American Beautyberry: A Texas Native Whose Purple Fall Fruit Can Feed Birds
Few shrubs put on a show like American beautyberry in fall. Its branches fill with clusters of bright purple berries that birds may come to…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1, 2026
Category
Texas Gardening
481 Articles
Texas Gardening
The Texas Native Plant Nurseries Worth a Fall Road Trip While Water Restrictions Keep Tightening
Fall is the best time of year to plant in Texas, and smart gardeners know it. Cooler air…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1
Texas Gardening
Can Crossvine Shade a West Wall? What Central Texas Homeowners Should Know Before Planting
A west-facing wall in Central Texas can feel like an oven by late afternoon. Crossvine, a tough native…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1
Texas Gardening
Evergreen Sumac: A Texas Native Evergreen Shrub Worth Calling Nurseries About
Most Central Texas yards have a spot where a tough, leafy shrub could earn its keep all year.…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1
Texas Gardening
Why Texans Plant Coral Honeysuckle on a Trellis for Hummingbirds
A bare fence can do more than hold up a property line. Coral honeysuckle is a twining vine…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1
Texas Gardening
When Texas Spiny Lizards Start Sunning on Your Central Texas Woodpile, Your Yard Is Doing Something Right
A rough-scaled lizard stretched out in the afternoon sun is hard to ignore. In Central Texas, that visitor…
By Ella Brown T · Oct 1
Texas Gardening
Supporting Texas Spiny Lizard Habitat in Central Texas: Wildlife-Friendly Yards, Not Proven Scorpion Control
Texas spiny lizards are common, eye-catching residents of Central Texas yards, and plenty of people hope they double…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
Could a Barn Owl Box Help With Rodents in Central Texas?
Barn owls hunt quietly at night, and rodents are a big part of their menu. That makes a…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
The Fuzzy White Caterpillar in Your Texas Yard This Fall That Might Be a Puss Caterpillar
A soft, fuzzy caterpillar looks like something a kid would love to pet. In Texas, though, some fuzzy…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
Citronella-Scented Geranium: The Texas Patio “Mosquito Plant” Explained
Walk into a Texas garden center in spring and you may see a leafy pot labeled “mosquito plant.”…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
Does a Rosemary Plant by the Back Door Keep Rats and Roaches Out? What Texas Homeowners Should Know
A popular claim says one tough plant by the back door can keep rats and roaches away. Texas…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
A Native Texas Sotol for the Porch Corner: Sculptural Form, Lower Water Needs After Establishment
Some porch corners look flat no matter how many pots you add. Texas sotol (Dasylirion texanum) is a…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 30
Texas Gardening
Where Scorpions May Hide in Your Central Texas Yard and How to Check Safely
Central Texas yards are full of cozy spots where a scorpion could tuck away for the day. Rocks,…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
Agarita in Your Central Texas Yard: Wildlife Cover Now, Scorpion Control Separately
Agarita is a tough Texas native shrub with prickly leaves that stay green all year. Roadrunners are famous…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
More Dragonflies Over Your Central Texas Yard Means Fewer Mosquitoes Biting on the Patio
Few backyard visitors are as fun to watch as a dragonfly zipping over a Texas patio at dusk.…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
Wolf Spiders in Your Central Texas Garage: What They Eat and What Actually Keeps Roaches Out
That big, fast, hairy spider near your garage door can look alarming, but it is probably just hunting.…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
What Do Texas Spiny Lizards Eat, and Do They Help Control Pests?
That rough-scaled lizard doing push-ups on your fence is a Texas spiny lizard, and plenty of Central Texas…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
Why Central Texas Yards Are Seeing More Copperheads Near the Porch This Fall
You lift a pile of wet leaves by the porch and spot a banded snake the color of…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 29
Texas Gardening
Your Central Texas Pepper Flowers Keep Dropping in Heat, and These Steps Can Help New Fruit Set After the Heat Breaks
Pepper plants across Central Texas can look perfectly healthy while quietly dropping every flower they produce during a…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
Why Armadillos Keep Choosing the Same Texas Yard Night After Night
If you have noticed fresh shallow pits scattered across your lawn or garden beds several mornings in a…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
Your Texas Fig Tree Gives You Another Weak Summer Crop When You Skip This Fall Step
Many Texas backyard fig growers walk outside after a rough winter and wonder why their tree barely produced…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
Armadillos Keep Tearing Up Texas Yards for the Same Reason They Keep Coming Back
If you have stepped outside to find a patch of lawn looking like something went digging through it…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
This invasive ant is taking over Texas yards faster than fire ants for a reason
A small reddish-brown ant has been turning up in Texas yards and homes in numbers that can seem…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
Bats Start Working Your Central Texas Yard All Night Once You Hang This Kind of House
Hanging a bat house in your Central Texas yard is a genuinely worthwhile project for local wildlife, but…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 28
Texas Gardening
Should You Cut Crepe Myrtle Seed Pods Off in Central Texas or just leave them alone?
