Category: In the Garden

This is an Eastern garter snake. These nonvenomous snakes are pretty common in South Carolina and are active most of the year. They feed primarily on frogs, toads, worms, slugs, and even fish and...

The Monarch Highway is busy this time of year. So, keep an eye out while you are driving or outdoors. First, you may only see one, but keep watching, and eventually, you will see them fluttering by...

I recently came across this caterpillar in the garden. The bright green body first attracted my attention, and then I saw the white additions to its body. This caterpillar is beautiful but doomed;...

The light-colored tissue we see here is the result of squash beetle behavior known as “trenching.” Trenching cuts off (at least temporarily) the translocation of cucurbitacin defense compounds to...

Coastal Region Zack Snipes reports, “What a wild week we had with the hurricane, rain, and storm prep. Overall, the Lowcountry dodged most of the wind and water.  While we still had wind gusts...

Coastal Region – Laura Lee Rose October is a wonderful gardening month in the Lowcountry. As the days get shorter and cooler, the garden centers begin to fill with favorite annuals,...

One of my favorite fall gardening joys (I call them joys instead of chores) is planting pansies and violas. This is a yearly rite of passage for me that I have been enjoying since childhood. One of...

This leaf is showing symptoms of a fungal disease called large leaf spot (Monochaetia sp.) that affects oaks and chestnuts. The appropriately named spots may reach 2 inches wide and stretch across...

Coastal Region Rob Last reports, “Sweet potatoes in the area are coming to harvest along with fall watermelons, squash, and zucchini. Diseases are present in the cucurbits, particularly downy mildew...

When I started this series of K.I.S.S. gardening advice, I hoped to inspire those who didn’t know where to begin gardening and those who may have lost joy in their gardening pursuits. After...