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20 Easy Shade-Tolerant Native Southern Groundcovers

ljmarkson

Apr 20, 20229 min read

20 Easy Shade-Tolerant Native Southern Groundcovers

Finding native groundcovers for shady areas seems to be one of the most common scenarios in Atlanta where we still have more tree canopy...

Native Plant Habitat Tour Offers Insights for Backyard Habitat Restoration

ljmarkson

Apr 7, 20223 min read

Landscaping for Nature

Native Plant Habitat Tour Offers Insights for Backyard Habitat Restoration

Bill and Carol Pardue's yard, one of the six properties at the first GNPS Intown Atlanta Native Plant Habitat Tour. is proof that a small...

Atlanta Area Spring 2022 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries

ljmarkson

Mar 16, 20226 min read

Native Plant Sales

Atlanta Area Spring 2022 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries

Spring native plant buying season is here! It’s exciting to see most of the native plant sales and nurseries are once again in person...

Winter Sowing Native Liatris Spicata for a Mini Nature Center

ljmarkson

Feb 20, 20222 min read

Propagation

Winter Sowing Native Liatris Spicata for a Mini Nature Center

My friend Rita from Botany Yards generously gave me native plant seeds to put in my mini-nature center. I wondered how to ensure success...

Why My Family Doesn't Bring Me Flowers Anymore

ljmarkson

Feb 12, 20223 min read

Local Conservation and Education

Why My Family Doesn't Bring Me Flowers Anymore

My family shows how much they love me by not giving me cut flowers. They know I don’t want flowers covered in pesticides that are grown...

Winter Sowing Tips for Native Plant Seedlings

ljmarkson

Feb 2, 20225 min read

Propagation

Winter Sowing Tips for Native Plant Seedlings

Last spring, I meant to write a native plant seedling update to my winter sowing posts. I even made notes, but never actually wrote the...

Native Plants to Winter Sow for Summer Blooms This Year

ljmarkson

Jan 23, 20227 min read

Native Flowers

Native Plants to Winter Sow for Summer Blooms This Year

I thought I was done winter sowing in the first week of January when I planted 100 different native plant seeds and put the trays outside...

Holiday Light Pollution Shines Brightly at Botanical Gardens

ljmarkson

Dec 8, 20216 min read

Local Conservation and Education

Holiday Light Pollution Shines Brightly at Botanical Gardens

Sometimes I wish I could take off my awareness glasses and go back to ignorantly enjoying things that harm our ecosystem. For example,...

ljmarkson

Nov 29, 20215 min read

Coexisting with Nature

The Squirrel and Acorn Connection

I wish I spoke Eastern grey squirrel on a warm day a couple weeks ago when I saw an industrious young squirrel think he was cleverly...

Create Local Change by Building Community Support for Native Plants

ljmarkson

Nov 9, 20214 min read

Landscaping for Nature

Create Local Change by Building Community Support for Native Plants

The native plant community in Atlanta grew stronger yesterday with the first event of the newly minted Intown Atlanta Chapter of the GNPS...

A Handful of Late Blooming Fall Native Plants

ljmarkson

Oct 31, 20214 min read

Native Flowering Vines

A Handful of Late Blooming Fall Native Plants

I love profiling native plants but have a growing list of other topics I also want to write about and feel like I’m always running...

Reclaiming Nature and Letting Go of Stress

ljmarkson

Oct 22, 20215 min read

Landscaping for Nature

Reclaiming Nature and Letting Go of Stress

Nature is such a powerful cure-all that ecotherapy uses it as a tool to professionally boost growth, healing and reduce stress. It is...

ljmarkson

Oct 13, 20213 min read

Native Flowering Vines

Rehoming Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars

Last year I posted about not being the only nature lover I know who moves gulf fritillary caterpillars from native passionflower vines...

Native Georgia Aster is a Rare Southern Belle

ljmarkson

Oct 6, 20214 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Native Georgia Aster is a Rare Southern Belle

October is aster time so I’m starting off my list of ten October native plants with the stunning Georgia aster (symphyotrichum...

Don't Overlook Bidens Alba as an Essential Georgia Native Pollinator Plant

ljmarkson

Sep 30, 20213 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Don't Overlook Bidens Alba as an Essential Georgia Native Pollinator Plant

The idea to profile 30 native plants growing in my yard in September may have been a bit too ambitious. The more realistic number is 10...

Enjoy Native Spotted Beebalm's Whimsical Complexity

ljmarkson

Sep 23, 20212 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Enjoy Native Spotted Beebalm's Whimsical Complexity

My September blooming native plant #9 is spotted beebalm or horsemint (monarda punctata), a fragrant herb in the mint family with a...

White Snakeroot - a Dangerously Pretty Native Plant!

ljmarkson

Sep 19, 20212 min read

Native Pollinator Plants

White Snakeroot - a Dangerously Pretty Native Plant!

Native plant pick #6 for September is white snakeroot (ageratina altissima - previously eupatorium rugosum). The name comes from Native...

Native Aquatic Milkweed Is a Pretty and Petite Monarch Host Plant for Damp Areas

ljmarkson

Sep 17, 20212 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Native Aquatic Milkweed Is a Pretty and Petite Monarch Host Plant for Damp Areas

My September native plant pick #5 is white swamp milkweed or aquatic milkweed (asclepias perennis), one of many native milkweeds in...

Atlanta Area Fall 2021 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries

ljmarkson

Sep 15, 20217 min read

Native Plant Sales

Atlanta Area Fall 2021 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries

Even though September is Georgia Grows Native for Birds month, I try not to plant until October. Fall plant sales have me itching to add...

Boneset is a Thoroughly Valuable Native Plant

ljmarkson

Sep 13, 20212 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Boneset is a Thoroughly Valuable Native Plant

My September native plant pick #4 is common boneset (eupatorium perfoliatum), also called thoroughwort because of the way the stems go...

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