Making it Grow is
brought to you in part by
the South Carolina
Department of Agriculture
Certified South Carolina
Grown helps consumers identify,
find, and buy South
Carolina products.
Mcleod Farms in Mcbee,
South Carolina.
This family farm
offers seasonal produce
including over
22 varieties of peaches,
additional funding provided
by International Paper
and the South Carolina
Farm Bureau Federation
and Farm Bureau Insurance.
♪ (Making it Grow
opening music) ♪
♪
Well, good evening
and welcome to Making It Grow.
We're so glad you
could join us tonight.
I'm Amanda McNulty and
I'm a Clemson Extension agent,
and our show
is a collaboration
between SCETV
and Clemson University.
And Terasa Lott is often
over here helping us,
but really mainly she
supposed to where the
master gardener
coordinator hat,
but we sure thank you
for everything you
do for us Terasa.
>> It is my pleasure.
Happy to be a part
of team Making It Grow.
>> Good. We're happy to have
you as part of our family too,
and Andy Cabe, last time
we saw you,
we saw you
through digital means,
and now we are practicing
the current guidelines.
We're glad
to have you here.
I think
that instead of having
to be outside
every single day, hot or cold,
you're doing some
administrative work,
and that gives you
a little bit more choice.
>> You can kind of
pick and choose
which days you want
to be outside,
but it's sure nice
to be back here in person again.
>> Well, we're so glad that
you're here.
And then
Eric Shealy, you are
trying to keep those
greenhouses at some
kind of semblance
of temperature,
that you and
the plants can survive.
>> That we both
can agree on.
[laughs]
>> I think it's funny that
since we
talk about Columbia,
they used to say
"Famously Hot" and there is
a device in greenhouses
called the Carolina cooler.
>> Yes, and we have them.
They work. They
work, a little bit.
<Amanda> A little bit.
>> They can't do too much
but they work. >> Humidity
is a factor. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Anyway and then
Stephanie Turner is
in Greenwood and Stephanie,
we are so happy that
you can help us and I
think we are expecting also
perhaps a cameo
from a special kitty.
[laughs]
>> Hi. We're both here today.
I'm glad we can join you.
<Amanda> Well, I think you
played the piano earlier.
If she does that's fine.
We think that it
probably will help us
win an award if
we entered an award
and have a piano playing
cat on a garden show.
[laughs]
Anyway, thanks
for joining us remotely.
>> Of course.
<Amanda> It's good to see you
from up there in that
beautiful city of Greenwood.
Terasa, you I think
are going to start us
off with something that's
cheerful or
comical or whimsical
and that will
be Gardens of the Week.
>> Thanks Amanda. This has
become such a fun part
of the show, where we
get to see what's going on
in your yards
and gardens across the state,
sometimes leads
us out of state, as well.
So, let's take a look.
Starting with Pat Dubose
who sent a lovely
close up of a lotus flower.
Bill Jackson captured
a mantid on lavender.
This was taken in
Buncombe County, North Carolina,
from Marion Hutton,
a colorful mixed border
along a sidewalk.
Cindy Welsh
shared the Lee County
4-H pollinator garden.
And wrapping up, Pam Rivers
submitted a yellow daylily.
This is in the
Wingate, North Carolina
and she says the daylily
was a gift from a friend.
Thanks everyone
for sharing your photos.
Remember we can't choose
them all.
We just post
a random sampling,
but you're welcome
to visit our Facebook page
and take a look
at all the submissions.
Don't be shy.
Send us what you're doing
in your yard.
>> Thanks. And Terasa,
you are so good about going
on Facebook and people
also send you things
through our email
and finding questions.
Let's start with that
stack of questions
and see if we can't
give people some help.
>> Well, chisel away.
Whittle our way down.
This question is from
Byron in Goose Creek.
My wife and I always
had a summer veggie garden,
but we've never tried any
of the cool season vegetables.
What can we
grow during the winter?
>> Ahh! Well, Andy, Roland
used to say that
in South Carolina you
can grow something
twelve months of the year.
What would
your suggestions be?
>> He's absolutely right.
We have such mild winters here,
you can kind of do
fall crops and do spring crops.
Do second
sowings of things.
Eric's very familiar
with the second sowing.
Our garden stance was, Eric
we want more of these seeds,
but we want them
two months from now.
So, but it
is very convenient,
and we like to use
a lot of leafy greens
in the winter time.
Number one, we like to
use them a lot as ornamentals.
They're very
attractive, very colorful
with the purples,
the reds things like that,
and you can kind of
use them for a dual purpose.
You can use them as
something ornamental
in your bed
and edible if you want
to make a little salad,
you can start and pick
those new tender greens
and we do lots of kales,
cabbages, mustards, broccoli,
lettuce and the
list goes on and on,
Swiss chard, kohlrabi.
Yeah, so there's
lots and lots you can do
that serves
the dual purpose
like I said with both being
ornamental - <Amanda> Yes.
<Andy> and edible
at the same time
>> And I think
there's a giant
red kale
or something in there.
<Andy> There's
some big red kales,
but there's also
a giant red mustard.
>> Okay.
>> It'll get pretty big.
>> I've seen it used
as the centerpiece
in containers surrounded
by pansies and things
that flow over the edge.
>> Absolutely, we love
using vegetables
in containers,
especially if you got
somewhere where rabbits
really like to go.
That's a big problem when
we're at the zoo, is rabbits.
The rabbits have a
harder time getting
a couple of feet up
into the container,
but you get a good rabbit,
you can find a way,
[everyone laughs]
But for the most part,
container gardening is
a great way to do
things like that,
if you've got some
kind of ground pests,
you can grow some things
a little further up
in a container.
>> Great idea. Thank you.
>> I had Bright Light
Swiss chard in my front step
containers last year,
and I absolutely loved it.
