You'll like this one Larry

My wife's grandmother moved to town with her family and a few other families to change the mill in town from cotton to rayon. She and her friend Liza Taylor were great friends for decades. later in life Mrs. Taylor got into slip cast pottery. She made many gifts for Mama Grace. Here is an example of a flower arranger. The color is a soft pink - it's about 10 inches high. The camelias are from the bushes way down in the back yard. I thought you might like this photo. Have a great day.

Census of the Camelias

here is a camelia that a friend from the "country" gave us.

It started me thinking about all the various camelias that we have here in our yard. so here's the samlping.First a view of the "way down way down" in morning light.

South Carolina Day Cookies

Thursday March 18th is South Carolina Day in all S.C. schools. It's John C. Calhoun's birthday and we are celebrating everything S.C. Tomorrow my class will be getting SC pencils, bookmarks, watching videos about local history, and we have a couple coming to shag (the state dance from the beach). At lunch i'll be presenting all my students with a SC cookie. I decorated them with royal icing - i think they turned out pretty good.

Air layered Camelias

Here are my 11 out of the original 12 air-layered camelias. I had no luck with cuttings but this air layering was so easy - one afternoon in April - clipped and planted in Oct. - how easy is that?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Lenten Roses from the Townsend Everett Garden

The Everett House is the last link to a locally famous garden known as the Townsend Everett Garden. Mrs. Townsend and Mrs. Everett were sisters who lived side by side and shared a large garden shaded by large Pecan trees. This is a current picture of the house with very little of the garden left.

Most of the space was lost to a funeral home for its' parking lot. Before it was cleared we were given the chance to get whatever we wanted. We took as many lenten roses as we felt we could. We also have some mares tale from the garden.

the rose in the baggy - Jim here's the carcass

Here is Trinity Street - named for the Trinity Episcopal Church. Mr. Bagwell's Store was the last one on the right.
Well - here is a shot of downtown and the redone sidewalks. Behind the van, the car, and the eucalyptus tree is the dying carcass of the rose i am really trying to save at least one piece. Mr. Bagwell ran a great antique and curiosity shop in the building. He had this rose here in the front and in the back at his workshop.

Here is the victim... murdered and tossed by the construction crew.

Here is a close up of the bottom. Looks kind of grafted to me - but i don't know.

the rose in the baggy

Monday March 8, 2010
If you've been reading my blog lately you know I'm trying to save a rose from downtown that was pulled up and tossed away by a construction crew. Here's a new picture of the rose in the baggy. It sits in the warm window that gets early morning light. I wonder if i should clip it and try to root it without the big stick which is starting to mold. Anybody have any hints?

Planning a Fresh Start

February's Teacher Furlough Day became my day to chop all the border grass in the front beds and start planning for the Spring and Summer seasons. I have the beds shaped and edged - i really like the curves. All the black holes in the yard are footprints left from the 101 year old trees that had to come out. I've been filling them with top soil... they rot... i fill.. they rot... I... well you see the picture.

I have some evergreens in place and many sun loving perennials. I would really like to take the "circle yard" to the next level. I have always wanted to make it a white garden. I still may try. Colored flowers just disappear in the shadows and against the brick. I think some bright white and green flashes would stand out and look sparkling and cool this Summer.

I had zennias in the sunny place near the house and they did great. My dad's garden statue of a boy with a basket on his head did not fair to well through the colder than normal winter. He froze and his jaw fell off.

My wife found me some peony plants which are not white but i love the look of them - i am going to try them here in the partial shady areas and see if they make it - if they do i might invest in some nicer peony plants. The impatiens in the picture above from last Summer did okay in the shade. So if peonies really don't mind dry summers they might love it here! We have lots of dry.

I feel like I'm doing something

Here are some pictures of the roses and crepe myrtles. They may not sprout roots but they have definitely picked my spirits up.

Monday March 8, 2010
Here's a new picture of the rose in the baggy. It sits in the warm window that gets early morning light. I wonder if i should clip it and try to root it with out the big stick which is starting to mold. Anybody have any hints?

update on the roses and crepe myrtles

It's alive! It's alive! Those sticks are sprouting. There is some life force left in them. If just one takes root I'll be so happy. I can already see that there is some mold starting at the tops and in the soil so i may just be wasting my time, but i still think it's worth a try.

The crepe myrtles are continuing to leaf out. no roots yet though.