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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...
ljmarkson
Dec 26, 20214 min read


Connecting the Rodenticide and Backyard Ecosystem Dots
My biophobic, eco-clueless neighbor found dead snakes in her driveway and posted in our neighborhood group because she wanted to know if...
ljmarkson
Nov 23, 20215 min read


Update on My Mini Nature Center
I appreciate how social media can connect me to so many like-minded people who are also working to restore nature where they live. It’s...
ljmarkson
Nov 19, 20215 min read


Reclaiming My Leaves and Restoring Nature
My advocacy for nature puts me outside my conflict comfort zone. I find myself consistently protecting my rewilded yard from neighboring...
ljmarkson
Nov 4, 20213 min read


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 23, 20215 min read


I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic
I’ve recently had a paradigm shift about spending so much energy making my rewilded yard more approachable, neater, or more traditionally...
ljmarkson
Oct 17, 20215 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Sep 23, 20212 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Sep 17, 20212 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Sep 13, 20212 min read


My Moth Week Miracle
There seems to be a special place in all secular and religious belief systems for the idea that things happen for a reason. A few days...
ljmarkson
Jul 26, 20213 min read


Be Greedy About Supporting Wildlife in Your Yard!
OR How to optimize the habitat value of your yard. In his book Nature’s Best Hope Doug Tallamy explains how “greedy” he is when it...
ljmarkson
Jun 20, 20214 min read


Why I'm a Fan of Common Native Plants
The traditional gardening world often fetishizes exotic and rare plants. The latest trends trickle down to homeowners. Big box and...
ljmarkson
May 9, 20213 min read


Atlanta Area Spring 2021 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries
Last spring most of the spring native plant sales vanished because of the pandemic. This spring a little normalcy has returned, but...
ljmarkson
Apr 5, 20215 min read
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