Transforming Royalview’s Gardens; We’re Going Organic, and Native Texan!

Garden restoration by Living Wild, in Conroe, TX.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

Garden transformation day is here! Woo hoo! We’ve been super excited, anticipating Royalview’s garden makeovers .

We’ve been working with Abbie of Living Wild, in the Conroe, TX area, to give our gardens a face-lift, and at the same time, be respectful to our natural habitat by using only organic gardening materials, and also plants that are native to Texas.

We asked Abbie to concentrate mainly on the 2 front gardens, as our back garden is still flourishing very well. We did have to replace several plants in our back garden this summer, but everything is now growing very happily.

Royalview's back yard garden.
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The only work required back here was to remove all of the dyed, black mulch, and replace it with organic, native hardwood mulch. Abbie also replaced a dwarf Gardenia that we had lost.

Replacing dyed mulch with natural.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

She surprised us with 3 cute little Blue Daze plants that she popped in. I love these so much!

Blue Daze plant at Royalview.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

When I first approached Abbie about transforming our gardens, she went right to work putting together garden plans for both of our front gardens. She listened to our requests for blue, white, and purple plants, and knowing that we love seeing bees and butterflies, she came up with 2 designs that Willie and I both love.

Garden plan for Royalview's South Garden, by Abbie of Living Wild, in Conroe, TX.
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https://www.welivewild.com/
Royalview's North Garden Plans, by Abbie of Living Wild in Conroe, TX.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

I love how she showed us very clearly where everything would be planted, gave us the species’ names, and then also sent us photos of what each species will look like once full grown. Many of the plant photos also give descriptions of the types of wild life that enjoy them. I’m so happy to know that our little visitors will be happy as well.

New garden species for Royalview's front gardens.  All native Texas plants.
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https://www.welivewild.com/
New garden species for Royalview.  All native Texas plants.
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https://www.welivewild.com/
New garden species for Royalview.  All native Texas plants.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

It’s going to be so beautiful! I love everything she chose for us, and I love that there are some evergreen plants that will look nice all year round. Having our gardens thrive, and look nice all year round is a subject that we did discuss with Abbie. Abbie explained to us that native Texas plants will of course thrive much better all year since they are native and are adaptive to the extreme temperatures that we experience during different times of the year. They’ll be able to survive and thrive, in both Texas’ extreme cold snaps and Summer heat.

After removing all the former plants and dyed mulch, Abbie and Lori began placing out all the new babies.

Royalview’s front South garden:

New plants for Royalview's South garden.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

Royalview’s front North garden:

Royalview's North garden.
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https://www.welivewild.com/

Royalview’s front South garden after planting:

Royalview's front South garden after transformation.
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https://www.welivewild.com/
Royalview's front South garden complete.
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We’re very happy with how everything has turned out. It’s going to be so fun to watch everything grow, and see how everything matures together to form the beautiful gardens that Abbie so thoughtfully and skillfully designed and installed.

Huge thank yous to both Abbie and Lori for transforming our gardens. We look forward to a continued relationship with Living Wild, as Abbie will also be checking in monthly and upkeeping all the new plants.

Abbie is a wildlife biologist and specializes in habitat restorations and native landscaping. You can find her online at https://www.welivewild.com/.

I hope Royalview’s garden transformations inspire you to find out more about the local plants in your area as well.

Till next time, follow your joy! God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

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Native Texas Plants, Organic Gardening, Native Habitat, Garden Transformation, Conroe, TX, Willis, TX, Cut and Shoot, TX

Happy News for Royalview!

Royalview receives Yard of the Month honor for May, 2025.
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Willie and I are very honored that Royalview received the recognition of Yard of the Month for May, 2025. We share this honor and good news with the team at Eagle A. Improvements (Houston,TX), who worked with us to design her gardens and landscaping, as well as performed the installation.

Cheers!

Johanna and Willie

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Our “Mystery” Dianthus Has Bloomed!

Bright pink Dianthus.
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Bright Pink Dianthus

Wow, you guys, look how stunning the color is on our “mystery” Dianthus’ blooms! I’m still not sure of the species. I Google Lens’d my photos, and a lot of options came up: Dianthus Plumarius, Neon Purple, Fuchsia, Sweet William, Floral Lace Lilac, Jolt Purple, and more.

All I know for sure is, that they’re gorgeous, and I adore the color.

I’ve taken several photos over the past couple of days as they have been opening up. Here’s one from afar so you can see how tall this plant is, compared to the other plants in the garden. When this was planted up front, it was a lot smaller than the others.

Very tall bright pink Dianthus.
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Very Tall, Bright Pink Dianthus

You can see how many more buds are getting ready to open. This will be glorious in full bloom.

Bright pink Dianthus.
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Bright Pink Dianthus

There was no filter used for this photography, and no edits. They are just this vibrant.

Beautiful Fuchsia Dianthus.
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Beautiful Fuchsia Dianthus
Bright Fuchsia Dianthus
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Bright Fuchsia Dianthus

I hope you enjoyed the blooming of our Dianthus as much as we have.

Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

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Bright Pink Dianthus, Flower Garden, Spring Flowers, Fuchsia, Hot Pink Flowers, Texas Flower Garden

Royalview in the Spring, Our Beautiful Texas Gardens in Full Bloom

Our home, Royalview
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Royalview

Willie and I are very excited to be experiencing our very first Spring here at Royalview.

