Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State. The Boyd Foundation supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large. McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina. Family owned and operated since 1916. This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches. Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms. ♪ opening music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Well, Good evening, and welcome to Making It Grow. We're so glad that you can join us tonight. I'm Amanda McNulty. And I'm a Clemson Extension agent, horticulture agent. And fortunately, people who have taken horticulture more recently than I join us. And so I get to have continuing education every single Tuesday night Terasa Lott, you of course are in charge of the master gardeners, And that's I've often said a little bit like herding cats, because they're people who wanted to do it and didn't have to take a class so they sometimes bring their own ideas, I think. That's a wonderful group of people. It really is all in all. It's a wonderful service. The idea was born in Washington state about 50 years ago that there was such a demand for consumer horticulture information or you might call it urban horticulture information that we needed a way to be able to help the local horticulture agent and so the idea was born. Why don't we train volunteers, and now there's operational master gardener programs in all 50 states and even outside of the US, I heard that I thought it was even across the oceans. Isn't that wonderful? Well, thank you for seeing that the people like Christopher Burtt, who's the horticulture agent in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester. That's a lot of phone calls to answer. I bet your master gardeners help you They do quite a lot. I have a very large Master Gardener group. And they are very helpful in fielding some of those calls. And sometimes they work in gardens and help keep things up. >> So yeah, they not only help us in the offices, but they also help out in the community. They work at some of the different gardens that we actually have the Master Gardener garden that we maintain, as well as kind of a research and demonstration area. So, they do quite a lot. Yeah. Well, we're so glad that you could find time to get away from being in charge of three different counties to come up to help us. Happy to be. Okay. Well, Terasa, we often get to start off with something pretty and not worrisome. So, do we have gardens of the week? We sure do. And I really enjoy the gardens of the week segment. It's like taking a virtual field trip across the state. Sometimes we go outside of our borders to Georgia or North Carolina, and we get to see what you're doing and your yards gardens. Maybe you visited a beautiful place. Today, we're going to begin with a photo from Shelley Lanpher. Now, the photo is of Mary Sutton's Angel trumpet or #*Birdmanzia and she said it has performed so well this year. It's just full of flowers and I believe that's probably Mary in the photo with that angel trumpet. Jane Lagrone shared some stunning fall color beside her house in Clemson, and I think that's one of the things people look forward to about fall is that beautiful fall color. From Carol Boyd we have pineapple sage so one of the late blooming salvia species. Another red flower shared from Rebecca Milford with the Turks cap, Linda Joyce shared tree collards and Linda reported hearing about this variety on our show. And I think Amanda that was the segment with Keith Mearns from Historic Columbia that he talked about the perennial collard that grows like a tree. And then we're going to wrap up today with the orchid cactus some gorgeous yellowish colored flowers sent in from Gregory and Judith Kich. So thanks everyone for sharing your photos. We'd love it when they get posted to our Facebook page and that gives everyone a chance to see them. Thank you so very much. And Terasa, you usually come prepared with questions because people send them to you, in a variety of ways. Well, that's what Extension is all about is answering questions right? Amanda>> in an understandable way. We're the bridge between the egg heads and the pack, (laughs) Isn't that right? Well, yes, I mean, scientific research papers mean, the idea is that information is going to be useful, but it can be a little bit difficult to kind of bring it to a level that is understandable. So we'll see if we can help Claudia in Beaufort. Claudia said many of my perennials are starting to fade and look rather bad. When is the best time to cut them back? Oh, well, I guess she means her. herbaceous perennials, the ones that die back to the ground are mostly and then come back the next year. And, um, so if somebody wants to work, do you have to be tidy? And should you be you know, and when should you be tidy? So I think have to and should be, I think are two very different things. And I think for the situation, my recommendation is let it lie. The wintertime is a great time to kind of just let everything settle, it's, you know, heat is hard on plants, he does hard on insects and animals, and so kind of allowing that garden to settle in into the winter, and allow that to be a nesting site, as well as a over wintering site for a lot of our insects, a lot of our bird species, especially a lot of our pollinators. And we have numerous different pollinator species that actually are going to nest inside the broken stems or hollow stems of a lot of our herbaceous perennials. And so the best thing to do just let it be, don't cut it, it's not going to hurt it if you do cut it, but usually, that's the best thing to kind of leave it be until at least you start to see some new growth in the spring, Okay. And then some of the some of these have seeds that are still hanging on, that maybe you're going to be used by birds or different things during the winter? Oh, absolutely. A lot of these, that seed is very good food source. I mean, this time of year, you're starting to see fewer and fewer insects. And so the birds are going to be kind of scrounging to find something to eat. And so leaving those seed heads on there, especially if it's not a invasive perennial or anything like that, it's really good. And also you get a better chance of having that perennial comeback, because a lot of times those seeds are going to be part of that app and taking the coneflower seeds, which I believe the finches is that right and scattering them too, in some kind of