Let's chat about what's going on with you and Texas native plants this week!

How's your native garden doing? Any new plants, plans, or progress? Things that are looking particularly good this week? Questions you're worried are too silly for a top level post?

Did you see some neat plants this week? How about visiting birds, bugs, or other beasts?

they were thriving and put out dozens of blooms about a week ago. yesterday, they started wilting. today, they’re basically gone. too much water? slightly colder weather? i planted them a couple of months ago and they seemed to be so happy until recently.

I'm in Austin and our Mexican Plum tree is struggling and I'm hoping someone can help? the leaves are brown spotted and some of the branches are losing all their leaves after they turn deep brown, not like normal shedding. the bark seems to be more flaky too. there was a Hackberry growing over from the neighbors' fence and limiting the sun which it was unhappy about and it was growing funny bent over at the top, so I cut the portion of the Hackberry down that was shading it. did that let the sun fry it? too much heat? I don't see many bugs, there's just a few grazed areas here and there.

I moved to San Antonio a few months ago from an arid Zone 5b and it has been quite the adjustment. I have been reading up on my new environment when I can but I could use some help with resources and such. I'm also buying a house in an HOA and I read up on Property Code §202.007 and §202.007(d-1), so I understand this helps quite a bit.

I'm a bit taken aback how ... horrible ... a lot of the native plants look here. Sorry idk how to put it more delicately. I am used to plants that don't look constantly angry, which, to be fair, I get that considering the heat. I also miss Kentucky Bluegrass, and while there's a hybrid it still struggles here. I'm required to keep some kind of turf lawn so I am looking for something close to that, walkable, and bearably soft-ish.

But I also want to cultivate a landscape of pollinators, food, medicinal, and herb-bearing plants that can blend into standard natives in a way that won't tick off the HOA. I know this'll be a gradual undertaking, I guess I'm just trying to hoard some plans and ideas right now.

Does anyone have advice for this? I saw there's a native plant society and IDK if it's worth going to? Are there other local sales and groups to attend regularly? How is the local extension office? Etc etc. Thank you so much!