to watch these spectacular butterflies. (The much maligned hackberry tree is also a larval host plant for two kinds of butterflies.) https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/bermuda-grass monthly 0.5 2025-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/01b7795f-1798-491f-82f7-703c7dda0d87/bermudadrought.jpg Blog - Bermuda Grass - [Picture: Drought stressed Bermuda grass] That toughness, though, makes it a real headache in a rewilded yard, where it has no business being. It spreads through runners, also called stolons, and rhizomes, and the rhizomes can go very deep into the ground. Even professional landscapers have trouble getting rid of it. You can't just sheet mulch it, or spread black plastic on it for awhile and expect it to die. My neighbors did that, and the garden they planted was soon overrun with Bermuda grass. I've heard landscapers say the only way to really kill it is to remove the top 6-8" of soil from the entire yard. Or use poison, and they even mentioned Roundup. Whoa, Roundup???!!! https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/lantana-redux monthly 0.5 2025-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/80addf82-a538-4e61-9153-b6129b51dc6b/lantanaurticoides.jfif Blog - Lantana Redux - [Picture: native Texas lantana urticoides] So I won't pull it out, but I will change the way I manage it. All lantana is somewhat allelopathic, which means parts of the plants put out chemicals that inhibit competing plants. I may have seen this with a stand of primroses that moved in. They were very vigorous for a couple of years, but not so much this last year. They are growing between and among the lantana camara. So I'll try to trim back those lantanas and rake up the leaves. There is a Texas native lantana, Lantana urticoides, the one with orange/yellow blossoms, just like the web references said. I do have some of that and will try to favor it, maybe water and feed it a bit, spread its seeds. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/invasive-vs-aggressive monthly 0.5 2025-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/485b5b1e-9e38-4ee6-8538-0cace5b6f430/rescuegrass.jpg Blog - Invasive vs. Aggressive - [Image: rescuegrass (mostly) - definitely invasive] Rescuegrass, however, is not native to North America. It was brought in from South America for cattle forage and has overwhelmed a lot of land. Definitely invasive. (Invasive does not just apply to plants; it also includes animals. But here I'm addressing the use of the word for plants.) https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/lantana monthly 0.5 2025-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/44d8321b-3ef9-4486-8e44-9d4be8159a36/lantanacurb.jpg Blog - Lantana - Mockingbirds planted my lantanas. The yard is full of them, many colors: pink/yellow, orange/yellow, yellow. A couple of years after the shrubs began to come up, some mockingbirds nested nearby, and their fledglings regularly visited the yard in groups to eat the berries. (The berries are toxic to mammals, including humans, cats and dogs, however.) Many sites list the orange/yellow as native, but the pink/yellow are the ones I've seen growing wild in Central Texas since I was a child. Also, I've read recommendations that list lantana as a summer bloomer. The ones in my yard are not so limited. These things would bloom all year round with the right conditions. The only thing that stops them blooming is a drought or a killing freeze. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/dealing-with-dead-leaves monthly 0.5 2025-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/6515f3d6-d543-44fb-9cbf-5e267c7a3352/deadleaves.jpg Blog - Dealing with Dead Tree Stuff - The best fertilizer for trees are their own dead leaves, and the layers of mulch and compost they turn into. There's a movement for letting leaves remain on the lawn, and I heartily agree. Nothing better than a rich forest floor. It amazes me when people bag up these wonderful assets and let the city remove them. At least in my city they are composted. But I can't understand how the bare earth left behind looks better than the leaves did. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/dealing-with-dead-yard-stuff monthly 0.5 2025-10-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/50ea0993-86ab-4ce4-9159-0d0d7b1e254a/lantanadead.png Blog - Dealing with Dead Yard Stuff - Then there's chop and drop. The post I mentioned was the first time I had heard the term, but now whole pages of links appear on a Google search. The concept is simple - simply leave what you prune on the ground. The best fertilizer for a plant is its own dead matter. So if I cut off dead lantana stalks, I drop the chopped up stalks under the plant. (It's also much easier than getting them all into the city compost cart.) When I prune a shrub, I leave the cut branches underneath to feed the roots. My boxwoods seem much healthier after years of this, even sailing through droughts with little to no watering. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/bluebonnets-challenges-and-solutions monthly 0.5 2025-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/a504bf8a-b820-41bd-bfa4-22837dd3d4cb/seedlings.jpg Blog - Bluebonnets: Challenges and Solutions - Bluebonnets’ low winter growing habit allows for a tricky way to deal with the grass. I no longer allow lawnmowers in my yard, but when I did, I found that a mower set high enough will keep the grass down and not harm the bluebonnets. Anyone trying this would have to be very careful to note when the plants start growing upwards in February or so (exact time varies from year to year depending on the weather). No more lawnmower at that point, or you'll destroy the bluebonnets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/939fd815-08e4-4717-a34a-58603cceb2cc/bluebonnetsdriveway.jpg Blog - Bluebonnets: Challenges and Solutions - Last year, with the bluebonnet bed so big, and me having some health challenges, I went for a more drastic solution. I bought a monocot herbicide. It only kills grasses, and the main threat to the bluebonnets were the Bermuda grass and rescuegrass. I applied it before the rescuegrass seeded, and slowly but surely, it all died. (Bermuda grass not so much.) It was not soon enough to help the bluebonnets much, but it cleared the way for the upcoming sunflowers. I still weeded the edge and had nice rows of bluebonnets on either side of the driveway to complement the ones in the driveway cracks. I'll try again earlier next year and hope to have an even larger plot of bluebonnets. