A wet winter and spring has (finally) blasted "drought" conditions throughout South Carolina (for the first time in quite awhile). Drought and prospective drought has been on the radar for most of the last decade and a half, so this is definitely a welcome change. Exceptionally wet spring conditions seemed to have tipped the balance (plenty of rain in March and April) -- the 2 1/2 inches...
Monday, 29 April 2013
The "flowered shirt" book tour continues...
Vero Beach Book Center displayWhen I talk to groups or attend a garden event, I wear a flowered shirt, so I think of this book tour as the "Flowered Shirt" tour and try to make sure that if I return to an area that no one will see me in the same shirt twice.I have one more talk with a Master Gardeners...
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Fairy Gardens
I don't know about you, but I have have seen the sudden rage for fairy gardens everywhere. Every garden center I step into has a dedicated section for these adorable little gardens. I have to admit that even I have a VERY small collection of fairy decor.As I look around I find that these fairies...
A wildflower chat
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My gardening companion and I had fun talking wildflowers recently on Your Day, a daily radio show (Monday-Thursday) produced as a public service of Clemson University Radio Productions. It airs throughout the state on the SC ETV Radio Network at lunchtime, running for an hour.Normally, when I'm on,...
Monday, 22 April 2013
A return visit to "The Pocket"
Pocket FallsThe Pocket is a magical botanical wonderland on Pigeon Mountain, GA. It's a rich cove forest with limestone underpinnings, so is rich with species diversity because of the neutral soils.A return visit (my third this spring) found all sorts of great wildflowers, including this one.PhaceliaAnd...
Friday, 19 April 2013
#1 in Southern Garden Books
Tuesday morning, this happened!While the "Organic Methods..." book has been hovering in the top ten for Southern Garden Books on Amazon, this is the only time I caught it at the #1 spot. Yay! Thanks to everyone who is buying our book.I'm having a great time talking to people about organic...
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Coral honeysuckle
Our coral honeysuckles are in full bloom now -- they've been amazing as the plants have become larger (and gathered resources). It's a wonderful marker of mid-spring, arriving along with the continuing ruby-throated hummingbird migration.My past blog posts (about coral honeysuckle were more numerous...
Monday, 15 April 2013
A book review from Tallahassee
A book review from Tallahassee WritersHere's another excellent review of our book. Reviewer Jenny Crowley ends her review with this:Stibolt and Contreras have constructed a book that appeals to all who wish to grow and produce organic foods in Florida. It is also a book that will interest those who...
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Trees with shadows
view of trees from Biltmore Yesterday, the sun's angle in the late afternoon created crisp shadows -- in dark contrast to the green of newly-mown pasture. This view from the terrace at Biltmore is spectacular at any time of year, now with the soft greens of emerging leaves on the Blue Ridge mountains...
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Bird songs and spring migrants
All of our "regular" garden and backyard residents (at least the males) are singing up a storm, establishing territories for their nesting sites and to attract mates. Northern Cardinals and Northern Mockingbirds are some of the most frequent songs that I'm hearing now - along with Carolina Chickadees and Carolina Wrens. They're favorite familiar birds in our Carolina gardens and natural areas...
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
Spring's in the Air
Our pinxter azalea finally is blooming.It's late this year.Normally, here in northeast Florida, our springs are too short and summer comes too soon. This year has been different. When the hummingbirds arrived a couple of weeks ago, we thought they might freeze their patooties off in the chilly...
Monday, 8 April 2013
A second hummingbird
last year's view in late MarchThis morning, a second hummingbird of the season! I think it was a female, but the light wasn't good enough to tell. S/he was visiting the Carolina Jessamine flowers outside my study window. So nice to see.This year's view is quite similar to last year's!...