Not everything clinging to your trees is a threat. Some of these strange hitchhikers are quietly cleaning the air, fixing nitrogen, and even helping hummingbirds build nests.

A weed? Don’t automatically demonize any Texas native because it sometimes misbehaves. Learn more about it. And then have a management plan based on restoring balance. But how?

We asked a range of experts who work with landowners to share some common complaints they hear. Their insights reveal why certain plants are often maligned and what happens when a plant is viewed from just one perspective.

A teaspoon of good soil can hold billions of bacteria, yards of fungal threads, thousands of single-celled organisms, and dozens of nematodes. What’s the impact on plants?

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

Get to know the plants on your property. Why? It’s lots of fun. But that isn’t the only reason.

How can you protect what you have and restore what will be damaged by future weather extremes?

Here in Hays County and across the rest of the Hill Country, we are rapidly losing our natural grasslands. So it has become even more incumbent on land stewards to protect and restore the ones we have.

Grass? A bright green expanse of well watered lawn—or vast meadows of tall grasses and wildflowers swaying in the breeze.

Love them or hate them, insects and spiders are vital to the health of our Texas Hill Country ecosystems. Why should we care?

Our HELM team participated in an onsite workshop focused on managing invasive vegetation and aggressive native species, on brush management, and on grasses, mulching, seeding, and erosion. We are excited to share that knowledge with Hays County landowners.

Trees are our partners in smart land stewardship. So what do we need to know about tree structure and growth, tree rings and roots, about enemies of trees? In fact, what exactly is a tree?

We love those amazing creatures who visit us on our property. But have you ever wondered how they survive cold winter weather? Even some of us with our heated houses, warm clothes, and plenty of blankets struggled through Uri. But we survived, and so did most of our beloved birds and other creatures. But how?

There’s an old proverb, “Variety is the spice of life.” And what does that have to do with land stewardship? A lot!

The first half of this year was the fifth driest on record, and this summer hasn’t been any better. How exactly do our native plants cope with stress caused by a prolonged period without water? It’s complicated and pretty amazing.

Do areas on your property look like this—sparse vegetation and very little topsoil? Hill County soils are notoriously thin. At one time, this spot likely had lots more soil and vegetation. What happened?

One question landowners ask when the HELM team pays them a visit is “What should I do about all this cedar?” We start by dispelling myths surrounding cedar.

Have you noticed all the beautiful wildflowers popping up around your property? Most depend on animals to move their pollen around so that we can enjoy flowers again next year. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds aren’t their only pollinators. Beetles, flies, and other insects also move pollen from flower to flower.