First Post for a First-time Gardener

Welcome to my blog. I am a first time gardener in 78721, Austin, TX.

The story is that in November of 2015 I moved out of my south Austin condo and into my fiance's house. In my condo I didn't have a yard, but in the house, I do. The front yard was basically bermuda grass with a few large rosemary bushes, a dying red oak (planted during 2011 drought), and one huge and awesome flame acanthus.

I didn't know anything about gardening. In the beginning, I just wanted to cut the oak and replace it. My research into trees led me down a rabbit hole, and eventually I decided to redo the entire front yard.

It is October 22, 2016. My work on the yard really got started in late July. I tilled and solarized the soil. Then I bought compost/soil mix and spread it over the yard. Then I bought mulch and spread that. And finally, I got most of my initial wave of plants in the ground in early October.

It was a bunch of work during the end of this summer, and I realized that I should have been better at documenting it. Well now I am starting.