Summer Shopping at Farmers Markets

David Tsay

Somehow, back-to-school season is upon us, and you know what that means: shopping and shopping some more. Between school supplies, dorm must-haves, and fresh outfits, getting your kids back in the classroom can put serious pressure on your budget.  That’s why we turned to Dina Sweeney, director of merchandising for Kidpik, who knows everything about school shopping season and how to save. Luckily for us, Sweeney has been around the back-to-school block many times with her two college-age kids and is full of wallet-friendly advice. Read on for Sweeney’s top five tips for sticking to a back-to-school budget without sacrificing style.

No food signifies summer more than watermelon. We’re so sweet on the hot pink (or yellow) fruit that we designed an entire watermelon bar party showcasing the many ways to snack on, sip, and even centerpiece-ify the hydrating produce item.

A late start to the gardening season may not deterred insects. Bees and hoverflies are spoilt for choice of nectar rich flowers in the summer months

Order yours from £65 from sarahk.co.uk

Tired of planting the same old marigolds, petunias, and begonias? Try some different annuals in your garden this year. Many provide pollen and nectar for pollinating insects and attract hummingbirds. Here are a few of my favorites that I always incorporate into my landscape. They will perform well in South Carolina’s hot, humid summers, and with proper care, these annuals will continually bloom until frost.

Want to brighten up a shady spot in your summer annual containers? Caladiums are an excellent choice. Due to their insignificant flowers, caladiums are grown for their colorful foliage. The leaf colors range in a wide variety of red, pink, white, and green combinations with contrasting leaf margins.

COVID-19 has taken the world by surprise, and many people around the world have had to slow or shut things down in recent times. While many folks are working from home, one group of people who cannot are our farmers. Our farmers here in South Carolina have been working and are continuing to work each day so that the world’s food supply and our food supply here in South Carolina remains constant.

You know by now that it's always good manners to show up to an event with a little trinket for the host in tow. But if you're feeling stumped about what to bring with you to the next summer get together that's on your calendar, we're here to provide you with a whole new list of ideas that are sure to be well received.

THE 2010 SCHEDULE:Each Wednesday for the rest of the summer and probably longer, a group of blogging friends including Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple; Shauna Ahern the Gluten-Free Girl, and Food2 will swap our recipes and tips about the following harvest-fresh ingredients. You’ll love meeting this year’s participants (a full list with links will accompany my post Wednesday and every week). The schedule:7/28: cukesnzukes 8/4: corn 8/11: herbs, greens, and beans 8/18: stone fruit 8/25 tomatoes more to come if we all want it — stay tuned! We each post something and then link to one another, so that you can travel around the combined effort, gathering the goodies.HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN SUMMER FEST:Giving back

First, a word about Summer Fest, which I co-founded in 2008: It’s a giant round-robin of sharing themed to a single garden-fresh ingredient each week. Get all the details and latest links below, just before the comments, and stock up on delicious ideas from around the web—or add your own.I READ UP ON CREAMED CORN this week (as did many of my Summer Fest colleagues—see the links below), and found a lot of variations included cornstarch or flour as thickeners, sugar, and even Parmesan cheese or bacon or any manner of extras. Once I shucked the fresh-picked corn from down the road, I thought: I can’t do that to this beautiful stuff, and went the ultra-simple route. Even adding cream seemed like gilding the lily. But I did.Corn in Historical ImageryMY VINTAGE PITCHER GOT ME THINKING how much a part of our heritage corn has been,

WE WENT SHRUB SHOPPING–VIRTUALLY, AT LEAST–on this week’s Robin Hood Radio A Way to Garden podcast, with the topic ranging from where to start in the shrub section of your local nursery (under “V,” of course, for Viburnum) to what else to look for besides (the obvious) spring blooms. Click over to hear the latest edition, or browse through our growing podcast archive.