Category: Gardening in SC

Bits and Pieces, Early December 2023

Hello Everyone!

I’ve been busy and have neglected the blog. For one thing I’ve been walking almost every day for the past two weeks: 2 miles is becoming easy now. And I’m sleeping so, so well.

Anyway, here’s a bit of a long post for you.

In anticipation of walking the winter beach and traipsing through tidal pools, I got a pair of navy blue Bog Boots–on sale!! And they fit beautifully. When I saw the constellation theme, I knew this pair was for me.

The berries on the little Chinese Holly plants that the builder’s landscape sub planted have turned red. Aren’t they beautiful? And all are healthy. Now I really, really need to trim back the red rose plants, which are still blooming.

“Sprinkles” is off the longarm–and the quilting looks awesome. It is now bound and ready for the last hand sewing of the binding.

Look at the adorable backing for “Sprinkles”! It is a Ruby Star Society print–and I bound with it as well.

Traverse is also bound, and I’m hand sewing down the binding now. Oh my heavens, that hand quilting was a LONG project, however delightful.

So, I now have FOUR quilts with binding ready to be sewn by hand. I dragged out my three thread spools–each of which holds 10 threaded needles. Two of these were gifts to me years ago. The only issue is that these needle eyes are tiny, tiny, tiny–too tiny for any threader unit I’ve ever tried. I resorted to magnifying lenses and a strong light. After a while, I got faster, but…

I now have two sides of Traverse done–and have ordered some color catcher cloths for when I wash it–just to be sure. I’ve used up most of the 30 threaded needles now.

I couldn’t stop making the Serpentine blocks from Tara Faughnan’s online class–and I do love this scrappy one. The small quilt I made from these blocks is ready to go on the longarm. I’m still wondering about being able to make an improv quilt with these small fun, playful projects. The third month is a block Tara calls “Lines.” You can see it on her Instagram page.

I have seven colors of these 1920/30 reproduction fabrics–and I’ll make the red one today–the one below is pink. I’m loving the secondary patterns that will come along with this project.

So, this brings you pretty much up-to-date with me.

I’m good, and hope you all are as well.

Late October 2023

The Holly Berries along the roadside where I often walk are so beautiful now. I hope mine in the front of my home turn this very pretty red.

Some days are cool enough now that dinner on the porch is best when sitting in a sunny spot and wearing a sweater. But not all days; the past two days have seen me finding a pair of shorts and a short-sleeve t-shirt–at least in the middle of the day.

The air fryer does a great job with fish filet coated lightly with a gluten-free panko and sweet peppers. The asparagus got cooked in the microwave. The berries are a treat.

Last week a host of repair men were in and out of the house–at the 11-month occupation “clean up” of things needing fixing. I roasted a chicken last Monday, so had some meat for a few days. The cauliflower and baby bok choy was pan sautéed in a little duck fat–with herbs and garlic, of course.

I decided to go back and add a middle line of quilting to the solid bar strips in Traverse–and I’m so glad I did. They just needed…more. I am nearing the end of this hand-quilting project, but have some wide bars to do before I can say “done.” My stitches, front and back, are so much more steady and reliable now.

Yesterday I had dinner with Bryan, Corinne, and the girls–and Corinne’s mother (Cheryl) who is here for a few days. I have not seen her in over 10 years, so it is delightful to see her again. Cheryl is a very special person.

Two granddaughters went with me for a quick walk on the beach late yesterday afternoon–and they went swimming–though the water is colder now. You can just see their heads out among the waves. They warmed up in the tidal pools left up on the beach.

We used to call these pools “buffalo holes,” and I have idea why–it came from my Georgia mother way back in the day.

I’ve almost finished a quilt top made with 1 1/2-inch squares I cut from the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society fabrics. When I had leftover scraps I cut them into useable pieces–based on quilter Bonnie Hunter’s scrap system. I should have a picture to share in a few days.

More Bowl Dinners: Lamb Chops and Meatloaf

*I wrote this post last week, and this week has been so busy. I’m at the 11-month occupation of my new home, and the builder sends in various subs to fix things that got missed in the first inspection. Sometimes you don’t see things at first, but you do after living in a new home for almost a year. And there are things that range from the simple to the more problematic that need fixing or adjusting.

Grilled lamb chops, baby bok chop with onion and sweet peppers cooked in the air fryer, and rice I froze and defrosted.

Leftovers!

Meatloaf, okra with butter, and roasted butternut squash with fresh garlic and rosemary dressed with olive oil.

Here’s the herb garden these days. The tall plat on the right is lavender, and there is some chive between the sage and the lavender. The oregano is going wild, so I trimmed it back and am drying those stems in the kitchen. When dried, I’ll strip off the stems and save the leaves for winter use.

So…

That butternut squash…

Normally roasted it would have a dense candied sweetness to combine with the garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. I have always looked forward to this dish in the fall.

But this squash was absolutely tasteless. Likely it was picked green and had not had time yet to develop its sugars. It’s hard to tell before one cuts into one of these winter squashes. Maybe if I had held it longer it would have “ripened.” This squash is a good keeper. But I’ll pay more attention next time. An over-ripe one is too mushy. So, I guess it is a bit of a crap shoot.

