Clemson’s Sustainable Landscape Demonstration Garden is a multidisciplinary effort to create something that is both beautiful and beneficial. The garden consists of almost entirely native plants, making it low-maintenance and drought tolerant. It is cared for by Clemson students and is often used for research on the benefits of nature on human health using voluntary surveys on people visiting the garden.
In September, Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast, Clemson included. Thankfully, due to the stress tolerance of the plants in the Demo Garden, the garden is looking good.
The Demo Garden strives to be as sustainable as possible, so its maintenance must reflect that. With fall just around the corner, the plants in the garden must be pruned back, and withered plants need to be removed. Seedheads are left on the plants after blooming is over to ensure that birds and small mammals can eat them, and plants can re-seed for next year.
Even though summer has passed and it’s getting cooler, the garden is still full of color and interesting textures that provide ornamental value to campus. The most notable blooms right now are the swamp sunflowers that bloom regularly in the late summer to early fall. The fothergilla are starting to get their first flushes of fall color, typically a rusty red or burgundy. The feathery plumes from the muhly grass continue to add color and texture to the garden.
As fall sets in, we can expect shrubs and trees to continue to change color and more herbaceous plants to start to die back. The American beautyberry is heavy-set with fruit and will stay that way throughout the fall before dropping its leaves in winter. The shagbark hickory’s leaves will begin to turn a stunning yellow color. With the diversity of native plants in the Demo Garden, there will be lots of interesting changes to observe well into the fall as the garden gets ready to rest for the winter.