The trees and flowers are now in full bloom. We’re witnessing more and more water birds every day. It’s looking glorious here at home, and also across the lake.

View of lake across the street from Royalview.
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View of the Lake Across the Street from Royalview

Our gardens and landscape are looking so pretty, especially after our first maintenance service call from our new landscaping company. Their team did a wonderful job getting us Spring ready, and Royalview’s gardens looking their best.

Royalview's South Garden
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Royalview’s Front South Garden
Royalview's South Garden
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Royalview’s Front South Garden
Royalview’s Front North Garden
Royalview's Back Garden
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Royalview’s Back Yard Garden
Royalview's Backyard garden.
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Royalview’s Back Yard Garden
Texas Backyard Garden Closeup
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Our Texas Garden in Full Bloom

We are both so thrilled that we’ve been blessed with our very own Texas Bluebonnets. These were a surprise from our landscape design team, Eagle Improvements.

Texas Bluebonnets at Royalview
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Texas Bluebonnets at Royalview

We chose an array of blue, white, and purple flower varieties for our gardens, but there is one pop of pink in our back garden. This beautiful plant (Pink Dianthus) was a housewarming gift from our nieces Amy and Loralie.

Pink Dianthus at Royalview.
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Pink Dianthus at Royalview

Here are some beautiful closeup pictures of various flower varieties planted in our gardens.

Purple Salvia in our Front North and South Gardens.
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Purple Salvia in our Front North and South Gardens
Purple Verbena
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Purple Verbena
White Verbena
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White Verbenas in all Gardens at Royalview
Plumbago
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Plumbago in all Gardens at Royalview
Daisys
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Daisys in Front Gardens

Now, this next plant is a real mystery to me. When our landscape design company first came out, I spoke with Keren and requested another Pink Dianthus to go with the one that was gifted to us by our Nieces. Keren returned with this Dianthus. It was very small at the time it was planted, but it has sky-rocketed into a very tall and unusual looking plant.

Dianthus
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“Mystery” Dianthus

It has a lot of little buds, so I cannot wait to see what it’s going to look like.

Dianthus Buds
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“Mystery” Dianthus Buds

It is a Dianthus. The tag read Dianthus when Keren brought it, and when our new landscape company’s owner (Boone, of Boone’s Landscaping) came by to look at our property, he saw it and called it some type of Dianthus. I cannot remember what he said it was, and when I Googled it, it just says Dianthus. So, it’s still a mystery to me as to the variety, and what color it is.

I’ll be sure to keep watch, and snap some photos when she blooms.

Till next time, Willie and I hope you’re enjoying your beautiful Spring blooms wherever you may be. Stay safe, and follow your joy. God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

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Texas garden, Spring Garden, Texas Bluebonnets, Lakehouse, Garden, Conroe, Texas, Spring Flowers

Living the Lake Lifestyle at Royalview

God has truly blessed our lives.

Johanna and Willie of acrossthelake.blog

Where we live, our lifestyle, everything. It has all been changed, and turned around for the better. We couldn’t be happier or more grateful for all that God has done in our lives, and how he’s elevated our lives, and brought us to this beautiful place that we now call home.

It is so amazing to sit out in our front yard and view the lake from our garden.

Covered swing in garden area.  acrossthelake.blog
Garden bridge from acrossthelake.blog
Johanna and Willie of acrossthelake.blog

We are beginning new traditions together here. One of our very first is sitting outside and talking about our day as we enjoy the beautiful lake view.

Not to mention, enjoying all the very pretty flowers that are in bloom.

Beautiful purple Salvia flowers.  acrossthelake.blog
Purple Salvia
Beautiful white Verbena flowers from acrossthelake.blog
White Verbena

We are now also blessed with daily visits from Bumble Bees, Dragonflies, and Butterflies who are enjoying all the gorgeous blooms.

It’s very quiet and peaceful here. We can hear the March winds blowing through all the trees, and see the dancing of the water as we sit and gaze.

Living the Lake Lifestyle at Royalview.  acrossthelake.blog

Till next time friends, stay safe and follow your joy. God is truly good!

Johanna and Willie

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Lake Life, God is Good, Garden, Swing for Two, Texas Flowers, Texas Garden, Lifestyle Blog

View from Across the Lake

Willie and I had a fun time yesterday, adventuring around to the other side of our lake. It is so beautiful!

There is an area for residents to visit, with a pavilion, boat ramp, and picnic areas.

I could stay out here all day, taking in the beauty. It was an overcast day, but it was still so gorgeous, and it was nice and breezy.

I was very excited that I could see our home. I was able to zoom in and capture Royalview, across the lake.

There she is, high upon her hill, overlooking all the beauty.

I also got a pretty good shot through the pavillion (from the road).

I can see the pavilion from my kitchen window, so we are directly across from each other.

We drove around the lake soon after we moved in and saw the side of the pavilion, but it wasn’t until yesterday that we found the right road to continue all the way around. I’m so glad we did. I think we’re going to have a wonderful time visiting this area often, and bringing guests as well.

Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy!

Johanna and Willie

acrossthelake.blog

Lakeside View, Lakeside Pavilion, Conroe, Texas, Lake Conroe Area

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