Name That Plant Game - Win $25 Gift Certificate

This plant needs afternoon shade. It has sticky leaves, like a holly tree. It grows about 5 feet tall. It has yellow flowers in winter followed by large bluish-purple berries that look like grapes.

Post a comment (by clicking on "Name That Plant Game" above) and name this plant. The first person to name it correctly wins a $25.00 gift certificate.

Fall Plants and New Statuary and Fountains Arrive

Just arrived this week:

• About 30 varieties of Camellias and Sasanquas
• Mums (more on the way)
• Pansies, Snapdragons, Herbs, Grasses, Other cool plants for Fall Containers
• Topiary Ivy's

Most Unusual Attractive Plant in the Nursery Right Now:

American Beauty Berry - Ours are full of bright purple berries. After the leaves drop, the berries remain for stunning color, at least until the birds have had their feast for the season!

New Statuary Here:

We have a large selection of new statues for your yard. We've always carried cat statues, but the funny thing about cats is cat-lovers don't usually need a particular breed of cat statue. Dogs are different. If you own a labrador retriever, you don't want to display a statue of a dachsund. So, we made an effort to get lots of different breeds of dog statues. We have a lab, dachsund, collie, westie, scottie, cocker spaniel, bulldog, and schnauzer.

Fountains:

We just received four new large fountains from Athens Stonecasting -- all very reasonably priced.

Scarecrows Are Coming

We'll, if you've driven by our store lately, you're probably wondering what's up with the scarecrow hanging out front. Keep an eye on the space, because we're doing something fun this fall, and have invited local churches, boy scouts and girl scouts to build their own scarecrow and place it in front of the store. The best looking scarecrow (that's an oxymoron isn't it), as judged by our customers, will win $100 for their organization. We're taking the first 20 applications and are already up to 15, just one week after announcing it. We're going to award the prize at our first "Hallowpalooza," on Saturday, October 31.

Mum's the Word

It never fails. Customers come into the nursery in mid-August asking for mums. Our competitors are offering them for sale by the end of the month. Yet, we hold out until mid-September to bring in these Fall standards. Why is that?

If you buy mums which have started to bloom in August, they'll last only a few days. The heat will hasten the bloom and wilt the plants. Mums require lots of water. If you miss one day watering, the plant will shrivel up and blooms will be ruined.

We suggest waiting until at least mid-September to buy mums. The cooler nights will slow down the opening of the buds, and keep the blooms looking great for a much longer period. If you buy plants that are just beginning to break bud, you'll be able to enjoy your mums for many weeks.

The best way to water your mums is to place a tray or saucer under each plant and keep them filled with water. Your mums will drink the water from the tray as it needs it. If you plant them in the ground, water every day when it is hot and every other day as the weather gets cooler. It would be best to water with a soaker hose; an irrigation spray or mister will shorten the life of open flowers.

Pinch off spent flowers to keep your mums looking good and to encourage more buds to open.

Lots of folks just throw their mums away after they finish blooming. You can plant them in your flower bed. Just cut them back to about 4-6 inches above ground. Next spring, they'll put out new growth. Cut them back in June to about one-half their size to make them bushier and to generate blooms in the Fall.

Landscaping My New House

I am one of the lucky few whose ancestors lived near enough to the Saluda River to have water front property after Lake Murray was built, but not close enough to have been run off their land by the rising waters. My grandparents actually had to buy a small parcel that would connect their property to the lake shore. They made this purchase, not because they had a great vision of the recreational value the lake would provide one day or how valuable lakefront property would become. They bought the land simply to provide water for their cows, so they would no longer have to haul it from the well to the watering trough in buckets.

Because of the need to water those cows, I am the lucky one to inherit a beautiful lake front lot. We are building a house on it, and will be moving in soon. We are in the process of designing the landscape right now. Or, rather, my landscape architect nephew is designing it. As we progress through the planning and planting stages, we are going to share the process with you. So far we've had to make decisions about hardscapes (walkways and patios) and terracing and retaining walls. The lot slopes down to the water, so we are creating several flat areas connected by terraces. To save money, we poured cement sidewalks, driveway and area under deck. We're using pavers in several areas to soften the concrete and change up the texture of the hardscape.

The house is quite angular, with straight lines being prominent. So we've tried to soften that with lots of curves in the the landscape and hardscape design.

As for plant selections, we're going for the casual, low maintenance effect. When you own a garden center, there's no time to work in our own yard. I'm staying away from the "coastal look" -- no palm trees in this yard. I want lots of traditional old-fashioned South Carolina plants -- azaleas, hydrangeas, crape myrtles, magnolias, camellias, wax myrtles, to name a few. And, of course, we'll have to throw in the new and exotic, but only if they're easy to take care of!

We're going to make a video of the landscaping process to air on WingardsTV.com. I'll let you know when that's up and running.