rougher and they were popping up. That's a nice one. I like things that pop up. Christopher>> Exactly, no, it's in. That's a great way to kind of introduce especially those native perennials that we can kind of continue to spread on their own. Yeah, well, thank you so much. Along the same lines, it makes me think about leaves so people have often spent lots of time outside raking up and disposing of leaves and so they can provide an important habitat for things like fireflies, I believe we have an HGIC blog about fireflies. And so I'm actually sad because I don't really have trees in my yard so I don't I would love to have that leaf material but leaving them as a natural mulch and natural habitat can be wonderful. If you have too many you could always put them in your compost if you're composting and if you're going to have them on the lawn and you know we want to make sure that we're not going to detract from the lawn because I need disease issues. So, I believe that you can just run over them with a lawn mower rather than you know, raking them all up and trying to haul them off. Okay. And um you know, you could make a giant pile of leaves if you've done it carefully. And you show this no implements or anything and kids like to jump in piles of leaves. Great fun. Yeah, it is fun. Okay, well thank you so much. Well, we are very fortunate because Teresa drives by a place on her way to work and she is a curious person. And she went in it turned out that these people are just about as nice as anyone you can ever meet, and we are going to now visit with Terasa at Covered in Cotton. ♪ music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Rooted in a third generation family farm in Darlington, you'll find Covered in Cotton. Today, I'm visiting with proprietor Tracy Woodard, Tracy, the mission of Covered in Cotton is all about cultivation. Yes, and really that's in three parts. So to cultivate the natural comfort and quality of cotton, and also to invite people into relationships to learn more about agriculture. And then lastly to cultivate a cause that shares hope and tells a story. Let's start with that first part. Let's learn more about your cotton products. Absolutely. So all of our cotton products are made exclusively from the cotton we grow on our third generation family farm here in Darlington, and our throw collection is our original collection. We have four different designs in it. They're all a 50 by 70 inch oversize throw in that collection is the natural color of the cotton. We just recently launched what we call the rooted throw collection. And so that's one of our designs in our original collection that are colored with some rich colors that are kind of rooted in South Carolina agriculture and history Carolina Pine, Wheat Penny, true Indigo. And then we also have baby blankets that are more of a swaddle type of blanket, that we have three designs in those. And then we have hand towels that are made out of the same fabric as her baby blankets. And then also some hand towels that feature some family recipes. Oh, how nice. So sharing a little another little piece of the story, right. So really our heart is the things that are most important to us. And that's our faith, our family and our farm. So you'll find those woven throughout everything that we do. Terasa>> Fantastic. And then that second part of your mission is about cultivating relationships, and in the sense all around agriculture. So we've been growing cotton on our family farm for generations. And it's a really special plant that we're very fond of the growing process we plant in the spring, and it grows, obviously throughout the springtime. It actually puts on a flower in early summertime beautiful flowers is and a lot of people don't know that it does flowers, actually a cousin to the hibiscus, okra. So it's a tropical plant that loves our South Carolina weather. And that flower starts out as a white flower that over a few days turns into a pink flower that then dries out and the Cotton Bowl actually starts to form. And so then as you move into the fall, that brings out the white fiber as it emerges and we start to harvest usually around late September into October. It's a quite intensive process if I'm not mistaken. It is, and you know, we've got some really incredible technology that allows us to do it more efficiently than ever before, but it does take quite a bit of time. And a lot depends on weather and conditions and that type of thing. So it can take a couple of months to get all of it harvested. And then once you've got the harvested cotton, what's the next step in the journey? Ginning? Is that what happens next? That's right. So, on our farm all of our cotton is ginned. We gin locally here in Darlington County at Coker Gin in Hartsville. And the ginning process is essentially removing the seed from the fiber at the lint, and that process, samples are taken from all of our cotton, and classed so we know what the fiber length is, what the strength is, how clean the fiber is, we get all of that information back and we can trace all of that back to the field it was grown in. and so for Covered in Cotton, we take the highest quality that we grow based on that information and select out those bales to us through Covered in cotton. So now we've grown the cotton harvested it, ginned it and now I'm assuming we need to make it into some sort of yarn material. That's right. So the bales that we select out and on a typical year we'll grow around 2000 acres of cotton. That's a lot of cotton. Yes, it is. And what we select out for Covered in Cotton is around 5% of that. So we look at that as a big opportunity to grow. The rest of the cotton that's not through Covered in Cotton goes on the global market. And so we have no idea where it ends up. It could end up all over the globe. That's right. And so what we pull out for Covered in Cotton goes to the yarn spinner in Thomasville, North Carolina and so they do a ringspun process there which requires a really high quality cotton, but it's a stronger, softer yarn. From there it goes to Hickory, North Carolina where it's plaid together. So our yarns are a two ply, which basically means they take two strands of yarn and twist them together. From there it comes back into South Carolina into Blacksburg. We work with a commercial weaver, and formulate all of our weave designs with them, and our fabrics and our throws. And so they weave everything together. And then from there, it comes back into Darlington