Ginny Stibolt
LightNews LightNews
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Ginny Stibolt
@ginnystibolt.bsky.social
3.5K followers 2.3K following 950 posts
I'm a naturalist, botanist, gardener, and award-winning garden writer. I live in NE Florida with my husband. My website has links to my 7 books & 200+ articles: www.greengardeningmatters.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#GrowMoreFood The tomato is classified as a fruit (a berry), but in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it's a vegetable so tomatoes would be subject to a tariff. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_v._...
For more info on tomatoes as a crop, read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-...
Cartoon of a bowl of fruit including yellow bananas, a bunch of purple grapes, 3 green apples, one lime, two lemons, three purple plums, and one red tomato, which is saying, "I was born a fruit but I identify as a vegetable." All the fruit have little faces looking toward the tomato, while the face on the tomato is looking back at the other fruit.
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#PlantMoreNatives! Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) appreciation post by Native Yardening. This aggressive vine is native to eastern North America & is in the grape family (Vitaceae). It supports birds & moths. For more info, here's its FNPS plant profile: www.fnps.org/plant/parthe...
Poster with photos of 6 moths (White-lined sphinx moth, Beautiful wood nymph mother, Eight-spotted forester moth, Cecropia silk moth, Pandorus sphinx moth, Hickory tussock moth) and 4 photos of Virginia creeper vine showing green leaves, red leaves, and blue berries borne on reddish stems. Text says, "Cool North America native moths brought to you by one of the most hated native plants: Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)"
January 24, 2026 at 12:37 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Our freedom lawn* is debugged and aerated on a regular basis by flocks of white ibis (both the white adults and brown/gray juveniles). This photo shows only about 1/3 of the flock on this day. Our un-poisoned lawn plays an important role in the local ecosystem.
*See below for more on freedom lawns.
Photo of flock of more than 20 birds feeding on a lawn. Most of the birds are white with curved orange beaks and orange legs. A few of the birds are a bit smaller with brown/gray feathers. Beyond the lawn is an area with bunching grasses and bottoms of tree trunks. Text says, "Lawn patrol"
January 23, 2026 at 1:10 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#Sunrise Take a break from the news and breathe deep!
This is a new day and a new opportunity to do something positive for yourself, your family, and for our only planet.
I took this "fire-in-the-sky" photo on this date several years ago.
Photo of trees, mainly 2 pine trees, silhouetted by orange & yellow light low in the sky. Puffy gray clouds are covering the rest of the sky.
January 22, 2026 at 2:40 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is easy to grow in Florida. It's drought tolerant once established & makes a versatile shrub in the landscape. AND you'll never need to pay $3.15 per ounce for this wonderful Mediterranean herb again.
Read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2017/12/holi...
Photo of a grocery store shelf showing 2 jars of McCormick gourmey rosemary with a price of $1.95 & $3.15/oz. Text at the top says, "Why buy rosemary like this at $3.15 per ounce, when it's an easy to grow shrub?"
January 21, 2026 at 5:07 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#Rethinkthelawn to save money, to support pollinators, to make your yard healthier for your children & your pets, and to improve the water quality in nearby waterways.
Let's work to unpoison our lawns & to make them much smaller in 2026!
Before & After photos of a small but steeply sloped front yard. the Before photo shows a small white house with a green lawn on the slope. There is a sidewalk and stairs with a black metal railing from the house down to the street-level sidewalk. The After photo shows the same house, but the lawn has been replaced by a gardened filled with a variety of plants-many are in bloom. There are rocks and rock walls holding back the soil. Text says "Native garden design can help save pollinators"
January 20, 2026 at 2:15 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#AMomentinNature was this amazing sunrise over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, FL. Ahhh... Breathe deep! #NatureHeals
Photo of the sky, water, and plants in the foreground. The sky is mostly cloudy and there are 3 large rays of pink light across the gray clouds. The pink is reflected in the slightly wavy water. The plants in the foreground, including a leafy shrub & rushes, are silhouetted by the light.
January 18, 2026 at 6:46 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Read this gift article from NY Times for a deep dive into mycorrhizae, underground fungi: “These underground ecosystems play a crucial role in regulating the climate. Soils store about 75% of Earth’s terrestrial carbon & contain close to 60% of Earth’s biodiversity."
