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The Future is Dependent on Connecting Children to Nature Every Day
"Today’s children, growing up on lawns and pavements, will not even have nostalgia to guide them, and soon the animals will be not only...

ljmarkson
Dec 17, 20214 min read


Holiday Light Pollution Shines Brightly at Botanical Gardens
Sometimes I wish I could take off my awareness glasses and go back to ignorantly enjoying things that harm our ecosystem. For example,...

ljmarkson
Dec 8, 20216 min read


The Squirrel and Acorn Connection
I wish I spoke Eastern grey squirrel on a warm day a couple weeks ago when I saw an industrious young squirrel think he was cleverly burying prized acorns in the planters on my deck. A wily chipmunk was following him and a few minutes later dug them up and stuffed them in his cheeks to bring back to his den. I watched this scenario play out multiple times throughout the day for a few days in a row. Out of curiosity I did a bit of surfing on squirrels and acorns and found out

ljmarkson
Nov 29, 20216 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


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...

ljmarkson
Nov 9, 20214 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I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic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, 20215 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


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


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 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


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...

ljmarkson
Sep 15, 20217 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


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


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...

ljmarkson
Sep 5, 20212 min read
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