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Supporting Wildlife Habitat Where we Live is Not a New Idea

ljmarkson

Sep 305 min read

Supporting Wildlife Habitat Where we Live is Not a New Idea

When decluttering a closet recently, I found a time capsule in the form of a garden journal I made in the early 90s. The last entry was...

ljmarkson

Aug 224 min read

Nature Advocacy

Nurture Native Nature Fall 2024 Events!

We still have plenty of hot days ahead, but all the hummingbird action and our tired rewilded yards are telling us summer is winding...

Gardening with Nature at the Garden Club

ljmarkson

Aug 175 min read

Ecological landscaping

Gardening with Nature at the Garden Club

This week I spoke to my first ladies garden club. I was a bit worried about how receptive they would be to my presentation called...

Why Dyed Mulch is Ecologically Problematic

ljmarkson

Jun 236 min read

Landscaping for Nature

Why Dyed Mulch is Ecologically Problematic

It’s not your imagination that dyed mulch is covering your neighborhood. It's been around for 60 years, but the dyed mulch market has...

Free Atlanta Event Alert for June 1 - Essential Habitat Elements in a Rewilded Yard Hosted by North Metro GNPS

ljmarkson

May 101 min read

Nature Advocacy

Free Atlanta Event Alert for June 1 - Essential Habitat Elements in a Rewilded Yard Hosted by North Metro GNPS

I’m honored and excited to have the North Metro Atlanta Georgia Native Plant Society host me on Saturday, June 1 from 10:30-12:30 to...

Event Alert for Saturday April 13! Your Yard is Nature's Best Hope: 10 Ways to Help Pollinators and Birds with Leslie Inman and Vicki Mann

ljmarkson

Apr 82 min read

Nature Advocacy

Event Alert for Saturday April 13! Your Yard is Nature's Best Hope: 10 Ways to Help Pollinators and Birds with Leslie Inman and Vicki Mann

If you live in Atlanta set aside THIS Saturday, April 13 from 11:00am-1:00pm for a Free eye-opening presentation at Lost Corner Nature...

Nurture Native Nature - Spring Habitat Yard Events!

ljmarkson

Mar 193 min read

Nature Advocacy

Nurture Native Nature - Spring Habitat Yard Events!

I'm sharing spring events Nurture Native Nature is hosting or cohosting in the next few months in Atlanta. At some point I need to figure...

The Value of Edible Native Plants in Public Spaces

ljmarkson

Mar 20, 20235 min read

Local Conservation and Education

The Value of Edible Native Plants in Public Spaces

The woodland restoration efforts at Zonolite Park can be summed up in four words - remove invasives, plant natives. Many native edibles...

Our Actions Have Amplified Cowbird's Impact

ljmarkson

Mar 18, 20232 min read

Birds

Our Actions Have Amplified Cowbird's Impact

At the end of February, the when the red-winged blackbirds migrate North, their raucous noise is replaced by the gurgling murmur of a...

S**t Happens - and Opens up Possibilities!

ljmarkson

Feb 5, 20236 min read

Coexisting with Nature

S**t Happens - and Opens up Possibilities!

One of the main lessons in my daily guided meditation is how our suffering comes from not being able to align our inner expectations with...

ljmarkson

Feb 2, 20232 min read

Native Flowering Vines

Native Crossvine is a Habitat Plant

I thought crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) was indestructible. It climbs by tendrils then attaches to trees with even more with roots to...

Influencers Focus on the Positive to Help Protect Nature

ljmarkson

Jan 30, 20232 min read

Influencers Focus on the Positive to Help Protect Nature

January is a great month for reflection and learning. This past weekend I pushed my attention span a bit and spent a looong but...

Add Coreopsis Integrifolia to the Home Landscape

ljmarkson

Nov 9, 20222 min read

Native Plants

Add Coreopsis Integrifolia to the Home Landscape

There are over two dozen coreopsis varieties in North American on BONAP and twenty grow in Georgia. Coreopsis integrifolia also known as...

Fernbank Forest - An Example of Protecting Nature for Future Generations

ljmarkson

Jun 22, 20223 min read

Local Conservation and Education

Fernbank Forest - An Example of Protecting Nature for Future Generations

I had no expectation when my friend Leslie of Pollinator Friendly Yards asked me if I wanted to meet her for a 2-hour guided walk in the...

Why and How to Coexist With Carpenter Bees, Our Pollinating Superstars

ljmarkson

May 30, 20227 min read

Coexisting with Nature

Why and How to Coexist With Carpenter Bees, Our Pollinating Superstars

The responses to a recent post on a neighborhood forum about carpenter bees was horrifying. One person gleefully suggested torturing the...

Why We Need to Support Local Native Plant Retail Nurseries

ljmarkson

May 15, 20229 min read

Native Plant Nurseries

Why We Need to Support Local Native Plant Retail Nurseries

Recently, I drove over an hour in traffic each way to visit North Georgia Native Plant Nursery to buy two one-gallon native mountain...

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...

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...

ljmarkson

Jan 9, 20225 min read

Birds

Red-Winged Blackbirds are Special

Years ago, when I had a lawn with a sad, lonely bird feeder in the middle of it, I would senselessly chase away flocks of Red-winged...

ljmarkson

Dec 26, 20214 min read

Coexisting with Nature

A December Butterfly Brings Hope

In the middle of the brown landscape of winter a flash or orange and silver movement caught my eye. It startled me and when I looked a...

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