Author: Barbara H. Smith

May 04 Week 1 Garden Photos

May 4, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Insects and Animals, Photo Worthy Plants

Summer annual color doesn’t just fill a garden—it transforms it. It spills across beds and borders, weaving together warmth, light, and movement into something you can almost feel. These blooms...

April 27 Week 4 Garden Photos

Apr 27, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants, Uncategorized

“Flowers are the music of the ground from Earth’s lips spoken without sound.” ~Edwin Curran~ St. Joseph's Lily (Hippeastrum x johnsonii) Barbara H. Smith, ©2026 HGIC, Clemson...

Annual Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) in South Carolina

Apr 23, 2026 | In the Garden

Globe amaranth is an easy-to-grow annual that adds vibrant summer color, supports pollinators, and works well in beds, containers, and dried arrangements.

March 20 Week 3 Garden Photos

Apr 20, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

By late April, the Southern garden is no longer waking–it’s singing, full-throated in blooms; color spilling faster than the eye can behold. Maid in the Shade® 'Darlin's Dream' Azalea (...

April 13 Week 2 Garden Photos

Apr 13, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

Spring in the South is a gentle spilling of green, a chorus of birdsong, flowers bursting into bloom, and the slow return of warmth to every corner of the garden. Clematis Bouquet Ginger Long, ©2026...

April 06 Week 1 Garden Photos

Apr 6, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

It’s spring in South Carolina—the kind of season that makes you look twice at everything just in case it bloomed overnight. Bashful Wakerobin (Trillium catesbaei) Julia Nichols, ©2026...

March 30 Week 5 Garden Photos

Mar 30, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

For just a few short weeks, the forest floor comes alive with spring ephemerals in bloom. They remind us how beauty doesn’t have to last long to leave an impression. Nodding Trillium (Trillium...

The Art of Floriography: Designing Wedding Flowers with Meaning

Mar 26, 2026 | In the Garden

Discover the meaning behind wedding flowers and colors, and how to design a bouquet that reflects love, tradition, and symbolism.

March 23 Week 4 Garden Photos

Mar 23, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

Evergreen magnolias add a quiet sense of understated permanence and beauty to the garden landscape. Red Lotus Hybrid Magnolia (Magnolia yuyuanensis x insignis) Barbara H. Smith, ©2025 HGIC, Clemson...

March 16 Week 3 Garden Photos

Mar 16, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

Where Spring Begins: A Garden Photo Journey Through the Beauty of Deciduous Magnolias Yellow Bird Magnolia (Magnolia acuminata 'Yellow Bird') Barbara H. Smith, ©2025 HGIC, Clemson Extension Woodsman...

March 09 Week 2 Garden Photos

Mar 9, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in the garden.” ~Ruth Stout~ Mrs. R.O. Backhouse Daffodil (Narcissus 'Mrs. R.O. Backhouse') Barbara H. Smith,...

March 02 Week 1 Garden Photos

Mar 2, 2026 | Photo Blog, Photo Worthy Plants

“The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” ~Harriet Ann Jacobs~ Skeeter Cat in the Ice Follies Daffodils (Narcissus 'Ice...