When I Found Blood Lilies in Africa….
Cows, pecan trees, okra fields, rusty tin roofs and plenty of racism just weren’t for this free spirited 19-year-old boy. So I ran hard to get away from that run-down family farm. In one giant, naive leap that freaked the family out, I left South Carolina to enroll, as the only, actually the first, American…
Read MorePlants & Problems of Wild Gardens
Naturalist Gardening Examples & Plants Where we are on the map. Walter’s climatic diagrams. What our woods look like. Echaw Creek, SC via Coastal Expeditions Inc. Bushhog Borders; Large grasses Erianthus ravennae, Juncus, Mulenbergia capillaris, Panicum, Spartina. Perennials Aster carolinanus, Conoclinium, Crinum bulbispermum, Hibiscus coccinus, Oenothera. Overseeded with clover, Linaria canadensis, Ratibida. Coppiced Shrubs Salix,…
Read MoreDeer Moss and Gum Drop Trees
December means hiking into a special dry place in our woods. It’s a bald spot, open and dry and sunny. A magic carpet of deer moss yields spongy with each step. Silvery green carpet colors, climb the little haw trees too. Lichens, with silver leaves. Only lichens are not plants, so they don’t have leaves. …
Read MoreDeer Moss and Gum Drop Trees
December means hiking into a special dry place in our woods. It’s a bald spot, open and dry and sunny. A magic carpet of deer moss yields spongy with each step. Silvery green carpet colors, climb the little haw trees too. Lichens, with silver leaves. Only lichens are not plants, so they don’t have leaves. …
Read MoreKitchen And Pantry In The Yard — A Cooking and Gathering Garden.
Patrick, the client, turned this garden design upside down. The original plan was for a spiffy lap pool. But Patrick loves to cook and he really wanted an outdoor kitchen; not the kind with stainless steel appliances and an keg-erator. But a real outdoor kitchen complete with a pantry full of fruits and veggies. We…
Read MoreSeptember is Still Summer
Late summer here extends into September and October. Plants love it. This is the best time of year for gardens in the south. I like to garden visit now, everything is full and flowing, purple and orange, dripping with the weight of summer growth and buzzing with moths and the energy of life. Here are…
Read MoreTrends in Foodscaping
“Over the past decades, our plant pallet changed in ways other than you might expect. Plant explorers and breeders bring new plants into nurseries. They, as well as garden designers, decorators and all sorts of cultural leaders, become the tastemakers, slowly changing which plants we can get hold of…..One slow, huge change, tracks our shift…
Read MoreONLY Three Seeds Covered this Trellis with Giant Gourds
A few winters ago winter I sketched out the shape of a trellis I dreampt up. I wanted this massive thing to fit in on the farm. I wanted visitors to look at it and wonder if it used to be some sort of agricultural structure. Then I went to the metal yard, built it…
Read MoreThe Otherside of the Web Page
I’d like to introduce you to three fellas who keep our website running. They are important in our life. And in your life too. Without the guys who do tedious, frustrating and creative web stuff, I couldn’t focus on growing good bulbs, nor could you read about or buy them for your garden. What’s behind…
Read MoreYou’ll Smell These Two Plants As You Walk Past
Grow these plants along walkways for fragrance every time you pass by. Brush up against them, step on them or pinch a bit off as you pass. In every garden I make, I use a fragrant plant like this; it never fails to delight. These two are favorites: one thrives in sun, one thrives in…
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