It performed really well
and like you said, dual purpose.
If I just wanted
to go out and grab some
to add to dinner,
it was right there.
>> How about that?
Yeah and then I think
one thing people
sometimes don't think of
is when those things
bolt and have flowers
the pollinators
really seem to come.
>> Yeah, they love it and
like I was saying earlier,
you can kind of
get two crops a year
out of a lot
of these things
if you plant, something maybe
in the beginning of October
if you have
a mild winter,
it's going to start to bolt
and that's when
your second sowing comes in,
and then you could have
another crop by March or April.
>> Okay.
Pretty good answer,
and I hope that
they'll have good luck
trying that this year.
What's up next?
>> This call comes in from
Laurel in Aiken.
Laurel says I had problems
growing radishes in the past
where they are pithy.
Why does that happen
and can it be prevented?
Stephanie,
I love a good radish
in my salad and I like
to have them just
as hors d'oeuvres, sometimes,
but it's awful,
when they're pithy.
Is there something you can do
to avoid that?
Give us some tips on
just getting them started
and how
to grow them please.
>> I'm sure.
Yeah, radishes are
actually one of the
easiest things to grow
and like you said,
I adore radishes,
but there's so many
things that you can do
with radishes that people
don't even think about.
You can use them in
the compound butter.
I don't know if
you've ever done that.
You can chop them all up,
smoosh it with butter,
put it on a crusty bread,
and radishes are also
if you're not
very fond of the heat,
they can be sweetened up
just by sauteing them
in a pan with some butter
on the stove.
But to grow them,
their very easy from seed,
and you can have a harvest
in as little as 21 days,
and so
a lot of times
when people are running into
pithiness, they are maybe
waiting too long
to harvest their radish,
or they're not keeping
the soil evenly moist.
Another thing about
radishes is,
because it's a root vegetable,
you have to be careful
about the texture
of the soil that you're using
and so hard clay soil,
will cause those roots
to be a little bit distorted
or grow in an unusual shape.
You'll get that
nice pretty round radish.
So, you do you want
to watch that.
That also makes radishes great
for container gardening.
So, you can get a potting mix,
and you can grow
your radishes in a container.
You sow those seeds directly
in there, about
a quarter of an inch deep.
Then you want to thin them
to two to three inches apart,
the seedlings,
depending on the mature size
of the cultivar, the
root that you've gotten,
and use those
thinnings in your salads
or your sandwiches.
Pinch them off
and enjoy them.
Don't just toss them away,
and then within
about 21 days
you'll have a crop.
Radish is
another good one.
They said, they're
talking about Riverbanks.
They do multiple sowings,
since radishes are quick
you can sow every week,
and then you'll
have plenty of radishes
throughout the cool season.
And, of course, radishes
do enjoy the cooler weather.
So, you want to start them
end of summer into the
fall up until a good frost,
and they should
do good for you.
Another plus for
putting them in a container
maybe you can put them
on a patio or sheltered area
and protect them
from the frost
and kind of extend your
radish harvest that way.
>> When I see them
in the store,
they're already
so pretty when they have
the tops on them,
but if I bring them home,
I've noticed if I leave them
with the tops on,
it seems like the bottom,
the radish itself
seems to dry out
a little bit.
So, I guess even though,
it looks so pretty
when you harvest them,
if you aren't going to use them
immediately, should you
just go ahead and trim that,
so that they
won't become desiccated?
>> Yeah. You could
probably keep
the tops on
for maybe a day
or so in the fridge,
but you would rather
chop them off, so they don't
pull that moisture
out of the root.
If you use them fresh
out of the garden,
you can
use the tops, as well,
if they're looking
healthy and clean.
You can saute those in
there with your sauteed
butter and radishes.
>> Okay. They come in such
pretty colors now. Don't they?
>> Oh. yes. So, you can get
a rainbow assortment of colors,
pinks, whites, reds.
There's even
the Spanish Black Radish
where the root is red
and the outside is black
and the center,
of course is white,
Then they come
in different shapes, as well.
There's icicle types,
elongated types,
and varying
amounts of heat, too.
If you like foods
a little bit more spicy
then you can choose
a spicier cultivar.
>> And, when you said
you could use them,
people don't often
think of it.
We often put them
in spaghetti sauce,
because we think that
it makes it taste earthy,
and I don't know,
that's just fun
how you'll kind of
get an idea in your family
and all of a sudden,
everybody in your family
thinks that there's a new
tradition of using things.
>> I love it.
<Amanda> Thanks, so much
Stephanie. >> Of course.
>> Well, Eric we're going
to instead of going to
another question, we're
going to talk about a trip
that I got to make to
come up to see you,
thinking about planning.
If anybody has to plan,
because y'all have such
incredible annuals
and color that
you got to put out.
So, we came to see -
when do you start
putting out seeds
and cuttings and all these -
>> Usually for spring,
I'm starting in late January,
early February.
Then coming up in fall,
I'm going to start
in the middle of September.
<Amanda> So seeds are just,
you must just have
thousands of seeds
that you're dealing with.
<Eric> For fall, it's
usually just brassicas,
that's your collards, kales
everything in that vein
of leafy greens
For spring and summer,
it's a lot of variation.
You have a ton of
different genuses
and different cultivars
within the genus,
So it's a challenge.
It's more so a
challenge in spring
than it is in fall.
<Amanda> Do you
go places when
things are normal,
so growers can tell you
about new things,
because y'all are always
to me kind of the cutting edge
of having new things growing.
<Eric> We actually do that,
but we allow our staff
just to look through
the catalogs that
everybody can access.
They just spend a lot
of time looking
for that new thing.
It's becoming increasingly
rare to find something that
just blows your socks off,
but we love going
to the Trial Gardens at UGA.
I've always enjoyed
going down there
and seeing what
they've got going on,
and just paying attention
to what does well
in different catalogs like
perennial plant of the year.