County in Lamar. We work with a company called Craig Industries, and they sew on the labels for the throws, and they cut and sew our hand towels and baby blankets, and are a great part of what we do. Really, every piece of the puzzle is we look at them as part of the family. They're all in rural communities in the Carolinas and are family owned companies that are local here. And so we love getting to share some of their story and what they do and what they're experts at. No one partner that we work with is more than 150 miles away. And so once it leaves, Craig industries in Lamar, it comes here to us back on the farm. And we package everything and process all of our orders through our website Covered in Cotton.com. And then we ship those out across the world. And the last part of your mission with cultivation is to cultivate a cause that tells a story and shares hope I think our viewers will be really inspired to learn more about your story. Yes, so I didn't grow up on a farm. But being a part of my husband's family farm just really found a passion for agriculture and for sharing that story. And so we would have this conversation about how to be really cool if we had a product that we could share with the end consumer. And we just never thought of really any good ideas. Until December of 2017. The Lord woke me up from a dream. And the dream was Covered in Cotton, the name, the logo, we were supposed to take the cotton that we grow on our family farm and make it into blankets. And so I wrote everything down. And then I woke Ty up and told him, "Hey, this sounds crazy. "But the Lord has given me this vision "and showed me what we're supposed to do "with this conversation that we've just kind of had "here and there." And like the amazing husband, he is he said, "Well, let's do that. "That sounds like a great idea. Wow, how about that. And so that really started the journey for us. But exactly two years prior to that we were living a nightmare. That's right. We have three kiddos. Our youngest two are twins, Tobin, our little boy and Tyson, our little girl. They were three months old, and Tobin contracted bacterial meningitis, How devastating it must have been. It's any parent's worst nightmare to have such a serious illness. Yes. And, you know, December is starting, you know, it's our first Christmas as a family of five. And that was not on my list of things to do. But that, that season, really, I can look back now and see what a gift of perspective it was. Because in those moments of our son being whisked away into intensive care unit, in Columbia at Children's Hospital, the things that really mattered, mattered and the things that didn't, didn't. How true and you had, I'm sure lots of special people, wonderful doctors, nurses, support staff, but one nurse in particular that really touched your life. Yes, through that season. Tobin actually had to have emergency brain surgery. And he did fantastic through all of it. But we had so many incredible people love on us. And one nurse in particular, her name was Ali, and she was our very first nurse when were admitted to the hospital, but she came and found us a couple of weeks later and brought us a blanket. And so as we came home, and even since Tobin has completely healed in every way, he's doing fantastic. He's seven years old, and in first grade and doing great. So wonderful to hear. Yes, but that blanket at the time was a really practical gift because we lived in the hospital for 35 days. But afterwards, and even now it was a symbol of the Lord's just covering, protecting over our family. So he brought all of that back to mind during that dream, exactly two years later. And so for every 10 throw blankets we sell we donate one to a local children's hospital in South Carolina. And then for every 10 baby blankets we sell we donate one to a local family ministry. I love the philanthropy and how you've taken such a challenging situation in your life and you're using it to then help and enrich the lives of others. Tracy it's been wonderful learning more about Covered in Cotton, about the history of Woodard Farms, and how you have transformed into a totally locally grown, locally sourced business. And I'd say you have achieved your mission. Thank you. [silence] A fascinating family and a fascinating story. And Terasa, it was heartfelt. Thank you. Oh, it was my pleasure. I had met Tracy I think, over a year ago and wanted to feature them on Making It Grow, but wanted also to wait until we were harvested. They were harvesting cotton so that we could get that footage and really talk about the entire process of what happens from planting through harvesting, and then all the steps needed to turn that cotton into a finished product. It was just a wonderful time and truly an inspirational story about how, you know they had such a difficult time in their lives and have really used that to spark a locally grown business. And trying to keep everything as local as possible, which I thought was pretty charming. What was it about a 500 mile radius for all the steps. Yeah, well, I bet every year they'll have to put a little more and a little more of their acreage into those wonderful throws and blankets and things that they're making. Thank you. Terasa, I think we have another question. Let's see if we can help someone else. Let's do that. We're going to see if we can help Thomas in Greenville. Thomas says "Cold weather is looming ever closer. "When should I bring in my indoor plants?" And "How should I care for them once (they're) inside?" Aha. Well, Christopher, a friend of mine, brought hers in. Now she's got an anole running around her living room. (laughs) But sometimes you should check them before you bring them in, give us some ideas of when and steps that you might take when you do bring them in. >> So, as kind of the summer in the fall are coming to an end, a lot of these plants are going to slow down that growth. And one of the biggest things to do around that time is to stop fertilizing. And so I'm going to really encourage kind of putting away the fertilizers. Usually once fall approaches, even those indoor plants that are going to stay inside and it's nice and warm, there you don't want to encourage that new growth because again, it's not going to have the daylight to support it. Yes. And so the best thing to do stop fertilizing, go ahead and plan to bring them in, get a spot ready for them. And of course inspect them, you want to make sure not only you don't have any