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Now is Your Chance to Change the State Flower of Georgia to a Native Species!

ljmarkson

Feb 233 min read

Now is Your Chance to Change the State Flower of Georgia to a Native Species!

It’s a travesty that the state flower of Georgia is a non-native invasive species! I’m reposting an easy way for anyone who lives in...

Nature Loving Strangers are Kindred Spirits

ljmarkson

Oct 9, 20234 min read

Coexisting with Nature

Nature Loving Strangers are Kindred Spirits

I was recently looking through my lengthy list of ongoing blog ideas and catchy titles for articles yet to be written and came across...

25 Dry Shade Tolerant Native Plants for a Southern Habitat Yard

ljmarkson

Jun 8, 20238 min read

Native Plants

25 Dry Shade Tolerant Native Plants for a Southern Habitat Yard

Back in February I wrote about how having a section of sewer pipe replaced offered me an opportunity to replant a section of my rewilded...

Children Care Deeply About Protecting Nature - Let's Nurture This

ljmarkson

Mar 5, 20233 min read

Local Conservation and Education

Children Care Deeply About Protecting Nature - Let's Nurture This

We pulled into our driveway from an outing and there was a mother with her 7-or 8-year-old daughter at our front door. The little girl...

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...

To Save Insects and Birds the Future is Now

ljmarkson

Nov 18, 20223 min read

Local Conservation and Education

To Save Insects and Birds the Future is Now

It turned out to be a great idea for the Intown Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia native Plant Society to squeeze one more event into this...

Strategies for Identifying Agastache Species and Other Native Plants

ljmarkson

Jul 19, 20226 min read

Local Conservation and Education

Strategies for Identifying Agastache Species and Other Native Plants

I don’t usually get fussy or wonky about different native plant species but when I learned the range for the most common hyssop called...

Cedar Waxwings Reveal How Pervasively Disruptively Invasive Nandina and Honeysuckle are to Wildlife

ljmarkson

Dec 30, 20215 min read

Invasive Species

Cedar Waxwings Reveal How Pervasively Disruptively Invasive Nandina and Honeysuckle are to Wildlife

Soon after I started working on a post focused on invasive nandina (Nandina domestica), I went down a rabbit hole and ended up in a...

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...

I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic

ljmarkson

Oct 17, 20215 min read

Landscaping for Nature

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...

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...

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...

Frog Fruit Is a Valuable Native Groundcover!

ljmarkson

Sep 4, 20212 min read

Native Butterfly & Moth Host Plants

Frog Fruit Is a Valuable Native Groundcover!

My September native plant pick #2 is a fantastic low-growing, semi-evergreen groundcover called frog fruit (phyla nodiflora, formerly...

Flowering Spurge is an Overlooked Native Plant

ljmarkson

Sep 3, 20212 min read

Native Pollinator Plants

Flowering Spurge is an Overlooked Native Plant

I just realized the summer is disappearing and I haven’t shared much about the native plants growing in my little wildlife sanctuary...

Pollinators Can't Resist Native Mountain Mint Flowers!

ljmarkson

Jun 29, 20214 min read

Native Pollinator Plants

Pollinators Can't Resist Native Mountain Mint Flowers!

Clustered or short-toothed mountain mint (pycnanthemum muticum) is by far the most popular plant in my yard right now. All day long it is...

Be Greedy About Supporting Wildlife in Your Yard!

ljmarkson

Jun 20, 20214 min read

Landscaping for Nature

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

May 9, 20213 min read

Landscaping for Nature

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...

Atlanta Area Spring 2021 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries

ljmarkson

Apr 5, 20215 min read

Native Plants

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...

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