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/s...
Toby Kiers, World Champion of Fungus
www.nytimes.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:47 AM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#Sunflower I used this photo to end my presentation on Maya, Aztec, & Inca on the Viking Mars yesterday. All 3 civilizations worshipped the sun as a god & sunflowers were an important crop for them. Guest lecturing on ships is part of my outreach. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2017/03/reac...
Photo of a sunflower in full bloom with yellow & orange petals. Several bees are in the brown center of the flower head. Green leaves are in the background. Text says, "Sunflower"
January 16, 2026 at 2:46 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#ThereisNoPlanetB! Sue Reed & I did not debate climate or its causes in our award-winning book, "Climate-Wise Landscaping: Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future," but we said let’s roll up our sleeves to convert our yards & communities to be more Earth-Friendly. www.climatewiselandscaping.com
Cover of "Climate-Wise Landscaping: Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future 2nd edition" by Sue Reed and Ginny Stibolt. Foreword by Doug Tallamy. It includes 2 photos. The top photo shows a corner of a house with a rain barrel under a downspout, a native filled yard with blooming native plants and a brick walkway and trees in the background. The second photo is a black swallowtail butterfly nectaring on a pink mountain laurel flower.
January 16, 2026 at 2:27 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Some things to think about from Native Yardening:
Things my native yard provides that a lawn could never:
⛈ Stormwater management
💪 Climate resilience
🍄 Healthy soil
🐦 Wildlife habitat
🦋 Pollinator breeding grounds
♻ A living ecosystem
& much more: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2021/05/our-...
Photo of an untrimmed meadow-like yard filled with native plants. In the background is a paved street and several brick houses. Text boxes overlay the photo with these messages: "Stormwater management", "Home insulation", "Climate resilience", "Healthy soil", "Wildlife habitat", Air quality improvement", "Pollinator breeding grounds", "A living ecosystem", "Privacy", "Awareness", "Land restoration", "Carbon sequestration", "Biodiversity"
January 15, 2026 at 1:45 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#SoilEcosystem "A small Douglas fir tree grown in a glass box reveals the level of white, finely branched mycorrhizal threads or "mycelium" that attach to roots and feed the plant."
Soil sequesters 4 times more carbon than all terrestrial plants. We must stop treating our precious soil like dirt!
Photo of a needled tree seedling growing in a narrow glass-sided container so all its roots are splayed out and are visible in the dark brown soil. An extensive amount of white fungi are attached to and growing with the tree roots,
January 14, 2026 at 1:25 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
When current events are too depressing, we are not helpless. We can step back and take some positive steps for ourselves, our families, & friends. And it's especially important for our grandkids that we do something positive for our only planet as this Nature Conservancy graphic suggests.
A graphic of the earth in the center surrounded by earth-friendly actions. Text says, "Speak up for Nature at city counsil meetings. Talk to friends & family about climate change. Take public transportation. Advocate for community composting. Voice your support for Mother Nature on social media. Rewild your lawn. Support your local farmers market. Voluteer with local environmental groups. Join a community march or rally. Run for office. Join the Natur. Conservancy (that's us)."
January 13, 2026 at 5:26 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#EatMorePlants! This NY Times article highlights why grass-fed beef does not have a lighter global footprint than factory farmed beef. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Is Grass-Fed Beef Really Better for the Climate?
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:44 AM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#AMomentinNature is appreciating this magnified leaf pore (stomate), which is open & is allowing air & water to flow in & out of the leaf. The plant uses CO2 from the air for photosynthesis to make sugar with O2 released as a gas. Most organisms depend on this amazing process for energy for life.
Magnified photo of an elongated leaf pore which is open to the interior of the leaf. The magnified surface of the leaf around the pore is green & is somewhat uneven with lighter green hairs.
January 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Lichens are a result of a symbiotic relationship of a fungus, a photosynthetic partner, either green algae or cyanobacteria, or both, & as recently discovered, bacteria. FYI, lichens are beneficial in their ecosystems & do not harm trees. Read: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2020/11/lich...
Photo of a branch covered with gray and gray-green lichens of various forms laying on a forest floor.
January 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Read this article based on an interview with me. “How to turn your backyard into a carbon sink: 4 steps to replace your lawn with a carbon-sequestering garden”
“I can sum it up in one sentence, “We need to stop treating our soil like dirt.”
thinklandscape.globallandscapesforum.org/38003/how-to...
