Giant Coneflower
I love adding drama to a garden, especially choosing a plant that will stop you in your tracks with your mouth gaping open! One such plant is the giant coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima). It’s a...
Tag: Spring Landscape 2023
K.I.S.S. Landscape Irrigation: A Lazy Gardener’s Irrigation System
Unpopular opinion incoming… I don’t enjoy summer in South Carolina. I prefer cool, crisp fall or spring days or cold winter days to summer’s oppressive heat and humidity. But it’s...
Hummingbird Favorite: Salvia
Like most South Carolina nature lovers, I look forward to the return of Ruby-throated hummingbirds every spring. I enjoy seeing them in my garden, visiting flower after flower chirping along the...
Common Violets, a Beautiful Treasure
If your garden is anything like mine at this time of year, it is peppered with these beautiful little treasures: common violets (Viola sororia). These blue, purple, and sometimes almost white, small...
WANTED: Elaeagnus – Dead, Not Alive
While walking in the South Carolina Botanical Garden, I came across a substantial pile of Elaeagnus recently cut from our woods. My eye was caught by the silvery underside of the leaves flashing in...
My Neighbor’s Grass is Greener
It’s seemed like ages since it’s actually been acceptable to recommend fertilizer on a homeowner’s lawn, but the month of May is upon us, meaning our warm-season grasses should be...
Annual Vines for the Mailbox or Trellis
The pioneering American landscape architect Frank Lloyd Wright once said: “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines.” Aside from hiding things,...
Honey Bee Pollen Timing Chart
Use this chart to track when honey bees collect pollen from various plants, supporting better hive care and productivity.
Shamrocks and St. Patrick’s Day
If you visit your favorite garden center in late February or early March, you’ll likely find shamrock plants to coincide with the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. The myths and folklore...
Agave approaching full bloom in June 2018.
Have you ever seen a century plant bloom? If not, put it on your horticultural bucket list! Century plant is a common name for a number of species of agave (Agave sp.), usually Agave americana in...