critters, but you want to avoid any insects. Because unfortunately, a lot of our pest insects like white fly, aphids, those are going to really prosper indoors, it's gonna be nice and warm, no beneficial predators to take care of them. And so inspect those. Make sure you get rid of all of those. And of course, bring it indoors. And when you do bring it indoors, make sure you are watering it well first, because keep in mind we have very high humidity outdoors, but very low humidity indoors. And that change in humidity sometimes can cause plants to go into a little bit of shock. And so water it well, so that way it can adjust a little bit easier, and if you have plants that are very sensitive to the humidity, you can either put in a humidifier or kind of create a faux humidifier with rocks and water in kind of a small basin. Amanda>> And as far as light, I don't believe you want the sunlight to come to the window and shine directly on them that might burn them. It all depends on the plant. And so some plants it get to know your plants and know what they prefer. But usually, they're gonna like indirect but bright if for most of the plants that we're thinking of as indoors indirect but bright. And if you are doing that, make sure that when the light comes in the plant sees it but it doesn't need to be directly in that light. Okay. Well, thank you so much. Of course. Well, I think you've got some show and tell for us. Shall we do that? Yeah, absolutely. Obviously wanted to show off the - this is the flowers of Muhly grass, also known as Muhlenbergia capillaris, one of our prized native perennial grasses. You see it through all across the roadways. You see it in a lot of new landscapes. Absolutely gorgeous species and fortunately, is being plagued a little bit. There are two colors, correct? So yes, there are two different colors, there's white and there's pink. One thing I always encourage, if you really liked this color, it does work really well in kind of mass planting. So lots of them together really is a showstopper. One by itself not quite as much. But the pink is going to be much more showy. In my opinion, though, the white ones are just as popular. And you're seeing them a lot more. But I understand our actual team leader, Cory Tanner is going to do some research because, I mean, this is just everywhere, and it's so beautiful that it's been planted in medians, I mean by the thousands and now it's got problems. Yes, you're absolutely right. This is normally a pest free, disease free plant. You plant it, you enjoy it. And unfortunately we are we have spotted a insect known as a Muhly bug. So a Muhly bug is a sap sucking insect that is going to really quite like the Muhly grass unfortunately. We don't know a whole lot about it. That's why we're having such high up people doing the research for it, because in reality, we need to learn more, Did they go to the leaves and insert their mouthparts there? They're gonna lay on the foliage, and they're going to produce a lot of what's known as flocculants, that white fluffy material that you see, and unfortunately, that's very noticeable. But by that point, they've already really started to nestle in and thrive. So yeah, but they're gonna go after the foliage primarily. They'll end up looking sort of like, someone took cotton balls and pulled them out and just, you know, stuck them all along the foliage of the plant. It's pretty unattractive. So if you're at a red light, and you look over there, you're really going to pay attention to it while you're waiting for the lights to change if you're down in Charleston, because I think it's been used in the median salon. It's not only that it's been used on the freeway, you'll actually see it on the overpasses, you'll see lots of Muhly grass, and it's very showy in the fall, when it's in bloom, obviously, If it's healthy, If it's healthy. And fortunately, if the Muhly bug gets high enough density in that population, fortunately, the plant's probably not going to make it and there's not really as much treatments as we would like. I believe you've told me or I've read that in municipal situations, they usually use a systemic because it's more just easier they can see. But for a homeowner who wants to see to it that this plant is not going to harm other insects, who wouldn't have heard it, who might use it? What do you recommend? Well, the first thing is, if you do spot it, please do report it, this is actually something that we do have a reporting system. Best thing to do is just contact your local Extension agent, and let them know, Hey, I've got some Muhly grass, but there is also reporting information on the - we actually have a fact sheet on HGIC regarding this specific insect, so we do encourage you to report it. But if you do have it as well, once you've reported it and gone through those steps, the treatment process, I am going to try to recommend more of your oils, something like horticultural oil, as opposed to systemics. Because again, being a native perennial grass species, we don't want to affect anything negatively, especially a lot of our wildlife. Okay. And is this related to or the same thing as the sweet grass that was used, that we see the beautiful baskets made from? I believe and we've always understood this as being the same species as what they use for the sweetgrass baskets. Unfortunately, that's not completely the case. And the taxonomy is still very muddled. But from what we understand the Muhlenbergia capillaris that is used in landscaping is not the same species. And so they're going to use a different species still Muhlenbergia, still a Muhly grass type A native grass, Christopher>> But it unfortunately, is going to have much softer foliage, and so it's going to be much more appropriate for the sweet grass. Okay, More pliable. Yes, much more pliable. Okay. Well, thank you so very much. I appreciate it. Okay. We've all, if you've been in Columbia, seen signs that thank Columbia Green for providing material for medians and things like that, and they are being very aggressive in trying to see to it that we have more tree cover in Columbia to prevent urban heat spots. So let's learn exactly what they have planned. >> I'm speaking with Trace Ballou, and Trace is the President of Columbia Green. Trace, thanks for coming down, and tell our viewers what the goal and mission of Columbia Green is. Columbia Green is a nonprofit organization. We've been around in Columbia for about 35 years. Our mission is to beautify