We always pay
attention to that.
Sometimes we can grow it
and sometimes we can't.
<Amanda> Then we walked into
the green house where
you have things that
are big plants that have
to stay in the greenhouse
and you had a lot of succulents,
and you said that they come
from an unusual source.
So, we get a lot of some
of our plants that we have
to keep come from
a U.S. Customs seizure,
meaning that they come
into the country illegally
they're usually seized
at the port of Miami.
Miami is a huge port where -
<Amanda> Hub for all that.
<Eric> It's a hub
for international trade
so there's a lot of
black market back dealing
that can come through there
and usually people think
about animals,
but in this case,
it's the plants for us.
So we got
a collection of euphorbias.
When people
think of Euphorbias
they think of that cute
little diamond frost that
they get at the nursery.
Euphorbia is a massive
genus of plants
and it includes poinsettias.
So, we got
some rare Euphorbias in
I have no idea
where they came from,
but US Customs called us,
offered them to us
and we took them.
<Amanda> So, it's not
that these are invasive,
what it is,
is people who
aren't the kind
of nice gardeners
that we'd like
to think gardeners are,
are paying to kind of have
smuggled things in,
and you said
often they're endangered.
<Eric> They are.
>> You're keeping these alive,
because it's important
>> Yeah it's important
to keep them alive
and keep them in population,
so if they if they ever
need to be sent
anywhere,
we can just send them
>> And then the bromeliads
were a lot of fun.
<Eric> Oh yeah. We have
a lot of Bromeliad.
<Amanda> They're holding
that water.
>> You told me that sometimes
they have some surprises.
<Eric> Yeah. Don't bump them,
because they'll turn over
and pour water on you
and probably a frog or two.
<Amanda> I just think
that's so wonderful
to think that the frogs are
over wintering inside the water
in the Bromeliads <Eric> Yeah.
<Amanda> Y'all sure
do work hard there
to have it look beautiful
any time that somebody comes.
<Eric> Thank you.
<Amanda> Thanks a lot.
<Eric> You're very welcome.
<Amanda> Well, Terasa?
<Terasa> How about a question
from near my neck of
the woods so to speak?
Society Hill. Mary asks
when is the best time
to plant spring
flowering bulbs?
<Amanda> Andy, y'all have
a huge display of bulbs.
I love the fact that
there's that one alley
that's so crazy
and y'all spray paint it
and stick it around.
>> Allium schubertii. Yes.
[Amanda laughs]
It gets abou
volleyball size.
>> When do you start
planting the bulbs
for your spring displays?
>> Well, in times
like August
and September when I
might still be like
really hot
in the afternoon
that's a great time to sit
inside with a bulb catalog
and search through
and see what
you want to plant
for the following spring,
but typically with bulbs,
you want to wait
till the soil temperature
cools down...a good bit.
So, our kind of target date
depending on the
weather is usually
sometime,
the middle of November.
We'll plant all the way
into January too.
We have so many
bulbs to plant
that sometimes
we don't get
them all planted
immediately.
So, we're still
planting in January,
sometimes even into February
to get a nice display.
<Amanda> They're pretty
forgiving too.
<Andy> That's the great
thing about bulbs is
they are so forgiving.
There's so many great bulbs
that are perennials.
Lot's of
great daffodils,
your smaller tulips,
your species tulips are great.
A lot of your Alliums,
the flowering
onions do really well.
If you pick
the right varieties,
they're going to come back
year after year.
They're going to offset.
Some of them are
going to naturalize,
make big clumps.
I like bulbs so much,
because you put
so little work into it,
and they give you
so much back.
Basically, everybody's
like how do you plant a bulb
and
I technically tell them
you're going
to plant the bulb
two to three times as
deep as the bulb is tall.
So, if your
bulb's that tall
you're going
to plant it that deep,
but basically in our
climate where we don't
get deep freezes, you
just get your trough,
you scrape a little hole,
throw the bulb in there,
and cover it up with
dirt and call it done.
<Amanda> So, you don't -
they're always trying to tell
you. "Special bulb food!
"Special bulb food!"
<Andy> If you've
got decent soil
and at the botanical
garden and zoo,
we're
constantly amending
on a yearly basis
with compost.
So, we have pretty
good soil to start with,
so we really don't rely
on a lot
of fertilizers, in general.
we have good healthy
soil to start with,
and we rely on compost
a lot to give us our nutrients.
So, if you've got
a pretty decent garden soil
to start with
I don't fool
with a lot of
putting something
in the bottom of the hole
and top dressing
with this or that.
Your bulb will typically
tell you what it needs.
If it
starts to decline,
you've seen daffodils sometimes,
maybe it's a nutrient thing
or maybe they just
need to be divided
and every so often
they need to be divided,
because you've got a
clump of a bulb.
They're all competing
for that same amount of food
So, you kind of got to
spread them out sometimes.
>> Okay. So, with the
tulips a lot of people
who come
to South Carolina
don't understand that they
generally don't persist here.
Is that? I'm sure that's -
>> Most of your big florist
kind of tulips
are the ones you think of
in these beautiful
winter displays.
They're not reliable
perennials for us
and sometimes
they're not even
reliable annuals for us.
A lot of it just depends
on the temperature
and South Carolina
temperatures can be so fickle.
You can be
75 or 80 degrees
in the winter
time one day,
and you might be
30 degrees, another day.
So, sometimes you'll see them
blooming two inches
off the ground.
If you get the year,
that it's absolutely perfect,
and everything works right,
and the temperature
works right,
we have put
together some amazing
tulip displays
over the years.
>> But, the species
tulips generally
are a little more
reliable for us.
>> They're very
reliably hearty.
They'll come
back year after year
even multiply some.
They are more
diminutive in size.
They're not going to be this
big, long cut flower stem.
