About Me
Let's Get Acquainted
I'm Meri, a Texas transplant, and like many, I also started my gardening hobby as an average Home Depot visiting gardener. I'd buy non-native tropical plants that would not survive in the poor native soil in our yard. Through trial and error, I discovered tough native plants that would come back the next year. I started with Turk's cap and some native sages and expanded the garden by visiting local master-gardener events and a few local nurseries that specialize in native plants.
Another game-changer was understanding that a pack of seeds can be a powerful tool in increasing the plant mass and diversity. Lemon bee balm, Indian blanketflower, Black-eyed Susan, Purple coneflower, and Lanceleaf coreopsis easily take over from seed in North Texas. I continued with adding some native grasses and Maximillian sunflowers and asters from roots and they quickly spread too.
And with native plants the pollinators have appeared: butterflies, bumblebees, honeybees, small native bees, and other beneficial critters. Following and contributing to the ecosystem adds more purpose to gardening, and I hope this blog can be a source for inspiration. It is a journey, as always, but taking steps is both fun and rewarding.