top of page
All Blog Posts


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
Oct 1, 20245 min read


New Fall Habitat Yard Workshops in Atlanta!
By rewilding my urban Atlanta yard I'm hoping to restore nature in some small way where I live. So far, I’ve been focused on sharing my...
ljmarkson
Sep 4, 20235 min read


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 5, 20236 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Feb 3, 20232 min read


Nurturing a Firefly Habitat Also Helps Restore Nature
In the context of creating a healthy yard ecosystem fireflies are just another insect we need to provide habitat for. Yet 2,000 firefly...
ljmarkson
Jul 7, 20226 min read


If Nature Was Predictable, It Wouldn't Be So Fascinating
My tiny, semi-urban, rewilded yard surprises me. Every. Single. Day. This past Sunday it was deathly quiet in both the front and...
ljmarkson
Jan 11, 20222 min read


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


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


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...
ljmarkson
Oct 31, 20214 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I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic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


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...
ljmarkson
Oct 13, 20213 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Oct 6, 20214 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Oct 1, 20213 min read


White Turtlehead Spreads Slowly But Steadily
My Georgia native plant pick #8 for September is called white turtlehead (chelone glabra) although I haven’t ever seen white flowers...
ljmarkson
Sep 22, 20213 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Sep 19, 20212 min read


Native Climbing Boneset is Loved By Pollinators!
My #3 September native plant pick is a rambling perennial vine I've only noticed growing at a nearby nature park in my intown Atlanta...
ljmarkson
Sep 8, 20212 min read


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...
ljmarkson
Sep 3, 20212 min read


Hummingbirds and Windows
Drama unfolded in my small semi-urban rewilded yard recently when two ruby-throated hummingbirds, probably engrossed in a territorial...
ljmarkson
Aug 16, 20212 min read
bottom of page