<Amanda> I think a lot of them
have some real cool features.
Don't you?
>> I planted them
in the lawn before,
just had
swods of them
coming up in the lawn,
and it always
turned out when it
was about time to cut
my grass
for the first time,
in the spring, would
be about the time,
when it was okay to cut
the tulip foliage out.
>> Okay. That's another thing
that I'm glad you mentioned
is that with our bulbs -
Well, if I plant
regular tulips,
I just throw them away,
because I don't expect
but with my daffodils,
we don't want
to cut the foliage back -
>> No, you want to
painfully watch them
for a while.
Watch them start to turn
yellow and brown
and when it gets to about
the point where you're
just ready just to scream,
that's usually
about the time it's okay
to cut them back.
So, that's why we like
to enter plant bulbs
with other things.
So, as the foliage
on the bulb is senescencing
in the spring,
you've got something like
maybe a daylily
or something,
but a summer bloomer coming up,
that bulb
is just going to cover up
the old foliage of your mold
>> Okay, well I think
that was a wonderful example
of what to do with bulbs
and they are just so reliable.
We ride down
the side of the road
and see old house sites
with daffodils and things
that are still blooming.
Thanks a lot. I think
that you have maybe
one of our other
favorite topics
going on now.
Don't you?
>> Would you be
talking about
our Spotlight Garden
of the Week? <Amanda> Yes!
>> Yes, we do. So, this
is a chance to show off
one particular garden,
a little more in depth
than our
Gardens of the Week.
Today we are featuring
Annette Brown Mishoe
of Myrtle Beach
Annette shared an
assortment of photos with us.
She's included
some statues in her garden
and one I
particularly like is a stone,
which she has in a
bed that says,
One who plants a garden,
plants happiness.
Annette created her
very own Gertie Gardener
as a tribute
to Amanda and her hats.
She says Gertie is lovely,
just like Amanda.
So, thanks Annette
for giving us a little glimpse
into your yard.
[laughs]
Well, I think it's
a remarkable likeness
[laughs]
<Terasa> Especially
the lipstick.
Did you notice the lipstick?
[laughs]
>> Well, I do like my lipstick.
[laughs]
>> Oh my goodness!
So much fun.
Well, that's sort of
like a show and tell.
Many of us like to
incorporate larval host plants
in our yards,
and I thought maybe
Stephanie might have
some takers to her host plants
that she'd be willing
to share with our visitors.
>> Stephanie, I know that
you have a sharp eye,
because you often
pointed out things to us.
Do you have
some pictures of things
that you run into
that you've really been
excited to find
nibbling on your plants
>> Why, yes I do.
And I don't know if my eyes
are very sharp,
because one
hitchhiked its way
inside my house
on a bouquet, I had cut.
I cut some stems
of blazing star of the Liatris.
We've talked about it
in a previous show.
I brought it in a bouquet.
I was working
in my kitchen one day
and I noticed
on the countertop
some little black specks.
Those of us that
know caterpillars
will recognize that
little trail of frass
or droppings that you can
see underneath caterpillars
as they're feeding.
So, I inspected my
bouquet more closely
and really had a hard time
finding these little
hitch hikers,
because they are camouflaged.
This particular larva
is the larva phase
of a moth,
and it sticks little
pieces of the blossom
of the plant
that it's feeding on,
on it's back.
It was just happily eating
on my Liatris in my bouquet,
When I took
those stems outside
I found I actually
had three of them.
So, I brought them back
to my clump of plants
so that they
can continue on in feeding.
So, you will see
some photos of that
the little camouflage looper,
and that is actually
the Wavy-lined Emerald Moth
that does that.
When those
caterpillars mature
that's what
those would be.
So, that was my first
little share of show and tell.
Then secondly,
I was checking on
my limelight hydrangeas,
the hydrangea paniculata
and the blooms were just
starting to come out
this summer
and I noticed
something had been feeding
on the leaves
and so I was looking closely,
and it was just about dusk
and saw some very fluffy
woolly bear caterpillars,
some white or actually yellow
their common name is the
yellow wooly bear caterpillar.
So, to me they
appeared more creamy
white and very,
very fluffy.
They were feeding
on the leaves there
and that is the
Virginia Tiger Moth Larva.
I guess I would just recommend,
and just remind everybody that
if you have an insect problem
try to hand pick your
caterpillars first,
because you don't understand
how many caterpillars
are in your garden
and in your yard.
You're just not seeing
them every day.
You're just not looking
closely or maybe you're
just missing the time
that they're out feeding.
So, keep that in mind
when you reach for a pesticide
or a treatment.
So, just target it,
and only use it as much
as appropriate.
>> And usually with these
it's not -
if you're trying
to grow brassica,
sometimes you have
to use some -
take some actual steps
to reduce the number,
the feeding,
but these
unusual caterpillars,
generally aren't
going to eat
that much
of the plant. Are they?
>> No. As a matter of fact,
I can't even tell
there's been any damage
to my hydrangeas
or my Liatris
at this point.
There's just a few on there.
I'm not even sure
if these folks these
little caterpillars
matured too long
this year,
because we have a lot
of birds in our yard.
So, they may have
ended up being bird food,
but you never know.
[laughs]
<Amanda> All part of
nature's plan. Thanks a lot.
>> Exactly
>> Teresa, I think you've got
another question for us.
>> This question comes in
from Diane in Cayce.
Diane asks, "We are frequent
visitors of Riverbanks
Zoo and Garden. How are
the sides connected?
Do you grow plants
specifically for the animals?
<Amanda> Well, you certainly
have a lot of herbivores, -
>> Oh, yes!
>> and y'all are doing a
lot of plant growing.
Is there some overlap there.
>> So, we don't exclusively
provide any whole diet
to an animal.
We do supplementation
and emergency backup supply.
