NPSOT News Summer 2013 31 | Page 9

“It’s very different habitat. We knew we couldn’t grow the plants that occur on the bordas escarpment in the heavy black clay soils associated with the Kingsville area,” Mahler points out. “So we developed the habitat. We brought in about 200 yards of caliche from a quarry in Live Oak County and we built the tallest mountain in Kingsville – it’s a little four foot hill. The most recent habitat is the sand sheet, established about two years ago. Here again about 200 yards of sand had to be hauled in. In creating a habitat there’s no real endpoint. Also without the much-needed tender loving care provided by gardener Mark Madrazo, the garden would be overgrown and invaded by exotic grasses like guinea grass and other noxious weeds. Photos by David Mahler “It’s a subtle maintenance,” Mahler points out. “We want it to look natural, even wild.” This is Mahler’s first botanical garden that he’s designed and followed through t