What’s blooming at the South Carolina Botanical Garden this week!
24.07.2023 - 12:22 / hgic.clemson.edu
Cleaning up a school garden after a prolonged absence or period of neglect can seem like an overwhelming task, particularly now as schools are working out how to reopen safely. Although it seems the world has changed in many ways, school gardens still offer students hands-on, experiential learning opportunities that cannot be found inside four walls. Perhaps now more than ever, it’s important to give children the chance to explore in a garden and to offer spaces for outdoor learning. Here are a few tips for creating a safe and positive garden environment, even if you haven’t been able to work in your school garden in awhile.
Before heading out to the school garden for the first time after a prolonged absence, scout the area for potential hazards. Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) are notorious for moving into raised bed gardens. Educators will need to reach out to their school administrators or maintenance personnel for help in managing these insect pests.
According to South Carolina state pesticide laws, only licensed pest control operators are permitted to apply pesticides on school-owned property. For more information, consult the Educators’ Guide To Managing Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis Invicta) In School Or Community Gardens.
Occasionally, the corners of raised beds may be broken by lawn mowers or other equipment, check that these are in place, and do not pose a threat or danger to students. Raised beds made with long pieces of rebar or other metal stakes should be capped and secured to avoid injuries.
Tall weeds make the perfect cover for wildlife such as mice, snakes, and other critters. See Clemson Extension Home & Garden Factsheet 2362 “Wildlife Control” for tips on managing these animals. Be sure to wear gloves
What’s blooming at the South Carolina Botanical Garden this week!
2020 Master Gardener Training Course registration is OPEN
Garden Sprouts is a program I run at the South Carolina Botanical Garden that is designed for preschoolers and caregivers. This class takes place once a week for three months every spring and fall. The goal is to share age-appropriate nature-based activities with children, who are mostly three to five years old, but sometimes younger or older. Over time I have learned the caregivers also learn things they never knew, enjoy the activities immensely, and are able to connect more deeply to the natural world through this program. The structure of this hour-long program is three-fold, we begin inside with a book related to the theme of the day, a walk or outdoor activity, and finally a craft. In this blog, I would like to share some of the books, outdoor activities, and crafts we have done in this class.
Want to add a tropical flair to your garden this spring? Elephant ears will add a bold statement to a filtered sun or high shade spot. These striking “drama queens” of the garden may be either in genera Colocasia or Alocasia. The easiest way to tell these beauties apart is that colocasias (Colocasia esculenta) will have leaves that point downward, and alocasia (Alocasia species) leaves will point upward. Depending on the species or cultivar of each genus, the size can range from 3 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 10 feet in width. Both types of elephant ears are native to the tropical regions of Southeastern Asia.
“Spring in Nature’s way of saying Let’s Party” ~Robin Williams~
Recently, an impressive amount of rain has fallen in South Carolina. With excess rainfall, also comes an increased potential for stormwater runoff. A landscape feature that can help mediate stormwater is a rain garden. Rain gardens are landscaped depressions that receive stormwater runoff and allow the water to infiltrate the soil slowly, eventually reaching the groundwater table. (See Figure 1). A rain garden can add both beauty and functionality to any landscape. Multiple plant species can be used in a rain garden, including shrubs, perennials (both shade and sun-loving), and grasses. Please see the plant lists below for rain garden plant recommendations.
What’s blooming at the South Carolina Botanical Garden This Week.
In a year when many of our favorite sporting events have been postponed or even canceled, the garden marches on! As gardeners, we have our own backyard competitions each year, keeping mental notes on which varieties we will plant again or replace due to their performance on our ‘home court’. But choosing which varieties will be in our starting lineup each year can become a daunting task.
Come for a fall stroll in the beautiful South Carolina Botanical Gardens and see what’s blooming this week.
The “Jurassic Garden” at the South Carolina Botanical Garden represents plant groups that trace their lineage back to at least the late Jurassic/early Cretaceous — a place where you can see dinosaur tracks, fossil casts, and the plants.
Can’t travel right now to see the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona? Come for a visit to the South Carolina Botanical Garden to see selection of the interesting native plants at the Chihuahuan Desert Garden Display.
Daffodils are in bloom all over South Carolina and spring is almost here! Daffodils and Narcissus are the same plant. Narcissus is the scientific name given to the genus of plants commonly called daffodils.