public spaces, also to protect and preserve trees and green spaces and to educate the public about our natural environment. And I know a lot of times, I'll be driving to Columbia and stop for a red light or something, and I'll see a sign that says, you know, "Columbia Green," and I think often on the public medians and all y'all, one of the things that y'all have provided support for is for the city to switch out annuals and perennials. Yes, that is one of our main objectives is to partner with the city. We've been partnering with them for decades, and we do help them with funding for annuals and perennials, and we also have really been a way to, we've encouraged the city to use more natives and to use perennials, more perennials and fewer annuals, which leads to, you know, less switch out, as we all know. Sure, yeah, and, also that means that often it's interesting that city centers, if we plant the right plants, can be a wonderful place for bees and pollinators, because they're so full of flowers. Absolutely. You know, we can't necessarily control what's going on in cutting down the rainforests, but we can control what we plant right here, in our own backyards and in our communities. And one of the things that I think is really exciting is that now that we are dealing with climate change and see the differences, you're a gardener and see the changes that we're dealing with in our work, is that we really want to have more trees that will provide shade. Absolutely. You know, we just had a heat mapping of Columbia on August 6 of this year. And the results, I don't think, are out yet, but they will just confirm I'm sure what we already know, it's the temperature drops dramatically under a tree. And there are heat islands all over and largely due to parking lots and whatnot. But many times it's just due to people not realizing that they could plant a shade tree where they've put a palm or something. Or a crape myrtle. Or a crape myrtle or something. Some lovely trees, but still not going to give you that wonderful cooling effect. No, and they're not native as well. And I think your Green Square Mile initiative is to start encouraging people to put trees out. Absolutely, we were trying to make it easy and fun for people to plant a tree. And they're on their own property. We have on our website, ColumbiaGreen.org, we have a Columbia Green Square Mile tree tracker app. And if you plant a tree in your yard, you can enter that tree into the app, it shows on Google Earth where the tree is. You can submit a photograph. It's a real helpful tool for people to see how a tree matures and what kind of canopy shape it presents. So I can update my tree's picture. You can update your tree's picture, absolutely. And so that really is our big focus to increase the canopy. That's our Green Square Mile initiative. It's kind of nice that it hasn't been raining, because I'm hoping it's not raining on December the 4th, because y'all have a very exciting project going that day. We do, the Grow Some Shade Tree Giveaway. All right, and actually, we have given away already 100 trees to applicants that have come to our website. And, but anybody can come back on and get on our waiting list. There's a lot there are a lot of educational materials also on the website next to the application. And this is the best time of year to plant trees. So even if you aren't, if you haven't gotten on and gotten selected and all that and gone through all of that, people should be encouraged to just, on their own, plant a small tree. Three gallons is perfect. Yes. It's not very difficult to do the hole, and you will have people there. So if people just want to say, "Well, I'd like to plant a tree, but I'm not real sure how I'm supposed to do the preparation," you will have people there to help them understand how to do it. Yes. And demonstrations going on during that time. Yes, absolutely. There will be a tree that has been planted so that you can see that the crown is above the surface of the ground. All things that are important. Yes. All the important things. And mulch, mulch, mulch. Mulch, mulch mulch. Not volcano mulching. (chuckles) Right tree, right place. We would love to help anyone if they have questions. Well, I think it will be, just to be around fellow tree huggers, is always a happy day. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, a good thing to do, and really, it might be a wonderful holiday gift to give someone a small tree and come over and plant it in their yard for them. Perfect! I think that would just be... What do you give people who have everything? Wouldn't you want to give them a plant? I think a plant's always, always the best gift. It's the gift that keeps on giving, right? And then the way that y'all support the things that y'all find important to the environment is through your annual Festival of Gardens. Yes. And this year that will be... That is going to be on April 22nd and 23rd. It's our 30th Annual Festival of Gardens. It's in Shandon this year. We have about 12 gardens lined up, I believe, to show. It's going to be great. We are hoping to be able to support even more grant recipients. We supported nine grant recipients with our festival from 2022 from this year, and we hope just to up that number. Oh, I think that's wonderful. I want to thank y'all for showing the wonderful ways that we can partner with municipalities and with other nonprofit organizations, and even schools. It's so important that we partner. You know, all things come to those who wait. But I'd say all things come to those who collaborate. That's really what we need to do, Amanda. The city is willing and ready to do what its citizens want it to do, but you've got to come to them with a plan. And funding is always nice too. Really, groups need to collaborate. We all need to work together because our environment is shared by all of us. Yes, it is, and it's somewhat under threat now. And this is a way that we can individually make a difference. Thank you so much for sharing this information. Thank you, Amanda. So remember, you could go and get good advice on how to plant a tree. It's very important to plant trees correctly. And this is a good time to plant trees. It's a wonderful time to plant trees, because the biggest issue when it comes to trees is going to be root development and being able to handle the heat. And, of course, guess what we don't have right now, thankfully, for the most part is you will have very little heat, and so the water pressure