Danny112596's Member Page

Hello everyone, My name is Daniel but everyone calls me Danny. I am 18 years old and recently graduated high school during spring '15 and have enrolled in college. I live in the Rio Grande Valley, (extreme south) Texas which is Zone 10a. I have had such a passion for gardening and butterflies for as long as I can remember. At my old home, my parents used to have many flowering plants that attracted butterflies along with fruit trees such as bananas, pomegranates, and herbs like rosemary. Both of my grandmothers (my grandfathers have passed away) also enjoy gardening, specializing in roses and fruiting shrubs/trees. In 2005, my family and I moved to a new house outside of city limits with a one acre lot and with the support of my family, I began a butterfly garden from scratch. In 2008, at 12 years old, I adopted photography as an additional hobby so I could capture many pictures of all the rare butterflies that tend to stray from Mexico during the Butterfly Peak Season. I also began to take part in seed/plant trades on here and on GardenWeb. I make sure that every trade operates smoothly and offer sasbe's for beginner gardners or anyone who will put the seeds to good use. Over the next few years, we suffered many droughts and then downpours of rain which killed off many non native plants, and as I was busy with school and hardly ever home, I had no choice but to salvage what I could. Now with a more flexible schedule, I have begun the restoration process for the 4 gardens that I had established. This time around I am using gardening mats to put over the ground to keep in moisture and prevent weeds from growing. I am also going to add potting soil to the natural dirt to meet the needs of the plants and follow by covering with mulch. I have been successful with growing Navaho Blackberries and getting them to flower and fruit despite our low chill hours; they also survive out humid hot summers. Aside from butterfly plants, I love growing fruit trees and trees that change leaf color in the fall (believe it or not, they change even down here). Thank you for taking the time to read. If you would like to trade or simply chat about plants/butterflies, message me :) Danny