I started pulling the silver leaf nightshades from my lawn over the last 6 months or so, mostly because I like to walk outside barefoot. Recently, I’ve started pulling out more things, like Carolina Snailseed and a shallow grass (not sure of the variety) in the walking areas to let more of the horseherb grow (my favorite to walk on). I’m doing my best to plant natives around the edge, but I’m wondering if I’m doing more damage to my little yard’s ecosystem by getting rid of these things in large portions?

We’ve had orbweavers visit this year, and have regular skink, Texas spiny lizards, and anole visitors. I don’t want to push friends away! Should I just focus on adding, instead of taking away?

So here’s what happened…. I was mowing my lawn this weekend. First time since the beginning of summer.

When I got to the back corner of my yard, I must have agitated a bee hive of some sort. The bees stung me a couple of times.

What kind of bee are they? Is this a honey bee or a yellow jacket? (Apologies for the potato quality photo)

The bees seem to have made a hive inside of the Austin Energy Electrical gear that is on my property.

Whose responsibility is it to move the bees? Me the property owner? Or Austin Energy the equipment owner?

I am in Austin TX, and I have 3 Mulberry trees in my yard. 2 are fruiting (black small, and black long), and 1 is non-fruiting. All are mature trees(and almost 30 feet away from the foundation of the house).

This winter I plan to prune them just like every year, but I was wondering if I can graft the fruiting tree branches on the non-fruiting one?
Is yes, what is the best time to do that, and is there a specific technique I need to follow?

Thanks in advance!

I'd like to get into this, but there's a LOT of different options and most of them apparently don't work. The worm one looks like it might be an option, but again -- analysis paralysis. Anyone have opinions here?

Friends! What happened to this baby? I have a 2 year old Asclepias texana that is host to 4 cats currently. I check this morning to find one of them black and shriveled. Never use pesticides! I planted more milkweed but haven’t transferred them yet.

So I want to do a revamp of the area between the city sidewalk and the entrance to my parking lot. But I know there is a lot going on in the ground up there. On one side is probably a water line. On the other side there are some buried cables. I just don’t want to damage anything.

Do I need to reach out to the city for them to mark what is under the ground? Someone told me they do that. I also want to plant natives bc I don’t have a fancy irrigation system up there.

My commercial neighbor has things planted in that area and also has things planted between the curb and the sidewalk, but I am sure it was all a part of their site plan and they used professional landscape architects and landscape companies to do the work. I don’t have that kind of budget. But obviously you can plant there.

I have been thinking of maybe hiring someone to do the logistics and to lay the beds for me and then do the actual planting myself.

Any insights, thoughts and ideas welcome.

Hello all. I planted two Texas sage a month ago. Clearly some transplant shock. The soil is moderately moist still after watering around a week ago. Do we think it needs more water or is she overwatered??? I’ve been holding out for the rain. I also have a history of overwatering and not sure if I am overcorrecting by leaving them alone. Plz tell me what to do :)

This little cabbage seedlings was beautiful yesterday! I found it like this today. I had a cover over the bed, so I don't think it was an animal. Any insight fellow gardeners?

Which native plants held up well for you through this year’s 100-degree heat? I have a spot that gets intense afternoon sun, and my zexmenia and rockrose got crisped this year. Planning to add some native plants to that spot.

Hey all, it’s sort of a bucket list thing for me to earn my master gardeners certification. Anyone here going through it? I’m kind of kicking myself for not doing it when they had a remote option. These days I can’t tell if it happens every year, and it hasn’t always been possible for me to schedule around work and kids. This year almost worked for me but I couldn’t make two of the workshop dates.

It also sounds like there’s an interview component to it, aside from the courses and projects. What are they looking to weed out? Appreciate any seeds of info 😆

Flowers I picked for this art: Texas bluebonnet, Indian blanket, Indian paintbrush, Pink evening primrose, winecup flower (Callirhoe involucrata), and White prickly poppy.

Thought to share with the Austin people. Hope you like it!

I plan on killing the bermuda grass in my backyard by sheet mulching and replacing it with buffalo grass/habiturf. So, I need some mulch to cover the cardboard and read that its best to use fine/light mulch like leaves instead of mulch with something "heavy" like wood chips. I know that Austin provides free mulch but the posts I've seen looks like the mulch would be to heavy for my case.

So, anyway to get lots of leaf yard waste? I'm located in North Austin but I'll drive to wherever I need to.

Does anyone in / near Austin grow dahlias and do yall have any tubers available for sale or purchase? I’m really interested especially in cream / pink / peach colors!

I planted a chinquapin oak tree last year when it was about 1 foot tall, but I recently realized it might be too close to the underground utility lines. The tree is now about 2 feet tall, and the red(electric) utility flags are roughly 1 foot away from it.

I suspect I may need to transplant it, but what would be a safe distance to plant it from the underground utility lines? Would 5 feet be sufficient?

Also, do you have any tips for transplanting the tree while minimizing damage to its roots and helping it establish successfully in its new location?

These guys were growing strong, but now I’m finding this on a few of the fruits, and others are aborting. It looks like some kind of amber sticky substance and white scaling, and it is deforming the squash where it’s appearing.

The other thread reminded me: Check your local HEBs (at least the ones with decent garden centers) to see if they are clearancing their citrus trees. At the couple local to me, they've been marked down from $35 or higher to $20. Most have been your pretty basic mix of Persian limes and Meyer's lemons and whatnot, but some HEBs seem to intermittently get a few interesting/rare varieties mixed in. I recently picked up both a Calamansi lime and a Vanilla/Mango Orange (Vaniglia Sanguigno), neither of which are easy to find. Worth taking a look.

Before I head out to scour all of my local HEBs... has anyone spotted any of these for sale? If so, which location(s)?

• Texas Kidneywood
• American Beautyberry
• Frostweed
• Cedar Sage
• Lyrelear Sage

Wanting to plant garlic in my fall garden this year. Do any nurseries sell bulbs or can I only purchase online? 🙃

I’m considering doing an insane thing tomorrow and driving to New Braunfels to shop at Native American Seed to save $8 on shipping 😂 I need a couple 1lb bags before it rains this week that aren’t sold at their local retail partners!!

If I go through with willingly driving on 35 for no real reason, does anyone else need anything to make the trip less crazy lol I live by the domain so pickups would be up here.

Have you gone to their store? Is it worth the trip?

In case you missed it, I did compare all of their wildflower mixes last here in a google sheet y’all can see HERE and the best combo you can do for variety is the Butterfly Retreat + Native Trail Mix.

Likely squirrels. 😡

Look what I found!

Is this going to stunt the growth of my Mexican Sycamore? The deer only got about 1/3rd around the trunk. I honestly thought the tree was big enough that they wouldn’t do this- at what point are my trees safe? I planted this 2.5 years ago and it is already providing me with great shade and is probably 20 feet tall. I’m so upset.

Any tips for a first timer? We are building a 140 sq foot enclosure that’s predator proof & they will stay in at all times. Do you have any advice on where to get healthy chickens? Or which breeds you prefer? Preferably we would love to get great egg layers but I’d love to have sweet chickens (that may not lay as many eggs) too. Also if you build your coop please share a pic if you can 🙂