on the plant is going to be much lower. And so getting it in the ground now allows that plant to establish since we don't have hard freezes, at least not ground frost. Those roots will still develop even through the winter. And so that plant will have much more time to establish before the heat of the summer. And a smaller plant, I think, outgrows those huge ball and burlap that cost a million dollars. The smaller the plant, the quicker the establishment by far. Okay, well, I was looking for stuff for a hat, and this is my one of my favorite things for Christmas. (sniffs) Mmm. And you said you like it too: Cupressus arizonica or Arizona Cypress, which actually, the one that we have here was kind of spiffed up a little bit by Booth Chilcutt. And so now it's called Carolina Sapphire, I think. Yes, that's the common cultivar that we see here. Gosh, It just smells wonderful, doesn't it? And then I had some fatsia. And fatsia's a lot of fun. I like it. And also, I will say that the fatsia leaves... Terasa, do you have an apple tree and one of those things with nails in it that you put apples on for Christmas? I don't even know what an apple tree is. I'm going to have to look that up. Well, I'll have to bring mine in. Well, anyway, most people put magnolias around the base of it to, you know, to hide the base, but I think using a fatsia leaf, you have to cut out where the stem attaches. It's just a beautiful thing! Isn't that pretty? It's such a sizable leaf. Yeah, yeah, or if you're doing a tablescape and you want to have a lot of little vases and, you know, it's a big table, you could just put some of this around it, and all of a sudden it just expands. Mm hmm. But I did want to say, if you will hand me this, since we talked about this being a great time to plant trees, I stopped on the side of the road because, Christopher, is there anything prettier than a hickory leaf in the fall? Oh, I know. Absolutely nothing. A nice, wonderful native tree. The nuts are pretty hard to get into. It's the same genus as pecan, right? Correct, yeah. Yeah, but not as easy to get in the nuts. But this is the hickory stick, and it is a very stout stick. And Terasa, I think you and I are gonna sing a song about it. Are you ready? We're gonna try. We're gonna try. Terasa has a lovely voice. (chuckles) She's just... (Amanda and Terasa singing) ♪ School days, school days ♪ ♪ Dear old Golden Rule days ♪ ♪ reading and writing and arithmetic ♪ ♪ taught to the tune of a hickory stick. ♪ (Amanda and Terasa singing another song) ♪ You were my queen in Calico. ♪ ♪ I was your bashful bashful beau ♪ That's all I know. ♪ And I wrote on your slate, ♪ ♪ "I love you so" when we were a couple of kids." ♪ Anyway, so I thought that was fun and it used to be if you didn't learn your lessons, I guess - You get a rap with that hickory stick. But I will tell you as a little girl who when you weren't good and the babysitter wanted to chastise you she got a privet switch. I would think if it was more flexible it would hurt a little more. Boy! I mean, they could strike your legs with that privet switch, I tell you, but anyway... On a happier note, though, hickory, its durability would be good for furniture making, I think, the hickory wood. It's, I think, it's a great, yeah, it's just a beautiful tree to have in your yard and the nuts, although we don't usually get into them, plenty of animals, don't you think, do enjoy them, Christopher? Oh, absolutely! It's very important species just in regards to wildlife support. I think we say it's one of the mast producing species, right, so also oaks that produce acorns. Look at that color. It's a pretty color. It really is. Anyway, so thank you for trying to cover up the poor spots in my voice. I'm sorry that you ran out of words. It would help if I was a little more familiar with the song. Hopefully we didn't ruin everyone's ears with that. (laughs) Okay, Terasa, can we help someone else? Sure. Well, we're gonna switch to a fruit producing tree. Charles in St. Stephens says, "I have several citrus trees, some of which are "planted in the ground. "What is the best way to protect during the chance of a frost?" Oh, well, we know eventually we'll get a frost. Christopher, does it depend on what citrus you're growing? And how would you advise this gentleman? So absolutely, it does depend on what type of citrus. And it's actually also going to depend on how established the citrus is. So if it's been in the ground for a couple of years, and one of the biggest things that I encourage is it's going to depend on if it's got fruit on it. And so if it does, it's probably going to be best before a frost to go ahead and pick those fruits off. Even if they're not fully ready. Go ahead and pick them off, because that'll allow that tree to harden off just a little bit more. Oh, it's not trying to support - Exactly. So it is going to - there's a lot of things that it's going to depend on. But for the most part, I'm really going to encourage kind of paying attention to the weather. That's the first thing to do. And to make sure that if we haven't had a whole lot of rain to water, your citrus, well, because of drought, stress, citrus is going to be much less cold tolerant than a well watered citrus. If we were going to have a really hard frost and it hadn't been raining, is it true that if you can provide irrigation ahead of time that all of your plants would benefit somewhat? Yes, absolutely. And that's really true across the board. Now some plants are more sensitive than others citrus being primary ones that we're talking about. But you're right, when it comes to hard frost any type of cold weather, that plant is going to be much less susceptible to any actual damage, if it is bow-watered. Okay. All right, thank you. And we will have some cold weather, but it's certainly not like it used to be when I was raising children and the diapers would freeze in the diaper pail in the house that we didn't have central heat in. Those were really cold days. At any rate. The Taylor family in Florence is a lovely family and were grand friends with Tony Melton's and they have Taylor Garden and Gift shop, which at the holiday time of year is quite an exciting place to visit. (silence) ♪ christmas music: "Joy to the World" ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda>> I'm in Florence, South Carolina at Taylor Garden and Gift shop. I'm speaking with Amy Taylor Wells. Amy, your family has a long history in the gardening and landscaping