Beggars’ Lice

Last Sunday we gathered at Mike and Tami’s to celebrate Debbie’s birthday (Tami’s mother). Mike and Tami had been hard at work with various garden projects, which resulted in this kind of “beggar’s lice” sticking to their pants. And, to the dogs, which took some days to rectify once the seeds got wound up with the dogs’ hair.

“Beggar’s Lice” are seeds that a “weed” plant produces. The seeds have POWERFUL gripping power if one brushes up next to the host plant. I grew up with the name “Beggar’s Lice,” but there are other regional names for this seed. And, several plant species that produce this kind of seed.

If you google “beggar’s lice,” a page will appear with lots of pictures and links to information about his seed, like this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackelia_virginiana

While Michael was organizing our dinner, we women gathered to try to get the “lice” off of the various clothing items. Tami had already spent about three hours the night before trying to get the lice off a pair of her pants. (Debbie is on the left and granddaughter Mina, on the right.). We tried the flat edge of knives, spoons, and a carrot peeler to scrape off the seeds. It was easier to get them off the jeans than the knit-type fabric in the above picture.

While we “persevered,” Mike made us a beautiful dinner. Here’s my bowl–which is missing the beautiful sliced heritage tomatoes dressed with minced herbs, avocados, and fresh mozzarella balls. Mike grilled the chicken breasts, zucchini, and sweet peppers. The grain salad is barley and contains more diced veggies. It was dressed with olive oil. (You could add an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar.) Mike’s salads are always fun: this one had radicchio included, which I love. And the hard boiled eggs are a colorful and nice inclusion.

I can say that we were “eating the rainbow” with this meal.

Sunburned Azaleas

The five white azaleas out front have struggled with how the sun hits them all summer. They are badly sunburned–and now you can see them trying to “green up” their leaves as the angle and the intensity of the sun has moved into fall/winter coolness. These plants were a bad choice by the builder’s landscape sub, given the intensity of the summer sun and no shade until about 3 pm.

Today I got help from Andres Hernandez with moving and replacing these plants–which was a great relief as I did not want to dig and augment with sand and compost another five holes in the clay.

The azaleas will be much happier on this shady side of the house–and the Asiatic Jasmine will continue to grow up around them.

We replaced these azaleas with five white Encore azaleas–which are a cross between rhododendrons and azaleas, are much sturdier, and will bloom until it gets too cold.

Here’s one with a bloom intact:

Here’s the front bed now. These new plants will get about 4 feet by 4 feet. We moved two of them in the middle forward to give the Chinese Holly more room, but the Encores will form a kind of understory to the hollies. BUT, I do not want this front bed to get too tall for the windows behind it.

It was a really nice morning–and I watered while Andres rehomed and planted. So now, it is about to RAIN. LOL, of course it is.

That Grass is Blooming PINK

It is Muhly Grass, and I see it planted everywhere. It’s around homes, and it’s in islands in the middle of roads, and it’s in shopping area parking lots. It’s everywhere in this region. And it is a “sweetgrass” plant.

It also comes in a white version that I saw just the other day. Here is the pink variety along the entrance to my development.

When the sun catches the blooms, they glow. The white ones literally look like spot lights swaying in the wind.

All of these blooming grasses have delighted me over the years, and I had other blooming grasses, not the Muhly, in my Virginia and Maine gardens. Muhly “sweetgrass” is new to me.

The road outside of my development has palms and Muhly grass planted. But this Muhly grass won’t be blooming this year, and that’s because it’s being “harvested” by local people in the dark of the night for “sweetgrass basket” making, which is a big market here. The harvesters pick stems from the middle of a Muhly grass, leaving the outside stems intact.

Here is a link to more Muhly grass information from Clemson University, which has a big horticultural division.

https://www.clemson.edu/cafls/demo/plant_profiles/muhlenbergia-capillaris-pink-muhly-grass.html

Tami and Debbie Visit The Medway Community Garden

Saturday afternoon, DIL Tami and her mother Debbie visited the Medway Community Garden in Charleston. I was invited and couldn’t go, so Tami took pictures and the little video below of this pollinator garden.

A reminder, Tami is the Director and Co-Founder of The Bee Cause. She texted me with this message: “A beautiful afternoon at Medway Community Garden. The pollinators were plentiful in this beautiful pollinator habitat donated by The Bee Cause and installed by Charleston Parks Conservancy. We also got to meet and chat with the author of The Ark of Taste.” There was also a potluck supper.

A video of the garden.

And the new book:

From a review on the Slow Food USA web site: “The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of our food heritage and a movement to preserve gastronomic treasures passed down for generations—some rare, some endangered, all delicious. Created by Slow Food, the Ark illuminates the history, identity and taste of these unique food products, many of which were revived or saved from extinction by their Slow Food champions.”  

And: “The Ark of Taste book features the stories of how some of these American products almost didn’t reach our table, with recipes from Slow Food chefs and profiles of growers from around the country.”

https://slowfoodusa.org/ark-of-taste-book/

As you know from this blog, I have planted pollinator plants in my new garden. And Tami has been working hard in her garden in recent days. She is developing a space where she would like to plant a pollinator garden–and that space is near her bee hive.

