Jane Johnson
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Ruffling Feathers
A fascinating drama has been playing out in the town of Fitzgerald, Georgia since 2019 – and it centers around a giant chicken topiary. Fitzgerald is a small southern town with less than 9,000 human residents and approximately 5,000 wild… Continue reading
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Out of Season
We have several gardenia bushes that produce fragrant clusters of tender white blossoms every year from about the middle of May until the end of June. Although gardenias are hardy plants, the snowy petals that form their flowers are very… Continue reading
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Map or No Map
When my friend Sara Reece and her husband moved from Tallahassee to the Midwest, Sara (a botanist) sketched a beautifully detailed landscape map of her yard for the people who bought their house. The map not only labeled each of… Continue reading
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Every Weed, Everywhere, All the Time
I don’t plant them, I don’t water them, and I don’t want them. But I ALWAYS have weeds in my backyard. Weeds thrive in drought conditions, and they thrive after heavy rains. They pop out from under rocks, and they… Continue reading
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No Home for Gnomes – the Story Continues
The day after I wrote No Home for Gnomes, I ran the Lake Overstreet trail so I could stop by the site of the Gnome tree one more time. I had not visited it since the village was dismantled. Turning… Continue reading
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No Home for Gnomes
Just before Christmas one year, I was running the Lake Overstreet trails in Tallahassee and spotted a trail spur I had never seen before. My curiosity piqued, I followed the new path for about 100 yards to a clearing in… Continue reading
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About Bunnies and Boundaries
All summer long, an adorable little bunny has been showing up in our backyard. She’s a stealthy animal, and I’ve never actually caught her eating any of my plants or vegetables, but the evidence of her voracious appetite is everywhere:… Continue reading
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A Community that Gleans
The blog “Glean Daily” emphasizes the dual meanings of “to glean” as both a method of gathering produce and knowledge. It highlights the importance of community gardens, like the Frenchtown iGrow garden in Tallahassee, which provide food to those in… Continue reading
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A Tale of Two Sunflowers
With visions of an eye-catching row of tall sunflowers towering over the fence in my backyard, I carefully placed the seeds I had harvested from last summer’s blooms in a row of dirt along the fence line. I watered the… Continue reading
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Chickening Out
As a general concept, raising chickens in our backyard seemed like a good idea. We had the space, the price of eggs was getting crazy expensive, we knew other people who were doing it… But lots of things can seem… Continue reading
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