business. That's right. I'm actually a fifth generation and I've got a daughter Pauline and two nephews that are sixth generation. We've been doing that a long time. And I think originally, it was mostly beautiful plants for the yard and landscaping things. But your mother who is like y'all and just can't stay still got excited and decided to start adding Christmas things. She sure did back in the 80s. Pauline, sure did. She added all that to the company. It's made us a lot more festive in this time of the year. And as we drive up, you have all the beautiful outdoor plants that people normally come and add to their yard or have y'all add them. It's easy to tell how to get to the front door because you start decorating out there with beautiful ribbons and bows and all sorts of things. That's right. And then when you enter the shop, we start by showing you some of the decoration put on your tables or on your mantles and then we've got the first classic area is lime green and red with some touches of different shades of green. So when clients come in, they can add that to their tree. We also have Starburst which you saw that with the moving lights that were fascinating. Those was really neat. And then the snow globes - Yes, we have over 38 snowglobes they're either battery powered or they have a USB cable that you can add and the actually pump moves the glitter around which is nice. That is kind of fun. So, the kids don't have to shake it crazy. You can put it up on a high shelf if you've got really the inquiring kind of little children you have to touch everything. That's right. And this whole shop smells so festive too. It does. We also have hot cider which will be served up front. And then your favorite tree next to the cider is the peacock tree. You're wearing one of the peacocks right now. Amanda>> It's just exquisite. I know it's got the pretty colors in there. The colors that y'all do and the themes of the tree are so fascinating. You really need to look sometimes and kind of pay attention, but the trees - so the peacock tree was very beautiful, but then you've got some exquisite white and gold trees. That's right! The contemporary white and gold tree, It's got different golds, and then expands into a big room now because we have all these different activity sets and Christian ornaments, which is lovely. I think there's just, you're very thoughtful in how you've made this so welcoming to everybody. Right. There's something for everyone in this shop. Amanda>> And then I was really taken with the newest tree, the navy, Yes, the navy and the silver tree. It is different. And it has like the old blue white ornaments that you would have in your China which is really neat. And up front, we also have the the red and gold tree and the red, silver and white tree, which are classic colors and shows the starburst again. And when y'all make the trees, you said you begin with the tops. Yeah, so there's a way that we decorate. So the first thing we do is we separate all our stuff on the floor, of what we have, different types of things, put them in groups that help you stay organized, we start with a topper. Now if you have a piece with a multi top with different levels, we have the tallest piece, the middle piece like the focus and then the bottom piece. The second thing after the topper is the ribbon, when you're rubbing the ribbon down like you mentioned on the silk tree, you can use the tree itself to hold it or on a live tree, you know wire or chenille stems. Then we do the largest ornaments in there and zigzag them with the smallest ornaments. And the final thing is your 3-D effect, which is the fillers that you put all over. So there's a way to make it work. And come out so harmoniously. Yes, like this elf that looks like her right here. It's like Elf Amanda This would be one you could put it inside the tree or have it hanging off from the tree. You'll get to take that one home later. And I've never seen so many different ribbons and they are so much fun. There's thousands of ribbons from red bow ribbon to Krishna ribbon to lime going to red, to Grinch to elf, everything you can think of. And we like to mix and match different ones. Whether you run it through the tree, run it through a wreath or just fit a few pieces in the garland just there's so many ways use ribbon. We love wire ribbon especially. Well because you can make it so three dimensional. That's right. If I had a wreath that I had made, or needed something special, I can come in. And really y'all would do almost anything I want - Right. That's right. If you come and say, "Hey, I want a wreath with a bow right here. I want an elf," or whatever we can do whatever you need. I think you'll even do whole trees for people. We do. We can actually decorate an entire tree here and deliver it. And we'd make garlands. That's real popular. and put them in a box. There's always something to run into. And one of the things I enjoyed was coming into the back room. There are a lot of natural ornaments. There were deer. There were birds. There are. Yep, you saw the little bird nests. Yes. Yes. Lots of magnolias, which look real and berry pics. And we've got all that in that one area with owls. And then we also have a black, red and white tree, which is very contemporary and neat, and we have a Clemson and Carolina tree, And then you have a dog, right? Yes. And then we have a dog tree with a little bit of cat stuff. And if you were just a cat person, you could have a cat tree. That's right. You sure can. It's got little bones and everything on the tree too. Now there's a pastel tree which matches you today. And it's got the pinks and blues and greens. And it's really fun. Y'all just I think you'll have a wonderful time and this starts in September. So I guess you almost have to put some pre-recorded music on to get you in the mood. We sure do, but my mom and the elves which is Miss Emma and Miss Janice and my husband, Edward, they put most the shop together within three to four weeks. They're magical. They really are. It's magical when I come in, and then all the little fun things. Santa Claus sometimes has his chocolate and his bedroom slippers on. Yes. It's so cute. Mrs. Santa Claus has cookies with her. There's a sous chef Santa Claus and then the major Santa Claus. Oh, Santa Claus area in the corner even aviator Santa, which is new this year, lots of different things for him. So Santa gets into different genres. And then we have a edible looking area, which is peppermint