Tulip Poplar Bouquet: 4 '23

 Surprise, surprise! Tulip Poplar blossoms make nice little bouquets.

I picked these blossoms up off of the ground yesterday  after the wind blew them off of our tree    and stuck them in a cup of water.

They are still loooking fresh and lovely today.

They're still looking quite fresh today

Etrog Tree is in Bloom: 4'23

I am sooo happy.

Our Etrog tree has blossoms.

Maybe I will  get lucky and have a fruit set this year..

 

Tulip poplar in Bloom: 4 '2023

The Tulip Poplars in our backyard are in bloom.  They have pretty little blossoms, but they grow so high up in the tree that unless you are in the habit of walking around looking straight up at the sky, I doubt that you would even be aware that they are blooming. 

From the ground below the tree, they are not visible at all,  The blossoms are all on the outermost tips of the tallest branches and the foliage below them blocked my view.  I took some photos of the tree from the front yard, but then I was too far away, and when I zoomed in, the wind was moving the tree tips so much that all I got was colored blurs.

The best photos I have are of the blossoms the wind has knocked off of the trees.

As you can see, they really are quite pretty. It's just unfortunate they only bloom so high in the air .

Fall Foliage: 12/22

 This is the first time in my life, that I have lived in a home

 that is surrounded by seasonal color,

Looking North in our backyard

 and I must say, I am loving the fall foliage.

Looking Southfrom our backyard

Looking west

Of course, there is a downside...

I think it may take me until 2023 to get all of the leaves 

that have fallen raked up

and 

into the compost pile.

A Paradise in the Making

The interior of this home was in good shape when we moved in  but all the yards were badly in need of trimming.  The first week we were here, Bruce dived right in and began trimming all of the trees in the backyard so they weren't smacking us in the face every time we stepped outside.

All fourteen of them!  

We have a forest of deciduous trees in our backyard.

Meanwhile, I (CC) tackled cleaning up the front yard.

The front yard area does not have as many trees as the backyard has.

There's just one large silver palm in the center of the lawn,

and 

five (5) mature Cycads are scattered in the front flower beds.

BUT

none of these plants looked like they had ever been trimmed!

AND

There were massive fire-ant mounds all over the front lawn and flowerbeds.

It took both Bruce and I  two weeks to get all of the  Virginia Creeper pulled off of the silver palm tree,

 and it took me another week to remove all of the dead fronds skirting the cycads.

Meanwhile, we were both engaged in a constant battle with the fire-ant colonies that had taken up residence all over the front yard.  TBD who is winning that war; every time I think they're gone, we find a new fire ant's nest.

The previous tenant had used two sideyards on either side of the house as utility storage areas

The yard on the North side of the property (above)  was covered from the fence to the house with a healthy (but badly overgrown) St Augustine lawn.

I plan on making this area a cut-flower garden and have been carefully removing 18" of the healthy turf from along the fence and house walls to make room for the new flowering plants. 

The yard on the Southside of the property (shown above) appears to have been used as parking for a boat &/or a recreational vehicle. This area was supposed to be covered from the fence to the house with St Augustine grass but instead has a large area adjacent to the house that is barren and void of anything but weeds. We are planning to turn this into a small raised bed vegetable garden. So far, we have managed to weed and covered the barren area with landscape cloth.  Then we moved all of the potted herbs that we brought with us onto the landscape cloth. 

As you can see from the photos above, we haven't put many plants in the ground. Virtually all of the plants we brought with us from Pawleys Island remain in the pots we brought them in, as are all of the new plants we have purchased since we came here.

In part that is because we are still waiting to determine how much sunlight and/ or shade different areas get,  so they will all have a suitable light exposure.  We also are waiting to determine how much difference there is in rainfall between Summerville and Pawleys so we can figure out how much watering we will need to do in different portions of the yard. (There aren't any sprinkler systems for any of the yards).

Even though our yard is not yet the lush garden of Eden we are envisioning it will become, we are pleased with the progress we are making, and our new neighbors are ecstatic that we are keeping everything so trim and tidy.  That alone is a huge improvement in their minds.

 

Our Hibiscus love Summerville 7' 22

We were not sure how well our hibiscus would do in Summerville.  

They are all living in pots, and will remain  in pots until we can get the fireants under control and build th plants a raised bed.

We brought several hibiscus with us from Pawleys Island Our Hibiscus will remain  in pots until we can get the fireants under control and build them a raised bed.and  inspite of having their roots crammed into 3 - 7 gallon size pots,  all of them look healthy,  All but three of them have started blooming. They all seem to love it here.

Texas  Star AKA Swamp Hibiscus

Our Texas Star Hibiscus (Aka Swamp Hibiscus) was the first to bloom, which didn't surprise us as it is native to the South Eastern USA .

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Cooperii'

I was more surprised at how well the relatively rare Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Cooperii' with its beautiful tri-colored foliage is doing. 

 The plant is covered in crimson blooms.

Potted Hibiscus Head over Heels

Hibiscus Head over Heels

We are more-impressed with how spectacularly well  our Hbiscus Head over Heels Desire is performing after her move.  She is covered with massive dinner- plate size crimson blossoms which glow brightly against her purple foliage and has nearly doubled in size..