So, supplementation
not a lot of people
know that guerrillas
will develop a
condition called
Fibrosing cardiomyopathy,
which is
a heart condition that
can ultimately kill them.
It is a heart condition that all
primates can get, even humans.
So, they
would rather take care of it
with a plant than
with giving them
another medication
or something like that.
So we grow a ginger that
is native to Rwanda
This is Aframomum melegueta.
It is actually
grains of paradise,
which is an additive
in beer.
Sam Adams Boston lager.
>> That's a good reason
to have a beer.
>> It might
help your heart.
At the same time,
I'm not a doctor.
Don't listen to me,
but they eat this, all parts of
the plant, >> Really?
>> They rip it
out of the ground.
They'll eat the roots, shoots,
stems and everything.
>> They like it.
>> They do.
A paper came out several
years ago saying that
they really do chow
down on it,
and the gorillas in the wild,
the populations
that were eating this
with regularity didn't
really have a problem with the
Fibrosing cardiomyopathy
<Amanda> So, do you grow it
at the river's edge?
Does it grow here?
>> So, it is a tropical plant.
Rwanda is a good bit
closer to the equator -
<Amanda> It's hard to believe
it's warmer, but sometimes -
>> Yeah, but it grows
in 25 gallon tubs
in our greenhouses.
So, that's another thing that
I'll grow out for the animals.
<Amanda> So this
one you can grow
enough to supply that
portion. <Eric> We do,
and they eat it regularly,
but not with every,
not every day. Yeah so
they're getting
a supply of it.
Let's just say that.
<Amanda> They really do like it.
>> They love it.
The keepers when we first
introduced it,
they were actually very
surprised that they went
to it as fast as they did.
You can crush it in your
hands and smell it
and it really
smells amazing.
It's like a
sweet ginger smell.
It doesn't take much.
>> No, it doesn't.
<Eric> Yeah, it's their
sweet gingery smell.
>> Have you ever
chewed any? >> I have not.
>> Maybe at the end of the show.
>> Maybe so.
>> Okay, well then
I know that you have
koalas there
and they only eat one thing.
>> Yes, so they
only eat this.
Eucalyptus. So, eucalyptus -
there are types that
are hearty for us, as
many, many people know.
They do not eat those types.
Of course, they have to be fussy
and eat types from Australia,
So we grow - there's a list of
about 10 to 15 of them that they
will eat natively in Australia.
We grow two of them on premises
as an emergency backup
in case our populations
in Phoenix and Miami
where we ship our eucalyptus
from, if they encounter
a frost which does
happen in Miami, very
un-regularly and in Phoenix too,
or a natural disaster.
<Amanda> If an air plane
couldn't land. <Eric> Exactly,
<Amanda> If we had a hurricane.
<Eric> Exactly.
<Amanda> That you have to have
a special greenhouse
just in case you need it.
<Eric> It's actually a
requirement of us having them.
<Amanda> That's fair.
<Eric> It is.
So, this is the only thing
they eat
and we have to have it.
So, we do.
we only grow
two varieties of it.
It's Eucalyptus robusta
and eucalyptus tereticornis.
<Amanda> Alrighty,
and it seemed to me
that one time that y'all were
starting to plant bamboo
in some of the parking lots
and all, because sometimes
that's useful to use
in the enclosures.
<Eric> Most animals will get
enjoyment out of it.
Birds can use it
for perching.
Bamboo has always been
used traditionally
for years just
to make different things,
but many animals use it for
what we call enrichment.
So it helps them in captivity.
They don't get bored,
and they think get to use
some of their natural
tendencies to tear up stuff.
I would much rather
them tear up the shoots
of bamboo that we pull out
of the parking lot than -
<Amanda> What a perfect thing,
if it's in the parking lot.
You're getting
the visual aspect of it.
>> Exactly.
>> Then if you need to,
you can let - it's a toy
and a supplement -
>> Absolutely. >> for enjoyment
for the animals. >> Absolutely
>> That's really, really cool.
Thank you very much.
>> You're welcome.
>> I appreciate it.
>> As you know, we like
to find beautiful places to go
and Sean Flynn our producer
made a friend on Facebook
who wasn't very far away,
and we had a wonderful
visit to the garden of
Parrish Rabon in Camden.
♪
>> I'm in Camden, South
Carolina enjoying
the beautiful garden of
Parrish Rabon in her
predominately shade
garden and this is a
pleasant place to be
in the summer.
I'm glad we came
to visit you today.
And your
garden is very shady,
because you
have massive oak trees.
>> We do. I enjoy that.
<Amanda> It really does combine
the front and the back too.
So, that you, although
the lots not very large,
you do get that
sense of continuity.
<Parrish> Yes. <Amanda> You have
a favorite flower
and I believe having a shady
yard gave you ample
places to use that flower.
<Parrish> Yes,
I love hydrangeas.
I love to cut hydrangeas
and share hydrangeas, so.
Yes I plant a few.
<Amanda> Talk a little bit
about the front yard.
What was there, kind of the
bones of it?
Then, how you've used the
hydrangeas there, please.
<Parrish> Well, we did add some
white ones there, at
the entrance to
the drive. When we
moved here there were
the camellias, the azaleas,
the boxwood hedge,
but traditional plants, yeah.
<Amanda> And then as we
come around I see
tucked away in various
places, a lot of
containers that seems to be
something that you enjoy using.
<Parrish> I do.
<Amanda> Because, the
containers are different
and they add color in places,
and then it gives you some
staggered height, as well.
<Parrish> Yes, it does
make it feel more like
a room I think
when you're outdoors
to have the containers,
and the
different heights and colors,
and of course
you can move it around
if the plant's not happy.
You can move it a
little more sunny spot
if it's in a container
<Amanda> Well, I
particularly enjoy the one
with the four seasons who's
kind of tucked back there.
<Parrish> and the azaleas.
