top of page
All Blog Posts


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


Coexisting With Snakes In Your Atlanta Yard
Despite making my yard welcoming for wildlife, I still can't control what happens outside the safety of my sanctuary. The long list of...

ljmarkson
Jun 11, 20216 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


Add a Mini Nature Center to Your Wildlife Habitat Yard
OR How I created the Homestead Nature Center with a little help from my family As restorative as my naturescaped yard is for the...

ljmarkson
Apr 26, 20213 min read


Nurturing Nature in the Herb Garden
If we consider every inch of our yard as potential wildlife habitat, we need to rethink how we can maximize what the herb garden offers....

ljmarkson
Apr 17, 20214 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


Add Purple-Hued Spring Native Plants to Your Naturescape
Getting people to slow down and appreciate the often nuanced and diminutive delightfulness of native plant flowers, particularly in...

ljmarkson
Apr 2, 20213 min read


Dear Neighbor: Your Mosquito Control is Environmentally Hostile
Spring in Atlanta means the return of the war on insects. If I combined everyone in my area into one person, this is the snarky letter...

ljmarkson
Mar 26, 20214 min read


You Can Only Have a Native Violet Bouquet if You Grow It
Non-native roses are widely admired. Native violet’s value is underestimated. But if you grow violets in your yard. Nature will be...

ljmarkson
Mar 22, 20212 min read


We Can Teach Our Children How to Interact with Nature One Squirrel, Earthworm and Ladybug at a Time
OR Teaching Our Children How to Appreciate Nature Using the Peter Parker Principle. I was in earshot of hearing a neighbor’s young child...

ljmarkson
Mar 16, 20213 min read
bottom of page