Photo-a-Day Week 26

We are in the heat of summer, it seems like it came early this year. My garden is waning a bit, it will pick up again in the early fall. I shared a few photos of the blooms in this week's photo array.

Day 174-

I bought what I believed to be Allium 'Millennium', but after seeing other plants named Millennium, I am not so sure. Mine is shorter, and the blooms are smaller. Moving forward, it really doesn't matter. I like that the deer leave it alone, and the little pollinators love it.

Onion with bee

Day 175-

Our route to go to Greenville takes us past this building. Over the years it has gotten faded. This is the same road that the 'Fine Abode' from photo #120. In the spring the field beyond the building is filled with daffodils. For some reason, this year we missed the daffodils. 

Roadside signs

Day 176-

My Chrysanthemums are starting to bud up and bloom. We are in a warm enough climate that I plant the mums in the ground, most of them come back every year. I also have some Sheffield mums that are a pinkish apricot color. This rust color is not one of my favorites, but it is a reliable one!

Mum's the word

Day 177-

Fireworks are legal in South Carolina, much to the chagrin of our dogs. They do NOT like fireworks, or thunder, or gun shots, or, or, or...  In some of the past years, we have had thunderstorms come through quickly, which puts a damper on the fireworks.  

That Time of Year

Day 178-

I love having lavender growing in my garden. I find mine grows best along the driveway, where the lime from the concrete helps the lavender. I tried to get a photo of one of the many bumblebees on the flowers, but they make the stems sway with their weight on them. To zoom in on a bloom that is swaying back and forth makes it hard to get a photo. Do you remember the song 'Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, Lavender's green...' Here is a link to the old nursery rhyme.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly

Day 179-

We like our music venues in the Upstate. This one is in an old store front in downtown Honea Path, SC. This week we went to see Jim Lauderdale with warm up act Mac Leaphart. We have seen Jim play there before as well as other venues in the Upstate. It was a hometown show as he is from this area, now he lives in Nashville. If you don't know Jim Lauderdale, Google him, he is an amazing Grammy winner songwriter and a down to earth person.  You probably have heard many of his songs. George Strait is one who records some of Jim's music. 

Fiddle and Bow

Day 180-

I love when a little wildflower pops up in my garden. This little bloom was just glowing in the sunlight. It is Leontodon tuberosus (I believe). I am glad I took a photo of it when I did, it closes up at night- or later afternoon. 

Sunny

If you haven't read my last post about the New Hope Urban Farm and Forest, flip back to read all about it. More Fling posts to come. In the meantime, enjoy the Photo-a-day wrapup.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Memphis Fling- New Hope Urban Farm and Forest

Our Memphis Fling is in the books. I want to share some of the wonderful spots we visited in a few posts. Monday was an extra day. It started with a visit to a school/community garden. My first thought was that we were going to see a few raised beds per grade level in an area adjacent to the school. Boy, was I wrong!! It was a feast for the eyes! I felt like we entered a park or a botanical garden. Pathways are set up to encourage you to explore the garden.

This is an acre lot on a corner across the street from New Hope Academy. This is not billed as a community garden but a school farm. I was lucky to grab an information sheet to learn more about this farm. Walk with me through the farm as I attempt to share how amazing this farm is.

Flowers and groundcovers

 It was started in 2013, working with just a vacant lot, to a lush, vibrant, colorful wonderland. It is not just row crops but herbs, a sensory garden, a carnivorous plant area, a pollinator alley, and a few bee hives. Lots of planning went into setting up the gardens.

Progress photos of building the farm

The mission was to engage the students, working the soil and learning about where much of their food comes from. The goal was to create a place that is inspirational, educational, and awe-inspiring for both the students and the teachers. There are no limits to educational experiences. The teachers' lessons can be incorporated with what is going on in the garden, anything is possible!  One example was the observation and measurements taken from growing cabbage heads.

Row crop rows bordered by flowers

Each grade level plants a different flower or food crop in the spring. I chatted with the principal who had a child in the third grade this past year and he was telling me how this grade level grew cabbages and each child had their own head. The cabbage wasn't quite ready to harvest when school ended, so those who were really invested in their cabbage came back after school to harvest it. According to the information sheet, Pre-K and Senior K grew onions and sunflowers, First grade-okra, Second grade- Luffa Gourds, Third grade- Mega Cabbage (apparently this was part of a nationwide competition), Fourth grade- Cucumbers, and Fifth grade- watermelons. There is also an After School Garden Club that grew peppers, eggplants, zinnias, tomatoes and other annuals. A few crops still in the garden were Kale, which had bolted but nice blooms for the pollinators, Fennel- a wonderful host plant for butterflies, and asparagus which is a perennial.

