inspired by nature’s layers, but not hung up on natives-only

Summer at the South Carolina Botanical Garden (SCBG) that is a fun time filled with summer camps and children laughing and learning. Below are some of the simple, low cost ideas we used in our Creativity Camp to get children outside, where they enjoyed nature, and tapped into their creativity.

The study of native plants, the ecosystems of South Carolina, and sustainable landscaping practices form the focus of the South Carolina Native Plant Certificate Program. A partnership between the South Carolina Native Plant Society and the South Carolina Botanical Garden, this program gives participants insight into South Carolina’s rich and complex botanical heritage, and offers ways to bolster the states’ biodiversity. This program began in July 2015, and to-date over 300 participants from all over the state, from all walks of life, and of all different ages, have enrolled in the program.

“Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.” Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

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.

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.

Native grasses are an excellent choice for low-maintenance, attractive, and wildlife-friendly plants to add to your landscape. Their beauty is often more subtle than the color splashes of perennials and annuals but can add amazing depth and interest to the gardener’s palette. There are so many species of native grasses to choose from, and each one brings differing structure, texture, and color to the garden. Grasses give multi-season interest to the landscape. Perennial grasses mostly emerge in the spring and are at their peak in summer and tend to be happiest in full sun. Persistent seed heads provide structure and movement to the garden in the fall and well into the winter.

Shearing hedges into cubes, globes, and squares is a form of architectural pruning that balances appearance with shrub health. This balancing act is most evident in the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, SC. Mr. Fryar, and now his protegee, Mike Gibson, Topiary Artist in Residence, skillfully maintain whimsical, fanciful living works of art from ordinary junipers, pines, and cypresses.

In July 2022, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) drew attention to North America’s migrating monarchs by adding them to their ICUN Red List of Threatened Species. In the United States, the more immediate plight of other threatened and endangered species has precluded the monarchs’ inclusion on the Endangered Species List. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that their place on this list is “warranted.” They mandated that the monarchs be reviewed annually as a potential candidate for inclusion. These incredible insects migrate 4000 miles every spring and fall and face immense dangers on this epic journey. What simple steps can you take to help monarchs as they travel past your home?

While walking in the South Carolina Botanical Garden, I came across a substantial pile of Elaeagnus recently cut from our woods. My eye was caught by the silvery underside of the leaves flashing in the sun. Elaeagnus have a distinctive form: multiple stems at the base, which shade out other plants, and whip-like, elongated stems above. Battling Elaeagnus, along with English ivy, Chinese privet, and Kudzu, is ongoing in many places, including the SCBG. These plants were all introduced with good intent in the 1800s but rapidly got out of control and became invasive.

Out of the leaf litter they ascend.When I purchased this native of woodsy streambanks in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon for my New York garden, it was still called Peltiphyllum peltatum. I have a thing for big-leaved plants (likeAstilboides, its cousinRodgersia, and even thuggishPetasites). I had to tryDarmera, whose leaves can reach 18 in

THE FIRST PERSON to photograph snowflakes did so in 1885, harnessing the combined power of a camera and also a microscope given to him as gifts by his parents. Then 20-year-old Alwyn Bentley of Jericho, Vermont, came to be known as the Snowflake Man for his lifetime of work, which also included years of close examination of raindrops. A fascinating tale of Bentley’s life, and more photos, via DomainReview [dot] org. Image above from the Smithsonian Institution collection. And yes: Bentley is responsible for the “no two are alike” lowdown on snowflakes.fresh as a frog’s skinA BIT OF RUSSIAN folk-wisdom that calls for keeping milk fresh by putting a live frog in the milk bucket has led to the examination of chemicals secreted from the frog’s skin. Apparently they are powerfully antifungal and antibacterial…but will they have implications for new drugs

How do birds get their food, and what do they eat, anyway? Well that depends on the bird, and Ellen Blackstone of BirdNote.org has some answers. A million people a day and more than 200 radio markets hear the 2-minute public radio show called BirdNote, and now “BirdNote” is a book too, which Ellen edited.Read along as you listen to the Aug. 20, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).how birds find foo