Photo of hands holding rich, brown soil over a lawn area.
January 11, 2026 at 12:51 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#NatureHeals When current events are too depressing, getting out in nature helps to restore our well-being.
Here are 2 Wood Storks, aka Ironheads, in the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, FL at sunrise. OK, breathe deep!
Photo of 2 wading birds in shallow water with evenly-spaced, gentle waves with the tops of the waves colored pink.
January 9, 2026 at 3:17 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is an easy-to-grow perennial crop in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is native to Europe & Africa. Leaves taste like cucumbers. It's easy to grow from seed. It's best to plant this with other perennial crops. Read:
greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2022/02/sala...
Photo of a plant with leaves with jagged edges arranged along green stems. A drop of water is on each little point of the leaves. Text says, "Salad burnet Sanguisorba minor"
January 8, 2026 at 2:25 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#GardeningForTheBirds includes:
-No landscape-wide pesticides (including lawn chemicals),
-Groups of native trees, shrubs, bunching grasses, & ground covers. Ideas for bird-friendly habitat are in "Climate-Wise Landscaping: Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future." www.climatewiselandscaping.com
Photo of a Cedar Waxwing bird with mostly light brown feathers and a dark bill and dark eye spot. It has a berry in its beak. Woody plants with green leaves and more berries are in the background. Title text says, "Climate-Wise landscapes support birds beautifully!"
January 7, 2026 at 2:53 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#AMomentinNature was seeing and listening to this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) high in a mostly bare tree. They are exuberant singers, with one of the largest repertoires of any North American songbird. For more info: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_...
Photo of a bird perched on a small tree branch overhead. The branch is mostly bare with smooth gray bark and a few tufts of lichen are attached to some of the branches. The bird is dark brown on its back with a mostly white belly streaked with brown. Blue sky in the background.
January 7, 2026 at 2:42 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Making a resolution to garden more into the new year will be good for you in several ways.
If you also want your gardening to be good for our only planet, read our award-winning book: www.climatewiselandscaping.com
Graphic labeled "10 reasons to garden * (not medical advice) 1. Burns calories 2. Provides focus for our lives 3. Is similar to meditation 4. Reduces osteoporosis 5. Lifts modd 6. Reduces stress 7. Reduces risk of stroke 8. Controls high blood pressure 9. Strengthens immune system 10 Lowers risk off dementia" There are 3 photos: Top photo showa woman digging in a garden with a wheelbarrow at her side. Text on that photo, "Gardening is the slowest form of performance art." 2nd photo is of a black bee on a yellow flower with indentations at the end of each petal. 3rd photo is of an orange, black & whie monarch butterfly on some orange& yellow milkweed flowers.
January 6, 2026 at 1:53 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#NewYear2026 Make a resolution to remove more lawn & add more native plants this coming year. Doug Tallamy's research shows that even for small yards, natives make a big difference for birds and pollinators. Tallamy wrote the Foreword for "Climate-Wise Landscaping" www.climatewiselandscaping.com
Photo of an open wooded area with sun rays shining through a ground fog. A wildflowered meadow is between the trees. Text says, "To me the choice is clear. The costs of increasing the percentage of natives in our suburban landscapes are small, and the benefits are immense. -Doug Tallamy" Image by Larry Weiner.
January 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#ThereisNoPlanetB! As my daughter and granddaughter move into the future, I wish to leave our Mother Earth in the best shape possible. This is why I work so hard for environmental causes. Won't you join me?
My article lists ideas to fight back: greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-gr...
Photo of the back of a woman with long blond hair walking along a road. She's wearing a blue with white polka-dotted shirt and is carrying a small child wearing a red shirt and green pants with white polka dots. The child is facing the camera and is waving.
January 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
#PlantMoreNatives! Wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) is an easy-to-grow evergreen shrub that's native fron NJ to TX. It's dioecious (male and female flowers borne on separate plants). Female trees produce waxy fruit that feed migrating birds in winter. greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2022/01/wax-...
Photo of branches filled with gray-colored fruit and stiff green leaves. Traces of blue sky are in the background. The text says, "Female wax myrtle (Morella cerifera)"
January 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM