The Queen of Seaford

Saturday, September 19, 2026

How is it Fall Already?

I see my last post was in the Spring. Where did the time go? I did have quite a few posts on my Instagram page, sharing the Buffalo Fling. Be sure to check them out.

We have lots of fall-blooming weeds/flowers in our area. One that is prevalent in open landscapes resembles dandelion seedheads. It is Burnweed, Erechtites hieraciifolus. I was surprised to read that it is a member of the daisy family. This plant is native to North America and is a pioneer species, meaning it will sprout and grow soon after the disruption of soil. There are trees that are pioneer species, as well as mosses and fungi. These are plants that need full sun and sprout quickly. Burnweed seedheads have numerous seeds. The best control is to remove it by pulling the plant before the seedheads open.

The leaves are elliptical with toothed margins and have an unpleasant odor when crushed. The stems are grooved. If the plant falls over it will easily root from the stem wherever there is soil contact. It can grow quite tall, 8- 10 feet!

The flowers are barely visible. When I first observed it, I kept waiting for the flower to open. Apparently it doesn’t really open. It is pollinated primarily by wasps. Once the flower has been pollinated, it will open to white fluffy hairs that will distribute seeds far and wide.

Burnweed has medicinal uses, both topically and internally. Native Americans used it to treat poison ivy and other plant-induced rashes. It can also be used to induce vomiting. I do not advocate using this for any digestive ailments.

Burnweed reduces atmospheric nitrogen dioxide pollution. It absorbs the greenhouse gases and changes it into organic form. Natural pollution control.

Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Is fall your worst season? Is it Goldenrod or is it Ragweed? Both are fall bloomers.

Native bees, moths, butterflies, wasps, and honey bees like Goldenrod, a beautiful yellow flower that is blooming now. Unfortunately, it gets a bad rap because it blooms at the same time as Ragweed, a primary cause of allergies. Here are the facts about the two fall bloomers.

Solidago sp.

Goldenrod, Solidago sp has large pollen. It needs pollinators to move the pollen from one flower to another. This is apparent when you stand nearby and watch all the activity. Large pollen is not airborne; you can’t breathe it in. Goldenrod is native to the United States, and there are dozens of species in the Solidago genus. One that we see in our drain fields and meadows is tall Goldenrod, Solidago altissima, that can grow over 6 feet tall!

Ragweed blooms

Ragweed plant

The allergy culprit is Ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, a green leafy ‘weed’ that grows in the woodlands, meadows, roadsides, and sometimes- your garden! The flowers are tiny and are pollinated by the wind. See the photo of the small flowers. The pollen needs to be airborne to move from the male flowers to reach the female flowers. The only interaction from wildlife may be by birds, who eat some of the seeds, thereby spreading the seeds to new locations.

Next time you sneeze and blame a fall blooming flower, its name is Ragweed!

Monday, April 13, 2026

Spring has Sprung in South Carolina

Last week I returned home from a week-long trip, and my garden has exploded with spring blooms and fresh green foliage on the trees. My trip was to the beach and a visit to Brookgreen Garden, more about that in another post. First let's see my favorite views in my garden.

As you come down my driveway you will see six Spirea x vanhoutei in bloom. Beyond is a mature dogwood, Cornus florida. Closer to the house is a fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus. White flowers in many forms dot the driveway.

The view from the front door might be my favorite. The weeping redbud, Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls' is just starting to leaf out with its burgundy leaves. A little closer to the door is a Loropetalum chinese 'Purple Pixie' (I got it when I went to my first Fling in Asheville!!). Planted around the loropetalum are Bletilla striata 'Big Bob' and Dianthus- maybe Firewitch?. From left to right beyond the redbud is an unamed Japanese maple, a very large tea olive, Osmanthus fragrans, on the corner of the shed, an unknown Viburnum, a pink dogwood, a burgundy redbud, and another Japanese maple, Acer palmatum 'Butterfly'.

I was happy we got a little bit of rain, love the raindrops on the Dianthus. Their clove fragrance is wonderful!

In the lot where our bee hives are placed are a handful of Paw paws. This is not the Asimina triloba but Asimina parviflora, a small fruited Paw paw. See the tiny flowers?

