Nancy Lawson | Humane Gardener

Coming up: An amazing event with Joe Gardener! I’m excited to hear Dave Goulson, whose books have taught me a lot about insects. The event will be recorded for registrants. See you there! www.eventbrite.com/e/ecological-gardening-summit-tickets-1321676202099?aff=nancy

The song dogs have officially arrived in our habitat, harmonizing with a symphony of trilling toads. As Dan Flores notes in Coyote America, this is the original national anthem. It’s music to my weary ears. Sound up. #coyotes #americantoads

Thank you, Donna - wow, that is so kind. We are lucky to have such inspiring subject matter, aren’t we?🐸🌻🦨🦉

Thanks, Kristi!

Thank you, Maddie! The thistle you introduced me to is still going strong!

Great spangled fritillary

Orange sulphur

A new study shows decline of butterfly numbers nationwide. But restoring native landscapes in hedgerows, roadsides and backyards “has great potential for increasing … suitable habitat for butterflies & other insects.” (pics: 2 declining species still in my habitat)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

And while the humans make a mess of things, the animals are hard at work trying to piece them back together. Thanks to American Gardener magazine for featuring my recent column on the important work of voles, squirrels, p-dogs and many other subterranean superheroes. #marvelousmammals #wildneighbors

Check out the GNPS symposium on Saturday and hear #mysistertheresister talk about the time she fought the lawn and the lawn lost -- and how it turned into a statewide victory in MD. We'll discuss some takeaways we learned from confronting outdated HOA policy. #nativeplants gnps.org/2025-georgia...

Check out the GNPS symposium on Saturday and hear #mysistertheresister talk about the time she fought the lawn and the lawn lost -- and how it turned into a statewide victory in MD. We'll discuss some takeaways we learned from confronting outdated HOA policy. #nativeplants

For sure. And in those cases sometimes it’s not even just native plants that people are suspicious of - but anything at all that isn’t lawn!

It’s so wild to see the differences!

Thank you thank you again! <3 And I love that hashtag #plantwithintent!

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the warm welcome, James! 🐢🦊💕 I really appreciate that and am so happy to meet another nature lover and steward!

Thank you! And same! Around this time of year we and the birds start getting anxious. :)

I sometimes have a similar reaction when people automatically declare certain animals "pests." Like, what species is really being the pest here? So often it's our own, or at least we've done something ourselves to bring on or exacerbate whatever the issue is.

I think part of that comes from people judging them by what they see in the nursery, where many of the native plants are still small and not in flower. Sitting next to big bright annuals, they don't stand a chance with someone who's just looking for quick color.

Things change and change again. #invinciblesummer #nativeplants #intothelight

It's an especially good time to look out for and love our neighbors, including those with homes in the trees, soils & waters. Meet the Neighbors by @brandonkeim.bsky.social is a beautiful, thought-provoking case for nurturing kinship with these often overlooked members of our communities #booksky

❤️ That’s definitely not nothing.

Thank you, and me too! We live on a semi rural road off a highway, and a new neighbor set up an FB page that has been super helpful in terms of letting people know about county planting programs, tree giveaways, etc. But I think it would be neat to do some hyper-local events.

Thank you! I’m so glad you downloaded it. When I read it over the summer I was hoping as many other people as possible would be able to read it too.

Well, she’s not wrong!😂

Hi Hil!💕

5/20 Eco book challenge: Post eco or nature book by living author daily for 20 days, any genre. Tag author or site.

milkweed.org/author/j-dre...
Lyrical and deeply moving prose by Dr. Lanham, expert birder.
#booksky #bookchallenge #20daybookchallenge #ecobookchallenge

Oh, thank you!!💕

That's helpful - as I never have enough space for the hashtags! As a writer, I find word-restricted platforms a challenge.

❤️ Thankful for this alternative way of connecting!

Trump Invokes Authoritarian Powers on Day One to Gut Environmental Protections Center for Biological Diversity: WASHINGTON— President Trump ordered federal agencies today to begin unlawfully gutting protections for the climate, clean air and water, and public lands. Following th...

“The United States has some of the strongest environmental laws in the world, and no matter how petulantly Trump behaves, these laws don’t bend before the whims of a wannabe dictator,” said @kieransuckling.bsky.social , executive director at the Center.

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Hello! 🐝

From the Good Books for Bad Times files: The moment I saw the paperback cover of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden - with quotes not from famous people but from readers deeply affected by Camille Dungy's prose and poetry - I was hooked. Grateful for this amazing work. #booksky