and gingerbread candy. And it's got the old fashioned throwback to the ribbon candy ornaments, which I really like to share. Reminds me of my grandmother. Yes. Oh of course. I know you like red birds. We have a lot of red birds and trucks and hats and things like that. It's just anything that reminds you of the holidays, whatever direction it takes you in you have it here. And so snowman wouldn't just be a plain snowman, you would have like 100 Different kinds of snowman. Oh, I've never seen so many different elves in my life. Even elves that maybe should be scolded and sent to bed. Yes. Some of them are hanging around the lamps and hang in the shop being naughty. They come to life sometimes. And then you have for some people who want to be more traditional. You have exquisitely beautiful trees that are not live trees, but they certainly resemble live trees. That's correct. A lot of materials that can be used to make wreaths. Yeah, the fillers and the picks that look like different, they are different greenery in the flowers. If someone has, you know, a lot of people now have smaller homes, and they don't want a great big Christmas tree I think you've got, although you've got the traditional shaped ones, I think you've got ones that can fit in more restricted spaces. Yes, that's the pencil trees. They're super skinny. They're no more than like two feet wide. And they're great. They come in flocked in green. And again, if someone wants to, they could have you, they could tell you some of the things that they really love. And you could put a tree together for them. And even get it to the house. And I imagine get it plugged in. That's right. And some people come to our shop with photographs and they say you know something's missing, what is wrong? What do I need. So it could be they need more ribbon, or they need more topper fillers. So we help you with that too. My word in heavens. And then you have grew up in this wonderful business. That's right. Landscaping and so a lot of the year, you're out - That's what I'm doing. I'm out and about, like yesterday, I was putting in drip irrigation and planting, I'm getting the dirt out my nails. And today I'm in my elf costume. So I get to do a lot of different fun things outside too. And I think you have a variety of costumes for the holidays. I have a whole wardrobe. We are fortunate. I have to be Elf Amy. Next time I come to talk to you, I'm gonna borrow one and we'll have to be twins. That sounds great. Well, I just think this is just one of the most glorious, happy places I've been in many, many, many years. And I want to thank you and your family for making this available to people in South Carolina, and Florence. It's a great place to visit. It's a blessing to help all the community and we give back a lot of do a lot of giveaways and I love to bless others. That's definitely a gift that God has given us. Well, I think it's a wonderful family. And I want to thank you as always, for the great love that y'all showed our dear friend Tony Melton, who also adored Christmas. He did. He loved my dad, Tommy Taylor too so much. (both laugh) Well, y'all are just going to be our new extended family. That sounds wonderful. We love you guys. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you. ♪ End of " Joy to the World" : christmas music ♪ What a wonderful trip we had. And if you're in the Florence area, I know you'll enjoy stopping by and the family is just as nice as they can be, of course, because they were dear friends with my friend Tony Melton. Well, Christopher, there are a couple of invasive things that are kind of noticeable this time of year. Would you like to tell us about them? Absolutely. I figured, a perfect time of year since we're starting to see that very, very significant fall color on the Nandina domestica. So this is a very popular unfortunately, ornamental species, you see it planted throughout, I mean, it's very drought tolerant, it can grow. It's very small. So it doesn't necessarily get massive that most people prefer kind of those smaller foundation plants. And unfortunately, it spreads both by the seeds which birds do quite like as well as the runners It's also known as heavenly bamboo, because it does spread much in the same way. Unfortunately, the seeds do have small quantities of cyanide in them. And there is that small chance of getting a bird killed if this is the only thing they're consuming. So do kind of keep that in mind. Unfortunately, these are very invasive. They are going to choke out just about anything they grow around. And so it would be best to kind of avoid them if we can. Amanda>> The first cultivars that did not produce fruit were pretty ugly, if you asked me. They're leaves were contorted. But I think they're now some cultivars that seem to be pretty reliably not fruit producing. What is your take on those? So kinda like with anything else? It's always be very cautious. But absolutely, I think a lot of the I think Southern Living's the group that's putting them out right now with like the firepower and the lemon lime, they're very attractive species, or at least cultivars. And I think they do have a place if again, you're very aware, you start seeing those flowers, and those seeds, then it's probably something to keep from them. And then chinaberry is something that has beautiful flowers, but in my part of the state it is really invasive. And again, it's just everywhere. And I don't know that there's anything we can do about it. No, and the hard part especially is though the seeds are poisonous for humans, the birds quite like them and they're spreading them far and wide. Oh goodness. But the flower is quite lovely. And um, but um, but the seeds and I've heard that when they ferment. Sometimes the birds will get drunk and stagger around and fly in your window or Christopher>> They definitely - They fly when drunk, which they're not supposed to (laughs) We'll have to revoke their flying licenses. Yeah, well thank you so much. I learned a lot and had a real good time with y'all. And I hope that you will be with us next time we come back on Making it Grow. Bye Bye. ♪ closing music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State. The Boyd Foundation supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large. McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina. Family owned and operated since 1916. This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches. Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.