Turk’s Cap Along a Central Texas Fence Can Offer Hummingbirds Fall Nectar
A fence line in Central Texas takes a beating from sun, heat, and dry spells. Turk’s cap is a native shrub with bright red flowers…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10, 2026
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Ella Brown T
1,562 Articles
Texas Gardening
Gulf Muhly Goes Brown After Its Fall Bloom in Texas, and Here’s When to Cut It Back
Those pink clouds of Gulf muhly in October are hard to beat, so it can be a letdown…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10
Texas Gardening
The Texas Shrubs You Can Plant Right Next to Your House Without Cracking the Foundation
Texas clay soil swells when it rains and shrinks hard during dry spells, and thirsty roots near a…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10
Texas Gardening
What to Do With All Those Acorns Piling Up on Your Central Texas Lawn This Fall
Step outside after a fall breeze and you might hear acorns pinging off the driveway and crunching under…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10
Texas Gardening
Your Texas Rose Bushes Don’t Need a Hard Cut This Fall in Central Texas, and Here’s What to Do Instead
Fall feels like the right time to tidy up the garden, and rose bushes often get the first…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10
Texas Gardening
What to Do When Your Texas Shrub Blackens After a Freeze Before You Cut
A hard freeze can turn a lush Texas shrub into a sad tangle of dark, limp stems overnight.…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 10
Texas Gardening
Cedar Waxwings Stripping Your Central Texas Yaupon This Winter Are Getting a Meal, Not Doing Your Hedge a Favor
A flock of sleek, masked birds can land in a yaupon and empty it of red berries in…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
Can a Rosemary Pot by Your Central Texas Back Door Keep Mosquitoes and Flies Out?
A pot of rosemary by the back door looks great and smells even better. Many Texas gardeners hope…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
Your Texas Fig Tree Needs These Simple Steps Before the First Hard Freeze Hits
Fig trees love Texas heat, but one hard freeze can knock them back to the ground overnight. The…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
Plant Inland Sea Oats Under Your Central Texas Trees and Juncos Will Feed There All Winter
Bare dirt under a big Texas tree is a tough spot to fill. Inland sea oats, a native…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
The Nighttime Visitor Central Texas Homeowners Chase Off That’s Actually Protecting Their Yard
Wake up to fresh holes in the lawn, and you start wondering who was out there in the…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
What Your Texas Crape Myrtles Actually Need Before Winter, and the Fall Chore That Hurts Them
Every fall, Texas neighborhoods fill with the sound of loppers chopping crape myrtles down to ugly stumps. Many…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 9
Texas Gardening
Black, Mushy Lantana After a Texas Freeze Is Not Necessarily Dead, So Wait Before You Cut
Your lantana looked great last fall, and now it is a pile of black, droopy leaves. That sight…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
Agarita Along a Central Texas Fence Line Can Add Evergreen Cover for Birds
A bare fence line in Central Texas can look empty all winter, and so can the birds’ options…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
Plant Frostweed in Your Central Texas Yard and Look for Ice Ribbons When Conditions Align
Frostweed is a tall Texas native that blooms in fall and gives migrating monarchs a place to sip…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
Those Brown Patches Spreading Across Your Texas Lawn This Fall Might Be Armyworms, Here’s How to Stop Them
A brown patch that grows overnight can make any Texas homeowner nervous. In fall, one possible cause is…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
Who Pays When Your Neighbor’s Tree Crashes Into Your Texas Yard After a Storm
A winter ice storm rolls through, and the next morning a huge limb from next door is lying…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
The Edible Plants Texans Are Lining Their Driveway Fences With Instead of Crape Myrtles
Crape myrtles have ruled Texas driveways for decades, but a lot of homeowners are ready for something that…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 8
Texas Gardening
Your Texas Tomato Plants Still Flowering in November Need These Steps Before the First Freeze
Central Texas fall tomato plants are often loaded with green fruit right when the weather starts to turn.…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
Sandhill Crane Calls in November: What They Mean for Central Texas Gardens
A rattling, rolling call drifts down from a gray November sky, and you look up to find nothing…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
Tan Rings in Your Texas St. Augustine This Fall? Possible Large Patch and Practical Next Steps
Walk out on a November morning and you might spot tan or brown circles spreading across your St.…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
Soft, Collapsing Texas Agave? Agave Snout Weevil Is One Possibility to Check
A Texas agave that goes soft at the base can look fine one week and slump the next.…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
Plant Cedar Sage in Bright or Dappled Hill Country Shade This Fall and Hummingbirds May Visit Each Spring
Red flowers glowing under a live oak in early spring can stop you in your tracks. Cedar sage…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
Leave a Hollow Tree Cavity in Your Central Texas Yard and Bluebirds May Nest There
A dead tree with an old woodpecker hole can look like a yard problem. To an Eastern Bluebird,…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 7
Texas Gardening
These Fast-Spreading Perennials Fill Empty Texas Beds by Next Summer Without Waiting Years
Bare dirt in a Texas flower bed is an open invitation for weeds, runoff, and a yard that…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
The Native Texas Plants With Roots Deep Enough to Survive Both Drought and Flash Floods
Texas weather loves extremes, and your yard feels every one of them. One month the ground cracks open…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
What a Raccoon Visiting Your Central Texas Yard Night After Night Is Really Telling You
A masked visitor shows up on your patio camera at 11 p.m., then again the next night, and…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
These Native Shrubs Hold Your Sloping Texas Yard in Place Better Than a Retaining Wall
A heavy Texas thunderstorm can wash a sloped yard right down into the street in a single afternoon.…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
Copperheads and Coral Snakes in Central Texas Leaf Litter: What Gardeners Should Know Before Cleanup
Fall brings rakes, gloves, and a long list of garden beds to clear. Most cleanup days are uneventful,…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
Black-Capped Vireos Breed in Texas Hill Country Shrubland, and Careful Habitat Care Can Help
Each spring, a tiny black-and-white bird with a bold white eye ring comes back to patches of Texas…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 6
Texas Gardening
What Does a Red-Tailed Hawk Sighting Tell Central Texas Homeowners About Rodents?
