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Ways to Add Water for Wildlife to Your Yard
I didn’t always have over a dozen water sources in my intown (Morningside) Atlanta yard. Back in 2019 when I went through the process to...

ljmarkson
Jul 30, 20237 min read


Fire the Pest Control Company and Hire Nature
We once bought into the idea that we needed a pest control service to spray the perimeter of our home so palmetto bugs (a nice Southern...

ljmarkson
Jul 9, 20233 min read


18 Edible Herb Flowers to Grow for People and Pollinators
I help take care of the two herb beds at my community garden with a goal make it more sustainable. When I took this on a couple years ago...

ljmarkson
Jun 30, 20237 min read


Native Pasture Thistle Drama
Last fall a thoughtful friend who somehow remembered my ongoing plant wish list brought me a native pasture/field thistle (Cirsium...

ljmarkson
Jun 18, 20234 min read


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...

ljmarkson
Jun 8, 20238 min read


Connecting Grey Treefrogs and Pokeweed to Sustainable Landscaping
A new game I like to play is drilling down on how even the smallest observation in my rewilded yard can connect back to the importance of...

ljmarkson
May 18, 20233 min read


Native Plants as Edging Plants
In the spring I’m often outside adding, moving, editing, and potting up plants until it’s so dark outside that I can’t see my hands. I’m...

ljmarkson
Apr 28, 20233 min read


Local Earth Day Activism Needs to be Every Day
The magical Earth Day event at Zonolite Park organized by hosts Steph Johnson and Josh Wayne raised awareness about protecting the...

ljmarkson
Apr 25, 20233 min read


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...

ljmarkson
Mar 18, 20232 min read


The Native Carolina Cherry Laurel Controversy
I recently watched a small flock of hungry cedar waxwings eat what berries (drupes) previous birds missed on my now blooming Carolina...

ljmarkson
Mar 14, 20234 min read


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...

ljmarkson
Mar 5, 20233 min read


Yard Restoration and the Battle to Remove Invasive and Non-native Plants
I often go outside to work in my yard with a plan of action yet end up doing something completely different. Recently, my idea was to...

ljmarkson
Feb 18, 20233 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 2, 20232 min read


Plant Native Fruiting Trees in Public and Private Spaces
Earth friendly Steph and Josh of Atlanta aptly expressed their gratitude to nature on Thanksgiving Day by adding 46 native Georgia fruit...

ljmarkson
Dec 8, 20223 min read


Reclaim Nature and Add Habitat with a Brush Pile
I’ve tried to maximize the edge areas of my small, semi-urban, rewilded yard by tucking away a few brush piles behind shrubs and trees to...

ljmarkson
Nov 30, 20225 min read


Leaf Gutters are Filled with Natural, Organic Matter
Sometimes trying to upkeep our home and protect my yard’s healthy ecosystem makes me feel like I’m a crazy person. For a few years we’ve...

ljmarkson
Nov 26, 20223 min read


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...

ljmarkson
Nov 18, 20223 min read


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...

ljmarkson
Nov 9, 20222 min read


A Dead Tree Branch Story
Last month I happened to notice a dead branch on a large pine tree in my front yard. Through my binoculars I could see a huge 20 or so...

ljmarkson
Nov 3, 20223 min read
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