Nrusery Hopping in Summerville 7 '22

 Bruce and I have finally reached the point where we are well enough organized indoors that we can start turning our attention to the outside of our new home. Both the front and back yards are infested with biting ant colonies so we can't really plant anything in the ground until we get that menace under control. Meanwhile, we have been trimming back overgrown cycads and edging up the lawn so we can see where it ends and the flowerbeds begin. While we are tidying up the home's basic landscape design, we've been visiting the local nurseries to see what plants and products they offer. I must say I am really impressed with the quality of the nurseries in this area.

Stacks Nursery

located at:

10546 Dorchester Rd,

Summerville, SC

is about 4 miles from our front door. This well-organized garden center has everything from pond garden plants, to tropical flowers, to colorful trees and shrubs suitable to this area.

All of the plants Stacks look healthy and are well cared for

and the staff is very helpful.

Flowertown Garden Center

located at:

10 E 5th North Stree, Summerville SC 29483

is a bit further ( about six miles from our home) but is hands down the best nursery we've ever seen. First of all, it's huge ( 3.7 acres all of which are open to the public) .

The plants are arranged like you are visiting some artist's personal backyard.

Each area is connected to the other by named pathways,

There are lots and lots of decorator items

and plenty of humor mixed in with the plants.

their "Funny Farm critters" are sure to bring a smile to your face .

and all around the edges of the property are cute she-sheds

and man-caves filled with interesting local hand-made items ( like honey or unusual garden signs and tools).

Plant-wise there's something for everyone here. Even Bruce couldn't resist buying a hanging pot for our front porch. This place is a must-see for any gardener visiting the area.

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper 7 '22

 The Eastern lubber grasshopper is well-known in Florida and nearby states for its size, color, and large gatherings. This three-inch-long, flightless insect has bright colors to warn predators of its toxicity. Its populations sometimes grow large enough to cause serious damage to citrus and vegetable crops.

We saw our first one in an Ashley River Park, but since then

,  we've found several in our yard. No ownder  my plants' leaves are getting chewed up.

Black Calla Lily

My Black Calla Lily

 I've seen photos of Black Calla Lilies for sale online,

but assumed that the photos of the plant were photo-shopped.

Callas would never be black, I thought!

Then this beauty showed up in the florist section of my local Food Lion.

I stand corrected.

The flowers are a deep maroon color, which at a distance,  

look quite black against the plant's green leaves.

It's the perfect flower for Halloween.

Christmas Cactus in bloom: 1 '21

 

They were a bit late in doing it, but all my Christmas cactus finally decided to bloom.  Our Carolina Room looks so cheerful with all that bright color.

Cranberry Hibiscus Blooms: 11 '20

 

Our Cranberry Hibiscus ( aka Hibiscus acetosella, or African rosemallow) is blooming for the first time. what a spectacular plant; it has mahogany colored leaves and branches with iridescent cranberry flowers.

Moonflower, Queen of the Night: 9'20

 We had our first Moonflower bloom for us last night. It's blossom is larger than my hand and glowed so beautifully beside the dark entry path to our home. It is inspiring me to plant a moon garden next year by our entry- way.

Prepping the garden and house for Isaias 7 ' 20

  I spent the day prepping the house and yard for Isaias

I moved all our lightweight potted plants to  wind-sheltered locations 

and took all our yard art indoors so hit couldn't become a missile.

Then, I harvested all of the cut-flowers, and trimmed their plants back to three feet of lower so they would have less  mass and be less likely to get flatted.

The large bowls of cut-flowers help make  the house look really cheery.

Next I tackled harvesting all my herbs which are in their peak of  summer growth.

I put all the soft herbs like basil into large bowls of water so that they would stay fresh until I had time to process them into pesto, or infuse them into oils.

The remaining culinary herbs were hung  to dry 

from a pot rack above our kitchen sink.

They make the house smell just heavenly. 

Summer Bloom

I brought in the first cut flowers from  of my Summer garden's today.

I look forward all year long to these glorious celebrations of life.

Here come's Peter Cottontail: 3 '20

 The National news media has been relentless  in their coverage of  the devastation COVID 19  has been creating, and how it is  forcing everyone to lock themselves inside their homes, devastating the economy,  putting the entire population of the country at risk of death,  and devastating the economy.  After months of this kind of end of the world  news, Bruce and I decided we needed to do something  to remind ourselves, and our neighbors, that the sun is still shining, and flowers are still blooming, and that this  crisis too shall pass.  We decided to set out our Easter wood art earlier than usual.

We put this family of three front and forward closest to the street.

These two little guys with our initials on them were set closest to the house.

And this Little Bunny Butt went into the narrow flower bed  by the driveway.

Our neighbors have responded positively; many of them  have asked Bruce if he would make one for them to put up in their yard. 

Getting the yard ready for Valentine's Day: 2 ' 20

Bruce and I are really tired of cold weather,

 so we're overjoyed that February is here. 

It is time to put away the snow flakes ornaments

and replace them with the Valentine's Day  decorations.

We were working steadily all throughout January to create

some wooden yard art Valentines Day ornaments.

Most of it took the form of

hearts 

with messages that 

we put in the flowerbeds

and in potted plants.

Closer to the house, we  added  more detail.

Like an elaborate red and white flowered wreath on the door,

 lighted hearts on the front porch,

and a V-Day flag in the window.

 Every time we look we drive up to the house, or look out a window, 

we are greeted with bright colors 

and symbols of love and joy.

We are so glad that Valentine's Day is finally here!