A big hawk circling above your Central Texas yard on a cold morning is hard to ignore. Many…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
The Fall Container Plants That Make Your Texas Porch Look Fresh Again After Summer Burned It Out
By September, most Texas porches look tired, with crispy petunias and pots full of dry dirt. The good…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
The Golden-Cheeked Warbler Nests Only in Central Texas, and Some Birds Return as Spring Approaches
A tiny songbird with a bright yellow face spends its summers in Central Texas woodlands and nowhere else…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
How to Spot and Check for Possible Chilli Thrips Damage on Texas Peppers and Roses
Some of the most stubborn garden pests are too small to see without help. Chilli thrips are one…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
Red Seeds Under Your Texas Mountain Laurel This Fall Can Be Poisonous If Swallowed
If you have spotted shiny red seeds under a Texas mountain laurel, you may have wondered whether to…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
Could a Dead Snag in Your Central Texas Yard Become Woodpecker Habitat? What to Know Before You Decide
A dead tree standing in the corner of a Central Texas yard can look like a chore waiting…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 5
Texas Gardening
Hang a Cedar Box Under Your Eaves Now and Screech Owls Will Hunt Mice Around Your Central Texas Home All Winter
A small, well-made box might give a screech-owl a place to rest in your Central Texas yard. These…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
Why Fort Worth Botanic Garden Is Worth Planning a Late-Fall Texas Day Trip Around
When the Texas heat finally breaks, a garden walk stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
Why Your Texas Live Oak Is Suddenly Dropping Leaves in November, and When to Worry
You walk outside and find your live oak’s leaves piled across the yard, months before you expected any…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
The Container Plants That Stay Gorgeous on a Sun-Baked Texas Concrete Patio
A concrete patio in a Texas summer can get hot enough to cook the roots of most potted…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
Agarita in Central Texas: Yellow Winter Blooms Now, Tart Red Berries Later
Plenty of Central Texas yards have a dry, sunny corner that nothing seems to like. Agarita, a tough…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
Leave the Brush Pile in Your Central Texas Yard and Box Turtles Will Spend the Winter Safely
A tidy yard can quietly remove the spots where small wildlife spend the cold months. Box turtles are…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 4
Texas Gardening
Possumhaw Holly in Central Texas: A Native Shrub That May Bring Red or Orange Winter Berries
Picture a bare branch in January, dotted with bright red or orange fruit. That is the look possumhaw…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
Coralberry Under Central Texas Trees: A Possible Winter Berry Source for Birds, If Your Site Fits
Winter can leave Central Texas yards looking bare and quiet. Coralberry, a native shrub with clusters of small…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
How to Protect Your Texas Citrus Tree and Reduce Freeze Risk Before a Hard Freeze
A lemon, satsuma, or orange tree can take years to bring into fruit, and one hard freeze can…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
Leaving Healthy Spent Coneflower Heads Standing Can Give Central Texas Birds a Possible Winter Food Source
Those brown, bristly coneflower heads left in the bed after summer are not dead weight. They hold seeds…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
Horned Lizards Return to Central Texas Yards Where Gardeners Stop Killing Harvester Ants
A Texas horned lizard is a flat, spiky little reptile that many Texans remember from childhood and rarely…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
The Flowers Texans Tuck In After the First Cool Fall Rain for Color Through Thanksgiving
That first cool rain of fall feels like a reset button for Texas yards. The soil softens, the…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 3
Texas Gardening
How to Manage Mulch-Bed Edges to Reduce Rat and Tick Habitat in Central Texas
Fall cleanup is the perfect time to look at what is really going on at the edges of…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 2
Texas Gardening
Pecan Weevil in Central Texas: How Some Pecans Get Damaged From the Inside
A pecan can look perfectly fine on the outside and still hold a hungry grub inside. That is…
By Ella Brown T · Nov 2