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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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A Day Focused on Restoring Biodiversity in our Own Greenspaces
At the recent Georgia Audubon’s cleverly named Georgia Grows Native for Birds Round Robin: Transforming Your Greenspace, they partnered...
ljmarkson
Sep 11, 20233 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
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
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
Intown Atlanta GNPS Native Plant Swap & Share FAQ
I'm helping organize the Intown Atlanta GNPS Native Plants Swap & Share as part of the Annual Meeting. Since this is the first time we're...
ljmarkson
Sep 7, 20226 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
FAQ for Intown Atlanta GNPS Pollinator Picnics
What is the Great Georgia Pollinator Census Count? The Great Georgia Pollinator Census count (GGPC) is a citizen science project...
ljmarkson
Aug 7, 20227 min read
Why We Need to Support Local Native Plant Retail Nurseries
Recently, I drove over an hour in traffic each way to visit North Georgia Native Plant Nursery to buy two one-gallon native mountain...
ljmarkson
May 15, 20229 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
Winter Sowing Native Liatris Spicata for a Mini Nature Center
My friend Rita from Botany Yards generously gave me native plant seeds to put in my mini-nature center. I wondered how to ensure success...
ljmarkson
Feb 20, 20222 min read
Gardening Advice Turns a Corner
Out of curiosity I visited a popular gardening guru’s FB page. Winter lawns, various Roundup products and a flowering (invasive) mahonia...
ljmarkson
Feb 5, 20224 min read
Winter Sowing Tips for Native Plant Seedlings
Last spring, I meant to write a native plant seedling update to my winter sowing posts. I even made notes, but never actually wrote the...
ljmarkson
Feb 2, 20225 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
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
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
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Atlanta, GA
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