To participate in the After School Garden Club the 4-6th graders have to apply. This is a more in depth group and they farm multiple seasons. To encourage further interest in the farm there is a Summer Internship for middle- high school students. They are hired to work 10 hours a week to learn some of the behind the scenes work of the farm.

Big Blueberry bushes

Items grown on the farm are used in the kitchen cafeteria, though it is not enough to solely supply the kitchen with produce. In addition to row crops, there are blueberry bushes, fig trees, Asian persimmon trees and lots of herbs. They encouraged us to pick some of the blueberries as they were at peak ripeness. Very tasty!!

Ripe Blueberries

I believe I was told that the bee hives were worked by the Interns, though I didn't write it down, so I could be wrong. There are two active hives where they keep bees and harvest the honey. The honey is sold as a "Pay What You Can'' method as well as extra crops that is shared with the community. 

Along side of the row crops are flowers galore. The desire is to bring pollinators into the garden. In addition to the blooms near the crops, there was also a butterfly way that had all sorts of host plants for all needs of the butterfly- from nectar to food for the larva to a spot to lay its eggs. 

Kale with blooms

Great signage for the Sensory Garden

Herb Spiral

The Sensory Garden had multiple plants to engage the students with scent, touch and sight. The Herb Spiral was built to accommodate dry to moist conditions, depending on where in the spiral the plant is located. We were offered herbs to make our own flavored dips. We were given various herbs and a mortar and pestle to combine with yogurt for our dips. Then we had crackers and veggies to taste our concoctions. This activity was also one they do with the students.

Herb experimentation with yogurt

Long view of the farm

 

I chatted with the horticultural director about the carnivorous garden. There are pitcher plants- Sarracenia alata, Venus flytraps- Dionaea muscipula and Sundew-Drosera sp. They were planted in a dip in the land, lots of sand, soil, peat and an underlayment of heavy duty plastic. The low side of the dip allows the excess water to drain naturally. Kids are always intrigued by carnivorous plants.

So many blooms!

There is a sitting area for a makeshift classroom under some Bald Cypress trees. It started raining a little bit, and we were dry in our classroom of trees. 

Cypress circle classroom

Beyond the farm area, past the bees is a forest area. The invasives were removed and paths created so the students can explore. There really wasn’t enough time to cover the whole garden before we had to leave. Please enjoy the photos of this glorious farm. What an asset to the school, the community, and Memphis.

Bee hives and forest beyond

Labyrinth garden and a photo bomb

The farm has a couple Instagram pages- @Newhopememphis and @the.holistic.mystic 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 25

Another week done! As we enter the heat of summer, photos will be taken either early morning or late afternoon. 

Day 167-

After the rain we had earlier this month, I have seen some interesting mushrooms in various spots in the yard. This is an old tree stump, breaking down a little bit every year. The sunlight was shining just right for this capture. Above the mushrooms are the branches of the Japanese maple 'Garnet'. We brought that to SC with us from Virginia, and it is doing well in this spot.

More fungi

Day 168-

The hummingbird feeder in the front yard is a prime spot for some of the Anoles to get a drink of water from the ant guard, or grab a quick bite, as ants love to try to get to the sugar water. 

I like it here, go away

Day 169 -

A drive into town afforded me the opportunity to get a good picture of this church steeple. I was waiting at the light, so I grabbed my cellphone and took a couple of pictures before the light turned green. It is the steeple of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood. 

Steeple

Day 170-

There are quite a few buildings around our area that have lovely, intricate brickwork. The craftmanship and beauty of these bricklayers are evident in this building. It was once called the Barksdale Building, and I found a link with some old photos of Uptown Greenwood from years gone by; this one was depicted in the early 1900s. Currently it houses a men's clothing store.

Brickwork

Day 171-
We were working on our irrigation pump and pipes again a few days ago. While waiting for the glue to dry before we tested the connection, we sat on the steps that go to the water. There was a Blue Dancer damsel fly and this Eastern Amberwing dragonfly flitting around, teasing me into to trying to get a photo. It was so bright it was hard to see the screen of my cellphone. I wasn't sure I even had their image in the frame. This photo was the last of the group,, I finally gave up, and when we came inside, I saw I had a good picture of the Amberwing.

ps- the pump works and the pipes aren't leaking, yay us!

