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.

oakleaf hydrangea, chipola river ticksee

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 3, 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 22, 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I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic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, 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

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 4, 20212 min read

Flowering Spurge is an Overlooked Native Plant

I just realized the summer is disappearing and I haven’t shared much about the native plants growing in my little wildlife sanctuary...

ljmarkson

Sep 3, 20212 min read

A Successful Pollinator Garden is Messy

OR Did You Really Plant That Pollinator Garden for Pollinators? Starting in early spring a 5 year old pollinator garden at the entrance...

ljmarkson

Aug 25, 20214 min read

Help Our Insects By Participating in the Great Georgia Pollinator Census 2021!

I want to encourage everyone to set aside 15 minutes this Friday, August 20 or Saturday, August 21 to participate in the Great Georgia...

ljmarkson

Aug 17, 20213 min read

Hummingbirds and Windows

Drama unfolded in my small semi-urban rewilded yard recently when two ruby-throated hummingbirds, probably engrossed in a territorial...

ljmarkson

Aug 16, 20212 min read