<Amanda> Yes.
That's really a sweet one,
because I didn't see him,
and so it's nice
as you're walking to see
things that make you
pause for a moment
and when you pause,
you see other things,
that you wouldn't have noticed
including your
front porch which
has a few places
to sit down,
but has a
lot of places for plants.
<Parrish> Yes, and I love that.
I love that because I
love to share my garden.
That makes me happy,
that we stroll through
that you see little
things we can stop
and look at.
<Amanda> Then we come
back into the back;
and y'all have done
a good bit there.
<Parrish> Yes. <Amanda> With
pavers and brick edging.
Tell me about some of the
improvements you've made.
<Parrish> Well, just because
the lot is sloped
and anytime there was a storm,
there was a lot of down flow
of the rain so the little
edgings in the beds,
my husband put
down the bricks
and works in different ways
to try to slow down
water through there,
but also it just gives the
good definition for
that little pathway of
grass, and then we fill
the beds with a multi
color hydrangeas. Yeah.
<Amanda> You have some
Calla lilies.
<Parrish> Some calla lilies
tucked in there.
<Amanda> Then a few other
plants that I think
you're experimenting with
to get a little
cover on the privacy fence.
<Parrish> Yeah. <Amanda> It is
mostly again hydrangeas.
<Parrish> Yeah and
except, I was looking
up in the oak tree, one
of the trees
and thought goodness
gracious,
Parrish's husband has to get
on a ladder. <Parrish> Oh yes.
<Amanda> I didn't quite
understand from the ground
looking up, why those
pots were so important,
but when you took me
up on your porch,
I really saw
then why they were
worth putting your husband
on a ladder every year.
They make a nice show
from up there. <Parrish> Yes.
<Amanda> And draw your eye
back down towards the backyard.
<Parrish> Yes.
<Amanda> Your porch
and you said
do I need to clean up
or do anything
when I was speaking
on the phone before I came in,
I said, No, we want to see
how you live all the time,
but you are kind of an
experimental gardener.
It looks to me like you
want to have things
trying things
all the time.
>> I do and I guess
I'm a little resourceful
with just I never want to
give up on a plant.
So, I always try to nurse
one back to health,
but also the cuttings, I've
put many things in water,
and just watched
the roots develop.
So, I make
a lot of cuttings
and stick them
in water up there
and re-pot them and hopefully
as I can do more and more
that I can share more and
more plants with other people.
<Amanda> You got
seedlings coming up.
You have to start
seeds and then transfer them.
One of your porches
is almost a potting show.
<Parrish> It is. It is.
The zinnias were from seeds.
Some of them were looking
pretty good. >> They do.
>> Yeah, yeah. >> Then you
and I are sitting in -
we've got some sun here.
You've got a few
slightly raised beds
and you've really taken
advantage of these
to get some color back
here as well.
<Parrish> the lantana and the
daylilies. Yes.
<Amanda> and besides
the containers,
you also like to tuck
around funky little,
are they toad houses?
>> Yes. I have some
little toad houses.
It's only been once,
but there was
one time that the
cutest little toad
had taken up
residence in one.
<Amanda> That was
just the one time
that you noticed
that he was in there.
I'm sure you have lots
of overnight visitors
to your toad B and B's.
>> That's true.
<Amanda> Well, Parrish,
it really is a lovely garden
and I think you're fortunate.
So many people can
only work in their yard
during part of the day,
because it's so
full blazing sun. >> Right.
>> There are many times
when you can come out
and you told me if you feel
a little stressed,
you look up into the almost
cathedral like feeling
that you get
in the backyard yard
from the beautiful oak boughs.
>> Yes. >> - and enjoy this
wonderful little spot
of Eden -
>> Oh, thank you yes.
It does. The canopy
almost gives it,
back to being a room.
It almost gives it a
ceiling like effect
and yeah if I ever feel
like I need a break
from stress or life, I can find
it in my garden pretty quickly.
<Amanda> Well, I think that
you're very fortunate
to have this. I thank you
for sharing it with us.
>> Thank you for coming.
I loved having you.
♪
I really enjoyed
my visit with Parrish
and she was so happy
to have made
such a nice shady place
for her family to enjoy
getting out when
there's a hot summer day,
and she is really
a gardener's gardener.
She has something
sitting around
and rooting or starting
in almost every place.
It was really fun.
She's a gardener's gardener
and not somebody who's ready
for the garden club to come by,
Although her
garden is certainly
lovely enough that
people should go by and see it,
and I want to thank her
for letting us show it to you.
Well, I felt like
Christmas came early
because your wonderful
co-worker Diane Baker came over
and sent you over with some
things for me to make a hat.
I didn't have to lie awake
in bed worrying about what
my hat was going to be.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you, Diane and so she sent
some Eucomis. Is that
how you say it?
>> Eucomis. >> Pineapple lilies.
>> Then she sent those wonderful
red fire engine red Anthuriums.
I think I've got -
if I'm having a heart condition,
I should just
munch on my hat.
>> Munch on your hat.
>> - because that's the
plant that the gorillas -
>> That's the ginger
that they love.
>> The ginger that they love.
Yeah. Well, that was such -
Tell her thank you very much.
I really do appreciate it.
Terasa I think we've
just been having some
great questions. What's
next on the pile?
>> We'll give this one a try
from Earl in Catawba.
Earl says, "I saw the Rocky
Shoals Spider Lily
"while visiting
Lansford Canal State Park.
I understand
it's relatively rare.
Are there measures being
taken to protect this plant?
>> Well, Andy y'all
are at kind of that fall line
of the rivers of the water
system in South Carolina.
Y'all have some
rocky areas there.
Is this? What do you
know about this plant?
>> Well, Lansford Canal is
the big, well known population,
but there are some populations
in both the Broad
and Congaree Rivers
right in downtown Columbia,
usually in May or June,
you can ride across the 126
bridge into town.
