A watering schedule that actually works in an Austin August
Most lawns here are watered often and shallowly, which is the worst of both worlds. Here is the schedule we set for our own clients.
Eleven native plants we actually keep planting
Not the full native list — the shortlist that has survived three summers and a hard freeze in real Austin yards.
The mowing-height mistake that costs you the whole summer
Cutting short to stretch the gap between mows is the most expensive false economy in lawn care.
Why we fix drainage before anybody buys a plant
A bed that holds water after a storm will kill whatever you put in it, however tough the label says it is.
Xeriscape does not mean a yard full of gravel
Low-water planting done properly looks lusher than a lawn, not barer. The gravel look is a shortcut, and it makes summer worse.
What to do to your yard after a hard freeze
Mostly: wait. The instinct to cut everything back immediately is what turns a survivable freeze into a replanting bill.