On a very happy note, Tami recently harvested some honey from that hive, and she generously gave me 12 jars of that beautiful honey–which I am busily lapping up.

The dried blooms are from the Panicle Hydrangea “Limelight.” In Maine, these big blooms would turn a gorgeous deep red color; here with the heat, they just turn brown. I clipped these blooms when they were just starting to show flecks of red in the petals, but before they started to turn brown. I put them in this vase with no water and let them further dry out inside. They will hold their color through most of the winter.

Drying hydrangea blooms is tricky. I’ve found it best to wait until they are starting to dry on the plant before clipping them. And even then, they might shrivel up once inside.

A Mid-Week Update: September 2023

Good Morning!

It’s Wednesday, and I’ll be off to the Wando Library this morning to meet the Patchwork Gals, who meet there once a month. They are a “splinter” group of the regional Cobblestone Quilters group.

I actually went to the Wando library to “rent” more books yesterday morning. I can buy, for $1 each, books featured on a kiosk in the library. After I’m done, I return the books so they can be recirculated again. Here’s what I brought home yesterday.

I’m reading the Oysterville Sewing Circle, by Susan Wiggs. She’s a new author for me, and trying out new authors or revisiting ones I know is…fun.

And, here is my current book marker: a recent card from friend Betsy Maislen, who made this gorgeous “Hunter’s Star” quilt designed by Bonnie Hunter.

I started loading the “Summer Camp” mystery quilt on the longarm yesterday. The next step is to baste it before quilting it.

And I’m making progress with hand-quilting Traverse. I started in the middle and am nearing the end of one side. That gold bar below the green crosses is about half way.

I’m liking the use of thread colors that don’t stand out and the texture that is developing. AND, my stitches on the back are getting better as my hands learn Tara Faughnan’s method of quilting with a bigger needle, thicker threads, and without a hoop. (She has a good online class on hand quilting.)

I did finish the dark gold row above last night and am thinking about how to quilt that next big bar.

Back in Maine, when I had packed up all my quilting things for moving, I set up a little sewing area and started piecing 1 1/2 and 2-inch squares that I had cut from the Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society project. The 1 1/2 squares went into four-patch blocks, light and dark. So when “Summer Camp” came off the design wall (which I vacuumed yesterday), I got out the bin with the four patch blocks and started sewing some together to create an 8-inch block.

Yes, but maybe this way…if I have enough squares to do something like 3 by 3 rows. These are just pinned, not sewn. I can see one of the 2-inch 4-patches as the corner stones. But who knows?

Meanwhile, the Mexican sage plant burst into bloom. That plant is new to me. (It got thirsty before the recent rain, thus the yellow? Unless it is getting ready to go dormant as it is now fall?)

The blooms are quite awesome, aren’t they?

And with the cooler weather, I’ve been walking more–but on the shady side of this mostly quiet road that runs outside my development. There are two schools on the left side, and my development is ahead about 1/4 mile on an entry road to the left.

Enjoy your day today, everyone!

Big Mexican Petunias and Big Red Quilt Top Finished

Good morning!

It is a “murky” kind of Wednesday morning here today. And the temps are cooler. Maybe we will get a bit of rain. Maybe I will have dinner on the porch today.

On Monday morning, I took my grill propane tank to the local True Value hardware store to have it refilled.

Look what is growing along the fence surrounding the propane station: full size Mexican Petunias. This plant is extremely hardy and aggressive.

My little dwarf version is thriving out front, and these are just the cutest little plants which bloom their hearts out. They will spread, yes, but I want them to fill up the bed where they are–as a sturdy and colorful border.

I finished the “big red” quilt top last night–I have not yet come up with a name I like. I really like the soft Kona Thistle sashing and will bind with it.

Here is a close-up. “Red Delight” maybe?

I finished the backing for “Bonanza,” the big half-square triangle quilt last night and will start loading this project on the longarm today likely. “Happy” (formerly known as “the quilt from hell”) is waiting to go on the longarm for hand-sewing basting.

Now, I am putting the “Summer Camp” mystery blocks from the Modern Quilt Society on the design wall and will leave them up there for a while as I know I’ll move those blocks around a lot before I commit to their final placement. Already I am moving the blocks around in the rows that are going up.

The hand-quilting on Traverse is going well–I’ve almost finished the green row with chartreuse squares. I’m liking the texture that is not trying to cover up the block patterns. And my hand quilting with Tara Faughnan’s method is getting way more reliable, so I don’t have to check the back so often.

And that’s all the news fit to share here for today!

Have a good one everyone.

The Bee Cause

DIL Tami Enright shared this informative interview on South Carolina ETV the other day.

I think some of you might enjoy it.

Tami is a co-founder of The Bee Cause and its Director. The Bee Cause now has hives in all 50 states and in some international countries.

In this video, Tami not explains the history of The Bee Cause but what we can each do in our lives to help create a habitat for bees. Small acts can make a difference.

No bees, no food.