Cross over the river
and look down in there
and you'll see little blobs
of white blooming
and that's the Rocky Shoals
Spider Lily
growing right there
in the middle of the river.
>> My word.
Well, do y'all
try to be involved in it
in any way in protecting it?
<Andy> Yeah, off and
on over the last 20 years or so,
we've been involved when
we have time, we'll go out
to the river and try
to collect some seeds
and we'll take them back
and Eric will propagate them
in the greenhouse,
and you can look here.
These were a few little
seedlings that I think we
collected probably a
month or so ago.
They were just seeds we
collected from the river,
and then Eric brought
them back to the greenhouse
<Amanda> How did
you know it was
the seed for the spider lily?
<Andy> Just from years of
knowing what it looks like.
So, if you can look right
here I don't know
if we can focus in on it.
This oblong green blob is
actually the seed.
<Amanda> Oh!
So it's pretty visible.
>> This is the seed,
so it'll look like this
on the river.
This is actually the food source
for the plant, >> Yes.
>> The plant doesn't
start with leaves on it.
It just starts with the
seed. So, it's got to
have something to
generate the energy
to make this foliage
and you can kind of see
at the bottom here, you can see
these roots coming out.
That's the start of
a little bulb. <Amanda> My word.
>> It'll keep
feeding off of this seed -
<Andy> Feeding off the seed
to make a bulb which will
then be a perennial
part of the plant.
<Andy> The seed is providing
the energy for it to make these
leaves in order
to make the bulb
and then some of the
bulbs can get the size
of a half dollar
in diameter.
What we do
is we grow these
and we use it kind of
for multiple purposes.
Number one, it's a
great educational tool,
because while it is not
an endangered species yet,
it is a species of concern
due to increased usage
on the river,
the change in water flows
for generating electricity.
>> Yeah, because that's pretty
different.
>> A lot of fluctuation.
More people are using the
river and they see these pretty
things bloom in their yards
and they'll want
to pull the clump out
and they'll plant it
in their yard.
The populations are
dwindling and so we are
trying to encourage people
not to take these
from the river,
so we will take them back
to Riverbanks
and grow them out to sometimes
to blooming size plants,
and we have done
some experimentation
with reintroducing them
into the river,
but I will
say it is very difficult
to reintroduce
a plant into running water
and especially if
you get a torrential rain
the next day or two
and all the water
is coming down from the
upstate into the river
and just super high flows
can wash things away;
but these seeds will drop into
the crevices of rocks
in the middle of the river.
>> So, therefore Rocky Shoals.
<Andy> They'll nestle
themselves in there
and the seed can kind
of sit there static for a while
in between the rocks and then
it can send it's foliage up
above the water,
and it's got this bulb
that forms
and gets rooted in all the
little nooks and crannies.
>> How about that! Well, with
all y'all do,
my hat's off
to you, literally,
>> Thank you. >> For your
concern with the environment
I think that
one thing is that
y'all have told me that
there's not a limb
that falls at Riverbanks
that's taken off site,
y'all have used, almost
everything is re-purposed -
>> We re-purpose
quite a bit of it.
If it doesn't go into our
compost pile;
if it's a
good looking stick, Amanda
somebody will make
something out of it.
Some kind
of structure or arbor.
So, we are very resourceful
in re-purposing things.
>> Well, Diane Baker
when I was out there
was actually using
some mountain laurel
that had one place,
one or two of them and died
and that twisted gnarly,
beautiful texture.
she was using it in a display.
So I do admire how
creative y'all are.
>> We definitely have
some crafty folks out there.
>> Yeah you do.
Okay.
Well, Terasa, I think we've
got time to see what else
is coming up in
the list of questions.
>> This one is from Libby
in Columbia.
I've got a really big aloe
that's been outdoors
for the summer.
I'd like to repot it before
bringing it in for the winter.
Can you provide
some how to tips?
>> Aha! Well,
Stephanie since you're
sauteing radishes
and all that kind of stuff,
you probably keep an
aloe plant or two around,
just because it's a
nice thing if you
burn your finger.
Would this be
a good time to do that
How easy is it to separate one?
She can maybe share it
with a neighbor if she could.
>> Oh, yeah!
Aloe is a great houseplant
and it's one that has
special memories for me.
I know lots of
people have certain plants
that their mom or their grandma
always have in their home
Aloe's one of those for me.
Always my grandmother,
always my mother
have aloe plants.
So, if you had
a boo boo,
you got some
aloe gel smooshed
on your wound.
Aloe is great. It will
propagate vegetatively
and so as your plant
gets bigger
and more robust,
you might notice that there's
smaller little plantlets
coming along across the base,
and those little pups
are offshoots can be
easily removed when you
pot up your aloe plant.
What you want to do
is carefully remove the plant
from the pot
in the container that it's in,
and investigate those little
pups, sometimes you can
just kind of gently pull
or wiggle them away.
They'll be separate enough
or you may want to take a
really sharp knife,
if, they're pretty close,
or connected to the base,
you can take a really
sharp knife and slice
that little off shoot off,
and a lot of times they
already have their own
little set of roots
on the base of it.
And you can take that
and let it rest or cure
for a day or two,
out of the sun, somewhere dry,
so that where you sliced
it can heal up and dry out,
and then you can go
head and pot up however many
little off shoots you've
gotten off the parent plant
and pot up the parent plant
in some moist soil,
but not overly moist
and you really want to wait
to water it the first time
until it gets completely dry.
>>Oh, really. So, put it
in a moist medium,
but you don't
water it in, then.
>> No. you just want it
to get settled
in that new medium.
Let that moisture
be absorbed and then after
that you can do your first
watering when it's dried out.
>> Are they large water
users or are they pretty
forgiving if
you forget about them?
