Author: Laura Lee Rose

We get real excited about plants and will tout the benefits of this or that one to our friends, but we also need to recognize that they are part of a larger group. We in the Lowcountry have many natural gardens to visit and enjoy, from the swamps and forests to the savannahs and sand dunes. Each “garden” has its rare, occasional, special and common forbs (great old English word for plant).

There are probably as many answers to this question as there are those who work the soil, and we could also have lots of the same answers in different orders of importance. Many of us garden for fruits, flowers, exercise, therapy, and perhaps an innate need to nurture. If you give me some dirt, compost, water, seeds, tubers, cuttings and bulbs, I can make a garden.

Pollinators are vital to agriculture. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male parts of...

One thing that truly defines the Lowcountry would be our trees: Pines, Live Oaks, Cedars, Magnolias, and Hollies. When people move here from other parts of the country, our landscape looks strikingly different because of our native trees, notably the Live Oak.

We are so blessed in Beaufort County to have the creeks, rivers and sounds with abundant recreational and seafood resources. It is also the responsibility of residents and visitors to be good stewards of that natural beauty and wealth. An appreciation of the natural beauty and water quality is not enough. It takes commitment and lifestyle modifications to really protect the resource.

It is appropriate that the first principle of a Carolina Yard and Neighborhood is “Right Plant, Right Place.” Establishing the right plant in the right place makes the other eight principles much easier to obtain. Right plant, right place consists of planning and design. Although picking out the actual plants for your landscape is often the first thing done, it should be that last step in planning and design. The steps of appropriate design are: determine needs for the area, determine maintenance levels, determine site conditions, create your design plan, and lastly, choose plants to meet needs and conditions.

  Gardening in the shade is the delight of Southern gardeners. Because a mature garden is often a shady one, we are blessed with trees and large mature shrubs. There may be a part of the landscape that gets full sun – usually the south or west side of the house. The eastern and northern exposures will be in the shade in summer and winter; temperatures may be considerably cooler in these areas. In the site plan of any new landscaping you would want to know where North is. It is usually shown as an arrow. Looking at a landscape plan, the relationship of the buildings to the north arrow will help in the selection of the right plant for the right place.

When we plant a garden planning is paramount. Where to put the posies and when to plant what? There are all kinds of gardening axioms that may be followed. •   Plant in odd numbers, small things in front, use complementary colors, and give perennials space to fill in. •   I would also like to add that pretty is as pretty does. Plants can be beautiful and do something too.

Camellias have always fascinated me. They are blooming when other flowering shrubs are asleep or just waking up. We see them in parks, homes and gardens across the South, and there are International and American Camellia Societies with local and regional chapters.

A common plant question is: “Why doesn’t my plant bear fruit? It might need a pollinator or pollinizer? A pollinator is a separate plant which donates the pollen and a pollinizer is an agent or facilitator which carries the pollen.