Eastern Amberwing

Day 172-

Our wedding anniversary is June 21st. My wedding bouquet is silk flowers. My mom made the bouquet, she also sewed my wedding dress, and put together the veil. She was a very talented lady. I miss her. To protect the bouquet from dust and dirt, I bought a large brandy snifter and topped it with a small plate.  It sits on our antique hutch on the upper shelf. 

45 years

Day 173-

It was quiet on the lake late yesterday afternoon but for a lone water skier. I got out my big camera and waited for the boat to circle back around so I could get a photo. While zooming in on the anticipated spot where the skier would come into view, I spotted a hummingbird resting on a branch in the shade.

Hummingbird silhouette

That's all for this week's photo a day, next week is halfway through the year!  I have my notes and will be working on writing the post about the community garden while on the Fling. This week it will get done! 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 24

Welcome to this week's post about the photo a day photos for the past week. If you saw any of my posts on Instagram or Facebook about the Fling, you'll know I want to write about a wonderful community school garden that we visited in Memphis. Stay tuned. 

Without further ado, here are last week's photos with a little more information about each.

Day 160- 

One evening on the Fling, a handful of us went to Gus's Fried Chicken for dinner. It was supposed to be 6/10th of a mile but after a long day visiting gardens, we were pooped. The walk seemed a lot longer. After dinner, we walked down a different block to get back to our hotel. It was the famous Beale Street. There were neon lights galore and music coming from every establishment. It was certainly a hoppin' place to be. 

Beale Street

Day 161-

On our way to the Cooper-Young gardens we went past this decorative crosswalk. I was ready with cell camera in hand as we had driven this route the day (or two?) before and I knew this crosswalk would be coming into view. Yes, from the bus angle it is upside down swimming fish, but fun nonetheless. 

Crosswalk

Day 162-

Once home I was looking forward to seeing the full moon. Sometimes I feel like a real "lunatic", the full moon is magical to me. We had a storm earlier in the evening and I wasn't sure a view of the moon would be in the cards for me to get a photo, but the clouds cleared. The moon was higher in the sky but through the trees and with a few clouds, made for a better photo.

Strawberry Moon

Day 163-

A quick walk through the backyard garden brought me to this jelly fungus along the side trail. This is Exidia recisa, a fungus that grows on dead limbs and twigs. We have so many fungi growing on our trees, dead limbs, and stumps, etc. I find them fascinating to see. 

Jelly Fungus

Day 164-

Long views of clouds interest me. We have our usual summer storms that pop up in the late afternoon and generally they bring rain, though sometimes they blow by us without a drop. This one dropped about a 1/3 of an inch of rain.

Storm's a'coming

Day 165-

We have lots of frogs in our garden. These little Green Tree Frogs are pretty docile frogs. They don't hop away as soon as they see you, so getting a photo isn't too hard. This one was a really young one, so tiny. The leaf is the foliage of Bletilla striata 'Big Bob' and is just over an inch wide. Eryngium planum 'Blue Glitter' in the foreground is just starting to turn its lovely blue color. 

Just hangin' on my leaf

Day 166- 

This spring our neighborhood finally came into the current century. Our internet options were slim to none before fiber optics were installed. Many of us were thrilled to get something that was going to give us more than 30-50 Mbps. We stream TV over Wi-Fi, need Wi-Fi for our cell service (dead zone) so if we lose internet, we are without a lot. The line that went over the road at the back gate hung low. Thursday they were working on getting it hung better. It looked good but Friday we were out of internet. It was fixed, we thought, late Friday evening, then Saturday it was out again. While many in the neighborhood are retired, not all are. They work from home and need a good connection. Happy ending, internet restored and we are getting over 350 Mbps, more than enough to watch TV and write this blog post. 

Hoping to be Reconnected Soon

Watch for a Fling post or two to pop up this week. It was a wonderful Fling but am glad to be home. I know two dogs, one cat, and a sweet husband missed me.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 23

This Sunday's post will be quick as I have been posting photos and reels from our current Garden Fling in Memphis. If you garden and have a gardening presence on social media, consider attending our Fling next year. It will be held in Buffalo, July 9-12. It is a great gathering of fellow gardeners from far and wide, friends new and old, visiting gardens in Buffalo. More about the Fling as the year unfolds.