>> They're very forgiving.
That's why they're a house plant
that works for me
because I'm a neglectful
house parent plant parent.
I water mine very sparingly
about once a week,
maybe once every other week,
but very, very sparingly.
I don't water it thoroughly
till the water comes out
the bottom.
I just give it a little sip
and off we go.
>> Okay and what
kind of exposure
do you have for
it in the house?
>> You do want bright light.
You want a good sunny spot.
A good sunny window.
>> Special doesn't go
over there and mess with it.
It's okay for house cats.
>> Well, it is
a good little scratch
for your whisker area,
right there.
those little aloe leaves.
She does like that,
but no, she doesn't she
want the way she chews on
any floral bouquet that
comes into my home.
Thankfully, I can get away
with aloe.
>> Well, I'm glad that
she can scratch her cheek.
That's a sweet thing
to think of.
Well, thanks a lot
for giving us that tip.
We appreciate it.
>> You're welcome.
>> Terasa, I think we've
got time for one more question.
What have you got over there?
>> Isabella from Myrtle Beach
wants to know;
I love using annuals
for color in the fall,
but it doesn't seem like
there are many choices.
What do you recommend
besides pansies?
>> Well, pansies are great,
and Johnny jump ups, too.
>> They are. They just look like
little smiling faces to me.
>> My mother used to
have a little container
that was made just
to hold pansies,
and she'd
walk by in the morning
and sprinkle
their little faces.
It was kind of -
I don't know if she was
trying to encourage us to
be cleaner children or what,
because we kind of
lived outdoors.
Y'all have so many gorgeous
containers and things there
I'm sure that
you've got some things
that we don't think of
that would
you would approve
that would work.
>> Pansies, definitely
come in an array of colors,
all the pansies and violas.
They serve their
purpose but
sometimes we look for
something that's
a little more,
for the lack of a better term,
3-D rather than 2-D
because the pansies
stay down low to the ground.
I mentioned before using -
we were talking about
using the kales and collards
and mustards and all
of those various
things that we
integrate lots of times
in our beds
and seasonal color and design
that gives you
a little more height,
a little bit of
a different texture.
We've also used a good
bit in the past few years,
Erysimum, that's wallflower.
>> Yeah.
>> That's been a good bloomer,
especially in our mild climate.
>> What colors is it?
>> The whole range. >> Really?
>> Reds to yellows to purples,
lavenders, pinks, everything.
<Amanda> Whoa!
>> It's getting popular
in even the big box stores
to see them now.
>> It's easy to find.
>> Yeah, it is.
>> It's a good
It is like the pansy,
a little more
of the bedding plant size,
probably a little
bit taller,
and we also use
getting back to
some of the other
things we use.
Things like cardoons.
>> Oh, yes!
A cardoon in a single
season, they perennialize
well for us here,
but in a single season,
we might use them
as a winter annual,
because their foliage really
comes out
with this glaucous
silver gray foliage,
in the winter
as it starts to heat up
in summer usually about
July, the foliage starts to
wither and fade
and we just
kind of cut it back,
>> That's the one, I think it
looks like a rooster's tail.
>> Yeah, it's a
thistle, artichoke relative,
but looking for something
big, bold and tropical
for the winter,
we use cardoons a lot.
They grow pretty quickly.
Eric, maybe you can talk
about the grasses we use.
>> Yeah, we don't
stick to just flowers.
I think that's one of the most
important things to learn
is that we mix up. Flowers
are great, but in winter -
It is true. We don't
have a ton to offer.
>> I mean we've got shrubs.
We've got our camellias
and things. <Eric> Yes,
of course and we are
blessed to have something
blooming every month of
the year
in South Carolina,
but we pair things
like Heucheras
with grasses
and pansies in a pot
and it looks great,
because the Heuchera
or the coral bells can be
any color that you really want,
green, red,
purple, dark, light.
There's so much breeding.
>> Yeah.
>> We have sedges
and grasses that we use,
lime green sedges, green sedges.
>> These carex.
>> Carex, all those blue -
- >> Blue fescue.
>> Blue fescue. Blue sedges.
It's like you have the
painter's palette,
just not in flowers. >> Yeah.
>> It's just like so mixing
texture and color
and shade and sun -
>> Even like seeding
in just regular annual ryegrass.
>> Yeah. >> We use that
in the display sometimes.
We'll just
direct seed rye grass
and if it's easily gotten to,
you can kind of clip it,
and keep it maintained,
but we try to get creative;
and we use - >> What do
you use to spill over?
>> We use a lot
of perennial ground covers
and vines sometimes.
We will use an
Asiatic jasmine to spill over
some of the more colorful
ones there's one called
summer in snow,
or snow in the summer.
I get confused, but it's just -
>> I have seen it.
>> It's just beautiful,
because it's not going
to lose its color
in the winter.
Talking about re-purposing
sticks and things
from the garden,
a can of spray
paint goes a long way.
<Eric> We always
say that you can do
a world of good with a can of
spray paint.
[laughs]
>> I do sometimes
as we talked about
that wonderful
volleyball sized Allium.
>> Yeah, Allium schubertii.
Just mixing your bulbs in,
in these displays helps,
as well. >> Yeah, because you
can tuck them down lower
as you said, although the
recommendation is just
that if you tuck it lower,
it's okay and you could
put something on top of them.
>> It's not all about
balancing the height.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, I
think to think about
using some of
the sedges and all,
because that's a great
texture.
<Eric> Mix your sedges with your
mustards and your cabbages
and kales and pansies
and just throw it all -
Let's not forget
about snapdragons.
<Amanda> Of course. Yeah.
Gosh, well I think that
certainly that we
can do a lot more than
just with pansies, can't we?
Well, thank y'all
for being with us tonight.
We had a real good time.
We hope to see you
right here next week
on Making it Grow.
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music) ♪
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