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

Restore Habitat to Hear the Sweet Song of the Hermit Thrush

Every habitat element in my pocket wildlife sanctuary contributes to a more biodiverse ecosystem. Hermit thrushes for example rarely...

ljmarkson

Jan 7, 20243 min read

Nature Loving Strangers are Kindred Spirits

I was recently looking through my lengthy list of ongoing blog ideas and catchy titles for articles yet to be written and came across...

ljmarkson

Oct 9, 20234 min read

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

Children Care Deeply About Protecting Nature - Let's Nurture This

We pulled into our driveway from an outing and there was a mother with her 7-or 8-year-old daughter at our front door. The little girl...

ljmarkson

Mar 5, 20233 min read

A Dead Tree Branch Story

Last month I happened to notice a dead branch on a large pine tree in my front yard. Through my binoculars I could see a huge 20 or so...

ljmarkson

Nov 3, 20223 min read

Nurturing a Firefly Habitat Also Helps Restore Nature

In the context of creating a healthy yard ecosystem fireflies are just another insect we need to provide habitat for. Yet 2,000 firefly...

ljmarkson

Jul 7, 20226 min read

What a Mushroom Eating Squirrel Teaches Us About Nature

After a rainy spell a couple weeks ago, mushrooms appeared in a section of my rewilded yard. About a week later I started noticing...

ljmarkson

Dec 21, 20213 min read

Connecting the Rodenticide and Backyard Ecosystem Dots

My biophobic, eco-clueless neighbor found dead snakes in her driveway and posted in our neighborhood group because she wanted to know if...

ljmarkson

Nov 23, 20215 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

I'm Done Tidying Nature For an Outdated Aesthetic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

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

My Moth Week Miracle

There seems to be a special place in all secular and religious belief systems for the idea that things happen for a reason. A few days...

ljmarkson

Jul 26, 20213 min read

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, 20213 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...

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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

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