Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Dusty Miller: A Southern Gardener's Reliable Friend

I love Dusty Miller. My mother used to grow it in Virginia. She paired it with pachysandra in the front of her beds. The bed would wind around and underneath some gorgeous pink peonies. Such a loyal and hardy plant. Swings from the heat of summer right into the Southern frigid days of winter. I feel bad....I've taken it for granted for so long. Shame on me. It deserves high honors for making other plants and flowers look great! It's insane the different varieties now: wide leaves, lacy. Texture, no texture.

On 'Design Sponge' I love what they've done with Dusty Miller. You rarely think of it as a cut flower/plant, but these ideas are truly inspiring. It gave me some great ideas for next Christmas. Red camellias, pyracantha, and dusty miller in a gorgeous hurricane lantern vase.
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/11/flowers-a-z-d-is-for-dusty-miller.html

Here is my Dusty Miller, a photo taken yesterday, paired up with my waning, and nearly spent, impatiens. Still going strong. Next year I vow to pay more attention to putting the focus on IT!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Charleston Snow and the Holidays!



(fabulous photos were taken by my niece Alaina!)

It was an unbelievable December. We had lots of family in town for the holidays and we all had so much fun. We had the big Christmas Eve party with lasagna, ham, and chili, an oyster roast overseen by the fire pit master--my brother-in-law Adam--along with fried shrimp whipped up by him and my sister-in-law Lisa, New Year's Eve tacos & fireworks, and a fabulous New Year's Day feast made by Grandma Dianne complete with collards, and black eyed peas with rice. To die for....

No one goes overboard like I do at Christmas time. My daughter says I have at least eight Christmas trees (I might actually have 10, but I'm not sure). Above are two of our largest trees. A white tree with blue lights and ornaments that goes up on Thanksgiving day in the living room. My husband Lee calls it a "Landing Beacon" for the C-17 planes flying over. And then a great smelling fresh Frasier fir in the den with homemade ornaments that we put up the first weekend in December.(Thymes candles has an incredibly realistic smelling Frasier fir candle that I buy every year. They're expensive, but well worth it! www.thymes.com.)
One of the best things that happened Christmas weekend is that it snowed! I've been waiting for this for years! It was the second time in one year that we've had snow in Charleston(unheard of). we also saw measurable snow on February 12. For a town that gets measurable snow only every 10 years or so, and maybe a flurry every three years it was an amazing site! Attached is a video of the snow falling over the spartina grass and marsh in my backyard. And the fact that it snowed during the day (which is even more of an anomaly because it's usually too warm) we had some great opportunities to get some photographs.


What a wonderful time I had with my husband and daughter, and family. I preserved every moment with photos and will remind myself all year long of just how lucky I am!
Happy New Year!

New Year's Week: 2012

Pretty soon our coldest week will be here in Charleston. Our last chance for snow, which is what my daughter and I look forward to every winter. Time to cut back all of the coleus, Persian shield, and dead ligularia & hydrangea blooms. Looking forward to several months of camellias though! And can't wait to see how many color combinations that local gardeners make out of pansies with decorative cabbages. On a side note: Hyams Garden Center on Folly Road has a new website. If you love boutique garden shopping in Charleston, then you've been there. They also have a blog and an e-newsletter you can sign up for. www.hyamsgardencenter.com This Palmetto, SC state tree, was gorgeous this morning at sunrise towering over a frozen puddle. Frozen puddles are a rare sight in downtown Charleston.
Camellias are back! My neighbor has more than 40 varieties in her backyard, but doesn't know any of their names since the previous homeowner planted them over 25 years ago. These drape over the fence into my yard. More camellia photos to follow....
I found this funky fungus growing in my next door neighbor's yard growing in their mulch. It looks so incredibly poisonous but after reading up on this "column stinkhorn" it appears to be OK. But the smell is so terrible, I don't see how anyone would get close enough to even find out if it was poisonous!