In the backyard one of the native azaleas is blooming, this one is 'Admiral Semmes'. The deer have not totally eaten this one, thank goodness.

I think this is the first time this Barrenwort has bloomed. Epimedium x rubrum. The Epimedium x vericolor 'Sulphureum' bloomed earlier in March. There is a third one in the woodland garden, somewhere, but it may not be with us any longer.

The Solomon's Seal is up and blooming. I have some native ones that appear every so often, these are not native. Polygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum 'Variegatum'

The Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' is doing well, at least two of the three. One had a limb fall on it, breaking a third of the shrub apart. The bumble bees love this shrub!

There are three different Serissa foetida in my garden, a double, a single, and a single with variegated leaves. Here are two of them. It is a nice small shrub, semi-evergreen. The blooms are about the size of my thumbnail.

Another Epimedium, Epimedium wushanense 'Caramel' is thriving in my side yard. Love those spidery blooms.

The Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia, is blooming, making the hummingbirds happy as well as the Hummingbird moths. I brought two seedlings with me from Seaford when we moved here. One is doing better than the other, though both are about ten feet tall.

Finally, Amsonia x 'Seaford Skies' is blooming and it is before I was able to cut back last year's stems, so it will be a little messy this year. Oh well.

This is just a portion of what was open in my garden when I came home. It has been an explosion of spring. I am enjoying every corner of the garden as more and more plants come alive. How's your garden? Are you under snow or well into spring?

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Fling, this time in Buffalo!

Every year when it is time to register for the Fling, I reflect on the first Fling I attended. It was in 2012, in Asheville, NC. I had been blogging since 2008 and followed (*read their blog posts) a number of garden bloggers, many from Texas. I read about the Flings over the years, and hoped that one day I could attend. The first Fling was in Austin, TX.

After we moved to South Carolina in 2010, the first one that was easy for me to go to was Asheville. The garden bloggers I had followed for years were there! I felt a little star struck! Years ago there was a garden blogger website called Blotanical, a collection of garden blogs from around the world. You could zero in on an area, perhaps find fellow bloggers in your town or a favorite place you've visited. It was here I found those Texas bloggers. We had lived in Texas years ago and it was a little connection to a former home. I also found fellow bloggers in my area of Virginia. New friends with common interests, right at my fingertips and my backyard.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens

I tell you this because going to the Fling, now every year since my first (minus COVID years), is getting reacquainted with old friends and finding new ones. The gardens we visit are outstanding, ranging from private gardens of all sizes to public gardens that are bucket-list destinations. Pictured through this post are a small sample of gardens from our Fling last year in Memphis, TN. The year before we were hosted in Tacoma, Washington. Each Fling is hosted by a local gardener. In the early years it was all garden bloggers, and the Fling was called Garden Bloggers Spring Fling.

Note the color contrast with foliage

As social media grew, we, the Fling attendees, grew as well. We now include Instagram posters, YouTubes videographers, podcasters, TikTok-ers, and even those who post garden-related subject matter on Facebook. The name now is just The Fling. The website where you can find posts of past Flings and tempting posts of the upcoming Fling is gardenfling.org

Memphis host's garden

To attend the Fling, you need to have an active garden-related social presence that is at least six months old. Additionally, you should have posted garden-related topics, at least once within the six months before the registration opens.

Memphis Botanical Garden kaleidoscope

Do you want to meet "your people"? At the Fling, you will find garden enthusiasts from far and wide. Over the years, there have been Flingers from the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, and Canada, in addition to states from coast to coast.

Japanese bridge Memphis Botanical Garden

Interested in the Fling? The destination is Buffalo, NY, a city where the garden walk is known far and wide. It is July 9 - 12. Information on registration can be found here- Buffalo Fling

New Hope Community Garden

Sign up and tour some fabulous gardens with new friends. You can thank me in Buffalo. You will see amazing gardens and make great friends.

Wall art, a nice garden addition

You will dazzled by whimsical garden art, amazed by plantings, and exhilarated by great garden conversation. What are you waiting for? Sign up today!!