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/bluebonnets-seeds monthly 0.5 2025-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/7721e1b1-2261-4d54-86b8-5e5970604695/bluebonnetseeds.jpg Blog - Bluebonnets: Seeds - [Pictured: bluebonnet seeds. Someone told me they look like small pebbles, and I do have to be careful not to pick up loose gravel from the driveway when I’m collecting them.] Many wild plants, including bluebonnets, develop a seed bank when they've been in an area for awhile. The seeds don't all germinate in any given year, leaving seeds for following years even if a bad year happens. That makes it easier for the gardener to maintain a self-seeding plot of flowers, but harder to get rid of invasives, like grasses, that have left a seed bank. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/bluebonnets-getting-started monthly 0.5 2025-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/e6cd641e-73ab-4c74-95f4-72c84da0a3c0/bluebonnetsingle.jpg Blog - Bluebonnets: Getting Started - [Note: in the picture this flower is only half open. A new bud appears behind it in the upper left corner, with another over the driveway in the upper right.] My bluebonnets came from a nearby vacant lot. The lot had been for sale since we moved into the neighborhood in 2001. But I knew my nearby bluebonnet field would sooner or later be destroyed by development. Sure enough, a huge apartment building now stands where the bluebonnet field used to be. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/two-spring-seasons monthly 0.5 2025-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/1762204452382-JVGQ9S1FI706I6O5IAOI/seedlingsoct.jpg Blog - Two Spring Seasons - [Picture: Bluebonnet and rescuegrass seedlings in October, pushing up through the dead leaves] Some plants, however, are winter plants (botanical designation is winter annuals), and their season of new growth is in the fall - like a second spring, if you know where to look. Among these plants are bluebonnets, larkspur, dayflower, winter grasses, and cleavers. Sometimes my yard is at its greenest in the fall and early winter. September - November is not as showy as March - May. Nothing much will be blooming. One of the reasons that March - May is so full of flowers is because the winter plants are finally flowering, and the spring flowers overlap. In the fall, the trees may be dropping their leaves, but numerous sprouts abound on the ground below. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/sidewalk-seeds monthly 0.5 2025-09-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/2fd1f60b-0083-4eba-b78d-304248c6109c/cosmos.jpg Blog - Sidewalk Seeds - Some of the seeds I picked up: Bluebonnets, Mexican petunia, Cosmos (pictured), Larkspur. Only the Mexican petunia didn't germinate. Later, some petunias volunteered in the corner of the yard and have been spreading on their own. Maybe they needed some help from a bird's digestive system. Thank you, birds! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/e5beed82-96c7-4d5a-bb4f-439210638702/cosmos-seeds.jpg Blog - Sidewalk Seeds - Cosmos seeds Cosmos seeds https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/sunflowers-end-season monthly 0.5 2025-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/1591683d-f0ca-4b7d-863f-f4811b3abb68/birdeatenseedhead.jpg Blog - Sunflowers: End of Season - So if you want to feed the birds, leave your dried sunflower stalks up. Want to know if birds are eating the seeds, even if you don't see them? Look for seed heads with a range of missing seeds, like in this image. .Birds are already, in late August, eating the seeds in my front yard. I haven't seen them, but the seed heads don't lie. If you must remove the stalks before the birds are done, you can cut off the seed heads and hang them from a nearby tree. It seems birds won't eat them on the ground. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/sunflowers monthly 0.5 2025-09-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/d1b02134-2099-42b8-a67f-6487f14a0f67/Sunflower2.jpg Blog - Sunflowers - The nemesis of sunflowers is grass. Grasses grow too tall too fast, and the sunflower seedlings don't have a chance to find the sun. Managing the grasses does takes some weeding,. I have a long-running battle with rescue grass so the sunflowers can get a start. But that's really it. All I do is make sure the seedlings can find the sun, then leave them to take care of themselves. I rarely water them. They have a great trick of using dew. It collects on their stems and trickles down to the roots. So even without rain, if there's humidity and dew, they do fine. True to their name, sunflowers require a lot of sun. If your flowers are volunteers, they’ll take care of that themselves. The ones with sun will flourish, the ones in shade not so much. If you are planting, be sure to take available sun into account. Sunflowers are a great beginner plant for rewilding. They appeal to just about all pollinators, including bees and butterflies. I've even seen hummingbirds at my sunflowers. Many small birds feast on the seeds. It's the only time I get to see goldfinches in my yard. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/230897bd-8e76-45a8-9e06-f7c15a95fa8b/sunflowerseedlings1.jpg Blog - Sunflowers - Tip: If you use a lawnmower or string trimmer in your yard, you'll need to learn to recognize the seedlings and be sure not to cut them down. Give those blooms a chance to get started, and they will do the rest. https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/how-to-start-rewilding monthly 0.5 2025-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/b0b933b1-d7f4-4c05-b39d-970d454feefd/treeseedlings.jpg Blog - Ways to Start Rewilding Your Yard - Make it stand out Learn to recognize tree seedlings. If you have an open lawn space with tree seedlings coming up, mow around them. Free trees! https://www.rewildingmyyard.life/blog/how-started-rewilding monthly 0.5 2025-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/689cf1ed570d5740871c156f/6ff54b49-9354-4aa7-94d7-b23b6b462dbe/whitemorninggl.jpg Blog - How I Began Rewilding - After that it just evolved. I gained a respect for insects, learned about various groundcovers, and researched the new things living around me. 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