Author: Laura Lee Rose

One of my first horticulture experiences involved my grandparents and a sandbox. They appropriated my sandbox – I guess I’d outgrown it, if that’s possible. It was in a sunny garden area beside their house. I thought their yard was a magical place.

Pack a punch with native plants and attract pollinators at the same time. A Carolina fence garden is a great way to set aside an area in a home or school yard that will be easy to design, install and maintain. Using native shrubs and perennials will also give the landscape plants with a purpose.  There is a native plant for every square inch of this garden. 

I’m often asked, “When is winter here?” There really is and isn’t a good answer. The calendar and the weatherman don’t always sing from the same songbook.  Official winter is late December to late March. That lands spring at the end of April until late June. Looking out into the February garden in the lower South we have daffodils, yellow jessamine, saucer magnolias, tea olive, and so many other flowering shrubs and trees blooming in our gardens.

Several families are commonly known as gingers. Sold as ornamentals they can really spice up a garden bed and evoke exotic places.  Many grow from fleshy underground stems or rhizomes and send up shoots with solid green, red, or striped foliage. I found eleven separate genera and some with multiple species and varieties listed in a plant catalogue hardy in zones 7-11.

As the days shorten and night temperatures begin to cool down a little, we can venture outdoors and get the fall garden work done. There are lots of things to plant in flower beds and vegetable garden and the sooner the better for those veggies.

Summertime, and whether you are working or vacationing there is probably a water element on the schedule. We spend a lot of resources seeking water. Adult humans need to drink at least 8 cups of water a day, but that would be increased to one gallon for men and ¾ gallon for women who are active. Water is essential to all life.

There are so many alternatives to lawn that are available, and they can add beauty and environmental services. Lawn or turf can be expensive to grow and maintain. There are areas in the yard that are too shady, sloped or have poor drainage. Most of our warm season grasses require full/part sun, regular irrigation, and well drained soils.

What a joy to grow plants with attractive foliage, flowers and fruit, but doubly useful to grow those plants as food! Ornamentals are just good looking, but if they can be baked in a pie or eaten in a salad, all the better.

Non-native or exotic invasive plants are species that were introduced to an area and, having no natural predators, displace native species.