Category: In the Garden

Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

Nov 19, 2018 | In the Garden

Common chickweed is a low, spreading, winter annual weed that germinates when we receive lots of cool, wet weather. Its leaves are opposite each other, smooth and elliptical in shape. It is tolerant...

Cottony Plants Abound

Nov 15, 2018 | In the Garden

My daily commute to Sumter is a joy. Although I’m wary of logging trucks during the daytime and deer and wild hogs at dusk, mostly I am free to enjoy the fields and woodlands I pass. Calhoun County,...

Fothergilla – The Best of the Natives

Nov 12, 2018 | In the Garden

No other plant native to South Carolina has such fragrant and beautiful spring blooms and stunning fall color as the witch-alders. Fothergilla was named after Dr. John Fothergill, an English...

Fall Leaves: To Leave or Not to Leave

Nov 7, 2018 | In the Garden

Fall brings that time of year when leaf color can be its most vibrant! However, as time marches on towards the winter season, leaves quickly begin to fall to the ground and create a blanket of...

Mikania scandens, Climbing Hemp

Nov 5, 2018 | In the Garden

I really need to keep waterproof boots and a long-handled hard rake in my car as I often find myself negotiating (unsuccessfully) roadside ditches to get specimens or take pictures of plants growing...

Halloween Means Bat Week!

Oct 31, 2018 | In the Garden

Of the animals we associate with Halloween, bats are arguably the most popular and terrifying. Since the days of Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors, bats have been widely misunderstood animals in...

Composting Tips

Oct 29, 2018 | In the Garden

Autumn is not only time to rake leaves but also time to start a compost pile. Fallen leaves provide the ‘brown’ carbon-rich ingredients to the compost pile, while grass clippings from the last lawn...

Weed of the Month – Florida Betony

Oct 24, 2018 | In the Garden

Florida betony is a cool season perennial weed that is beginning to come out of dormancy now. Another common name for this weed is rattlesnake weed, because of the thick white tubers that form...

Pickens, Oconee, Anderson (POA) Master Gardener Program

Oct 23, 2018 | In the Garden

Join Master Gardener Coordinator LayLa Burgess for her spring 2019 Master Gardener class. The class will meet each Monday, January 28 through May 20, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at SC...

South Carolina Farmer Kevin Yon Named 2018 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year

Oct 17, 2018 | In the Garden

News Release For Release Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 after 1:30 p.m. South Carolina Farmer Kevin Yon Named 2018 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year (Moultrie, Ga.)—Kevin Yon, a highly successful purebred Angus beef cattle producer and a leader in beef cattle and Angus breed organizations, has been selected as the overall winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern...

Fruit Garden Sanitation and Preparation

Oct 15, 2018 | In the Garden

With the arrival of October, there comes the end of hopefully a productive growing season. Gardeners should focus on practicing good sanitary practices to reduce the incidence of pest problems next...

Fall Colors Are Coming!

Oct 10, 2018 | In the Garden, Landscape

Every year people flock to the mountains or the local countryside to see the wondrous colors of fall. Personally, my favorites are the rarer, bright reds of maples and the golden yellows of...