Every fall, Central Texas yards fill up with crape myrtles holding clusters of small, round seed pods long…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
Texas gardeners are pulling tired lantana for a native that feeds far more life
Plenty of Texas gardeners have looked at a sprawling lantana and wondered whether something better could grow in…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
Gregg’s Mistflower: A Texas Native Late-Season Nectar Plant for Monarchs and Butterflies
Every fall, adult monarch butterflies move through Texas on their way south, and they need nectar to fuel…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
Your Texas St. Augustine comes back faster after chinch bugs when you do this first
Chinch bugs can turn a healthy St. Augustine lawn into a patchwork of brown, crispy grass before most…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
What to plant in a Texas yard if you want owls hunting rats after dark
Owls do not show up just because a yard has one big tree. They need safe places to…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
The Texas Spider Homeowners Mistake for Trouble Is Killing Roaches Indoors
Spotting a large, fast-moving spider inside your Texas home can send anyone scrambling for a shoe. Before you…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 27
Texas Gardening
The Texas Yard Plant That May Help With Rats – And What Actually Works
A viral claim has been circulating among Texas homeowners: plant one specific herb in your yard and rats…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
Why More Native Toads Around Your Texas Yard May Signal Natural Grasshopper Pressure
Spotting a toad tucked under a garden pot or hopping across the patio at dusk is one of…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
The Texas Vine That Covers a Fence Fast Without Turning Into a Yard Problem
Finding a vine that covers a fence quickly without taking over your whole yard sounds like a simple…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
What Your Texas Plumeria Needs Done Before Triple-Digit Heat Slows It Down
Plumeria thrives on Texas warmth and sunshine, but when brutal heat teams up with dry soil, hot wind,…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
Why a possum keeps coming back to your Texas yard at night
If you keep spotting a possum in your backyard after dark, you are not alone, and there is…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
The Native Texas Salvia That Keeps a Central Texas Border Colorful Through Heat and Drought
When a Central Texas flower bed starts looking tired by midsummer, the problem is often the plant, not…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 26
Texas Gardening
Texas hornworms strip fall tomato leaves fast, and their black droppings give them away
Walk out to your tomato patch one morning and you might find whole branches stripped bare, with dark…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
Your Central Texas lettuce turns bitter fast when warm nights keep the leaves stressed
Fall lettuce in Central Texas can go from tender to harsh-tasting faster than most gardeners expect, and lingering…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
Texas gulf muhly turns your yard into a better firefly habitat with almost no upkeep
Gulf muhly is a native Texas grass that puts on a stunning cloud of purple-red blooms every fall,…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
How Central Texas Gardeners Set Up Lantana Now for Bigger Bloom Flushes Next Summer
Lantana is one of the toughest flowering plants Central Texas gardeners can grow, but even heat-proof plants perform…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
Your Central Texas Fig Tree Holds More Fruit Through Heat When You Do This First
Central Texas summers can push fig trees to their limits, and when the heat really sets in, fruit…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
Why More Great Horned Owls Around Your Texas Yard Usually Means Rodents Moved In
Spotting a Great Horned Owl perched in your backyard live oak is one of those Texas moments that…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 25
Texas Gardening
Texas scorpions are showing up in more yards this year for a reason
Scorpions turning up near your back door or tucked under a garden stone can catch any homeowner off…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
When green anoles take over your Central Texas yard, your habitat is working
Spotting a green anole on your fence post or clinging to a shrub is one of those small…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
A Texas Rain Lily That Can Brighten Beds After Fall Rains
By late summer, most Texas flower beds look like they’ve given up. The heat has beaten back the…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
The Native Texas Plants Cardinals Actually Need in Fall More Than a Feeder
A feeder can bring cardinals close, but it cannot do everything they need in a Texas fall. As…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
The Texas wildflower quietly returning to roadsides is finally earning a place in home gardens
Every spring, stretches of Texas highway turn vivid blue with blooming bluebonnets, and plenty of homeowners wonder whether…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
Why Smart Central Texas Gardeners Want Roadrunners Hunting Their Yard Every Day
Spotting a Greater Roadrunner darting through your Central Texas yard is one of those moments that makes you…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 24
Texas Gardening
Mexican Oregano on Your Central Texas Patio: Real Garden Benefits and an Honest Roach-Control Plan
Mexican oregano is one of those patio plants that earns its space through looks, fragrance, and toughness rather…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 23
Texas Gardening
Your Central Texas basil leaves turn black and limp fast once cool nights hit
Fall nights in Central Texas can sneak up on a basil patch fast, and gardeners who walk outside…
By Ella Brown T · Sep 23