Sunday, June 9, 2013

Greenwood's Festival of Flowers Time

Every June Greenwood, South Carolina hosts Festival of Flowers. This year is the 46th year for this flower-packed festival.   This event helped convince me to move to SC.  We came down to Greenwood to see the area, during the festival.  What a treat.  We have been here for three years now. 
 
The festival runs four weeks in June with all sorts of activities culminating with the main weekend of garden tours and Park Seed open house.  The first of June the topiaries are placed in Uptown.  We had friends visiting us from Virginia and took them to see the mainstay of our festival.
Be sure to check on the link above for all the activities -- there is everything from a golf tournament to juried art to a Farm to Fork dinner.... and lots more!!



 We walked all around Uptown Greenwood, checking out new and old topiaries.  Our walk through was the end of May, so work was still being done to get everything all set for the month.  


Each topiary has irrigation to keep the plants fresh and growing for the whole month.   The city has greenhouses where the topiaries live during the 'off-season'.  We have a great crew who takes care of them year round.   Scroll all through all the pictures of this year's topiaries.
Chik fil A cow

New addition this year... duck pond, how many critters can you spot?

We have dinosaurs

Local company Fuji has a camera, pandas were added later in the week

The jeep

Velux structure stays up all year...plant material added for the Festival of Flowers

Love the shade plants under the arch

Lander University Bearcat


Clemson University tiger

The tiger provides a bit of shade for the ferns 

Dog guarding his fire hydrant

My favorite-- Mama and baby Elephant

University of South Carolina Gamecock

King Kong

Swan 

Lion and lion cub

Water feature with dolphin and apes in the tree and another friendly hort crewmember 
Apes in the trees

Seahorse

Pretty pink flamingo

Butterfly in fine color

Giraffes in a new location

Pretty pony with Ponytails for mane and tail
This year the Master Gardeners were able to see a plant list of the varied plant material in all these topiaries.  

Plant list for 2013 Topiaries
Common name & Scientific name
Irish Moss--Sagina subulata
Platt’s Black Brass Buttons--Leptinella squalida ‘Platt’s Black’
Hens and Chicks--Sempervivum tectorum ‘Hens and Chicks’
Creeping Fig--Ficus pumila
Mexican Feather Grass--Nassella tenuissima
Burgundy Glow Bugleweed--Ajuga reptans ‘Burgundy Glow’
Flossflower--Ageratum houstonianum
Begonias--Begonias
Mondo Grass--Ophiopogon japonicas
Creeping Jenny--Lysimachia nummularia
Angelina--Sedum repustre‘Ogon’
Blue Spruce Stonecrop--Sedum reflexum ‘Blue Spuce’
Ogon Stonecrop--Sedum makinoi ‘Ogon’
Red Threads--Alternanthera ficoidea ‘Red Threads’
Dusty Miller--Senecio cineraria
Squalida Brass Buttons--Leptinella squalid
Coral Reef--Sedum tectractinum ‘Coral Reef’
Chocolate Chip Bugleweed--Ajuga reptans “Valfredda’
Polka Dot Plant--Hypoestes phyllostachya
Petunias--Petunias
Japanese Painted Ferns--Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’
Moss Rose--Portulaca grandiflora
Creeping Mazus--Mazus reptans
Crinkle Red Alternanthera--Alternanthera dentata ‘Crinkle Red’
Creeping Thyme--Thymus serpyllum
Coleus--Solenostemon scutellariodes
Celosia--Celosia
Blue Star Creeper--Isotoma fluviatilis
Black Scallop Bugleweed--Ajuga reptans ‘Black Scallop’
Ice Plant--Delosperma cooperi

How many of these can you find in the photos above?  For those of you who are close by....come on down!!  The weekend of June 22-23 are garden tours.  Let me know!
Greenwood has flowers all over Uptown....love this courtyard.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

32 comments:

  1. I love it--I have to come see them in person, they are so wonderful! Are the gardens open to the public over the tour weekend? I definitely think I need to make a trip. I'll check out the link and let you know! Love these topiaries--great photos!

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    1. Julie, so glad you came down to see the topiaries with me.

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  2. Dear Janet,
    these are very impressing topiaries! I've seen a few in "wild life" (meaning: in famous English gardens) - but you show an abundance of variety. Thank you!

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    1. Britta, the topiaries are lots of fun to see each year. Some are a little different each year.

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  3. Humorous and clever, very nice!

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  4. What fun! I think my favorites are the adult lion and the pony. I've got a thing today for flowing hair, I guess!

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    1. Gaia Gardener, I love the pony and the elephants. I like the flowing hair too.

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  5. Now this is a garden tour I could even get my non-gardening family to attend! Hard to pick a favorite, but I do love the lion and cub. Wish I lived closer to South Carolina--I'd definitely be down for a visit!

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    1. Rose, it is indeed fun for all, gardeners and non gardeners. Wish you lived closer too!

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  6. These are so wonderful!
    Impossible to pick a favorite.
    Makes my news seem rather trivial in comparison - I have a new Night Blooming Cactus thanks to your so very helpful advice on rooting them! I suppose it will be years before it is big enough to bloom, but its a start.
    Thanks so much!
    Have a wonderful day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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    1. Lea, Having a Night Bloomer is wonderful! I am not sure how long it took for mine to bloom, I want to say two years.

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  7. What a festival, and what great topiaries. It is so wonderful to see a whole town participating in something like this.

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    1. Commonweeder, it is a wonderful festival, involving the whole community.

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  8. Looks like fun...and must be, if it convinced you to pull up stakes and move there.

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    1. ricki, it is nice. The moving here was in part due to the Festival of Flowers... but also the lake.

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  9. Janet what a stunning display of plant art....wow!

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  10. What an extraordinary array of exhibits Janet! I can't believe it has been three years, how time flies - and no wonder your garden is looking so much more established now.

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    1. Janet, it is extraordinary indeed. I can't believe it has been three years either!

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  11. There must be a lot of creativity in Greenwood.

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  12. A lot of creativity there!

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  13. I've never seen streetside plantings like this, fantastic. Thank you for sharing these, how fun would it be to see these in person!

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    1. Barb, thanks so much for coming by via the internet, one day you will have to come and see them in person!

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  14. What a cool festival! The topiaries add a really unique twist. :o)

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    1. Tammy, Yes, it is a fun festival..next festival is Blues and BBQ. Love it!

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  15. What a fantastic festival. So many awesome things to look at. I just loved the duck pond but then wow, that pony is so cool. Not to mention all the fantastic plants on that butterfly. Such skill and creativity.

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    1. Marguerite, There are wonderful plantings all over town. The duck pond was hard to photograph...but super cute.

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  16. What fun! (And a lot of work too!) Just one more reason to add to my list of why I love South Carolina. We have visited three times in the past couple years!

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    1. Jayne, it was one of the reasons we moved here. Next visit you should time it to come in June for Festival of Flowers.

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