top of page
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.
Search
Why Dyed Mulch is Ecologically Problematic
It’s not your imagination that dyed mulch is covering your neighborhood. It's been around for 60 years, but the dyed mulch market has...
ljmarkson
Jun 23, 20246 min read
Free Atlanta Event Alert for June 1 - Essential Habitat Elements in a Rewilded Yard Hosted by North Metro GNPS
I’m honored and excited to have the North Metro Atlanta Georgia Native Plant Society host me on Saturday, June 1 from 10:30-12:30 to...
ljmarkson
May 10, 20241 min read
Event Alert for Saturday April 13! Your Yard is Nature's Best Hope: 10 Ways to Help Pollinators and Birds with Leslie Inman and Vicki Mann
If you live in Atlanta set aside THIS Saturday, April 13 from 11:00am-1:00pm for a Free eye-opening presentation at Lost Corner Nature...
ljmarkson
Apr 8, 20242 min read
Nurture Native Nature - Spring Habitat Yard Events!
I'm sharing spring events Nurture Native Nature is hosting or cohosting in the next few months in Atlanta. At some point I need to figure...
ljmarkson
Mar 19, 20243 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
Our Actions Have Amplified Cowbird's Impact
At the end of February, the when the red-winged blackbirds migrate North, their raucous noise is replaced by the gurgling murmur of a...
ljmarkson
Mar 18, 20232 min read
S**t Happens - and Opens up Possibilities!
One of the main lessons in my daily guided meditation is how our suffering comes from not being able to align our inner expectations with...
ljmarkson
Feb 5, 20236 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
Influencers Focus on the Positive to Help Protect Nature
January is a great month for reflection and learning. This past weekend I pushed my attention span a bit and spent a looong but...
ljmarkson
Jan 30, 20232 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
Fernbank Forest - An Example of Protecting Nature for Future Generations
I had no expectation when my friend Leslie of Pollinator Friendly Yards asked me if I wanted to meet her for a 2-hour guided walk in the...
ljmarkson
Jun 22, 20223 min read
Why and How to Coexist With Carpenter Bees, Our Pollinating Superstars
The responses to a recent post on a neighborhood forum about carpenter bees was horrifying. One person gleefully suggested torturing the...
ljmarkson
May 30, 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
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
Why My Family Doesn't Bring Me Flowers Anymore
My family shows how much they love me by not giving me cut flowers. They know I don’t want flowers covered in pesticides that are grown...
ljmarkson
Feb 12, 20223 min read
Red-Winged Blackbirds are Special
Years ago, when I had a lawn with a sad, lonely bird feeder in the middle of it, I would senselessly chase away flocks of Red-winged...
ljmarkson
Jan 9, 20225 min read
A December Butterfly Brings Hope
In the middle of the brown landscape of winter a flash or orange and silver movement caught my eye. It startled me and when I looked a...
ljmarkson
Dec 26, 20214 min read
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
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
00:12
00:15
00:08
00:08
00:09
00:05
00:22
00:03
Atlanta, GA
bottom of page