“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