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Nurture Native Nature
Creating Healthy Local Ecosystems
Welcome to Nurture Native Nature, a blog about my ongoing journey creating a wildlife sanctuary in my own small piece of our precious earth. Hopefully I can help
make it easier for you to do the same.
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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
The Value of Edible Native Plants in Public Spaces
The woodland restoration efforts at Zonolite Park can be summed up in four words - remove invasives, plant natives. Many native edibles...
ljmarkson
Mar 20, 20235 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
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
Counting Pollinators and Making Connections at Pollinator Picnics
On August 20 people of all ages counted pollinators and helped highlight the importance of native plants as a host, habitat and nectar...
ljmarkson
Aug 28, 20221 min read
Intown Atlanta GNPS Pollinator Picnics are Family Friendly!
This year the Intown Atlanta Georgia Native Plant Society is making it easy for Atlanta families to participate in the Great Georgia...
ljmarkson
Aug 13, 20224 min read
20 Easy Shade-Tolerant Native Southern Groundcovers
Finding native groundcovers for shady areas seems to be one of the most common scenarios in Atlanta where we still have more tree canopy...
ljmarkson
Apr 20, 20229 min read
Native Plant Habitat Tour Offers Insights for Backyard Habitat Restoration
Bill and Carol Pardue's yard, one of the six properties at the first GNPS Intown Atlanta Native Plant Habitat Tour. is proof that a small...
ljmarkson
Apr 7, 20223 min read
Atlanta Area Spring 2022 Native Plant Sales and Nurseries
Spring native plant buying season is here! It’s exciting to see most of the native plant sales and nurseries are once again in person...
ljmarkson
Mar 16, 20226 min read
Native Plants to Winter Sow for Summer Blooms This Year
I thought I was done winter sowing in the first week of January when I planted 100 different native plant seeds and put the trays outside...
ljmarkson
Jan 23, 20226 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
Sep 30, 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
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 4, 20212 min read
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Atlanta, GA
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