So on with the photos from this past week. I did not post photos from my Fling shots that I shared on Instagram or Facebook for the daily photo.

Day 153-

It is Japanese beetle time in our area. They are hungry insects that devour everything from hydrangeas to Crape Myrtles to Calla lilies to roses and many other ornamentals as well as vegetables. I was asked what you do to treat them. My method is to have a jar of soapy water in the garden. When I see the Japanese beetles I open the jar and scoop them into the soapy water. Some folks use the bait traps that have phenomes to attract the beetles and it traps them. I chose not to use that as I think it brings more Japanese beetles to your garden from your neighbor's yard. I just kill the ones I find and hope I am bringing down the population.

They're back

Day 154-

Our dogs LOVE peanut butter. When there is an empty jar, they get to lick out the remaining peanut butter. When we just had one dog it was easy to give the jar to her/him. Now we have two dogs, so I cut the jar in half and let them work on cleaning their half of the jar. Seems to work.

Peanut Butter jar, yum

Day 155-

We have snails in our yard,  often in the morning, I find them on the driveway. I marvel at the shells. The Fibonacci rule is evident on each and every shell.

Another Fibonacci

Day 156-

Before a trip we go to the ATM to get some cash. It's funny to think that fifteen years ago when we moved to South Carolina neither one of us had used an ATM more than one or two times. We are moving with the times!

Money

Day 157-

Make it to Memphis! Our first outing was to walk along the river to explore the gardens. We visited the Memphis River Garden Park and Tom Lee Park. The parking at one end of the Garden was close to a visitors center. We had to go in and see the statue of Elvis Presley. 

The King

Day 158-

A couple of the Garden Fling attendees and I went to dinner together at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous, a barbeque place. It is located on Rendezvous Alley. This mural was along the wall of the alley. It really caught my eye, a perfect item for the photo-a-day.

Mural

Day 159-

Part of the Fling we visited gardens in the Lenox neighborhood. It is a charming neighborhood with quaint homes and amazing gardens. We were dropped off at one end of the neighborhood with maps in hand. The maps were labeled with which houses were open for a garden tour. It was a lovely time to enjoy all these pocket gardens at our own pace and be back at the buses at the appointed time. 

School

The Fling ended today with a bonus day tomorrow for those who could stay a bit longer. Follow my Instagram page to see most of my photos from the Fling. The link is on the right-hand sidebar of this post. 

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Photo-a-Day Week 22

This week, a large number of insects were observed. With the changing season into summer, more blooms and more little creatures fill the garden. So without further ado, let's talk about this week's photos.

Day 146-

A few years ago, one of my blogging friends told me these were not Daddy Longlegs but Harvestmen. I had never heard of Harvestmen. Harvestmen are closely related to scorpions, not spiders. They can't spin webs. Their bodies are not segmented like a spider's. Harvestmen also lack venom. We have lots of these around the house and yard.

Harvestmen

Day 147-

Another interesting insect is the Tarnished Plant Bug. I was taking pictures of the Fleabane, Erigeron sp., when I zoomed in, I saw this insect.  I like the design on the back of its body, it looks like a heart or a "V". The bronze coloring is interesting as well. It is the first time I have seen this variety of insect. 

Tarnished Plant Bug on Fleabane

Day 148-

We had more rain this month than usual, a lot more!! I like finding raindrops on various plants. This is a Hydrangea arborescens 'Ruby', one of the Invincible varieties. It is a lovely reddish-pink bloom. One of these days it will get planted in the garden, currently it is in a container on my deck.

Raindrops on Ruby

Day 149-

We have so many Canada Geese on the lake. My neighbor enjoys the fact that some of them nest in her yard along the waterfront. Here we have a family with four goslings. 

Family

Day 150-

Hypericum frondosum 'Sunburst' is a cultivar of a native St. John Wort. The flowers are about an inch to an inch and a half. The bees love this bloom, especially bumblebees. Besides the beautiful blooms, this shrub has gorgeous fall colors.

Pom-pom

Day 151-

There's construction near where I get my hair cut. Apparently, there is a new Hilton getting built. I am not sure what these yellow items are, but they made me laugh.

Field of Minion?

Day 152-

This Painted Lady Butterfly was enjoying the nectar of one of the Stokesia laevis, or Stokes Aster. These flowers are just starting to open and they are being visited by so many pollinators. I called this one Schmetterling, which is butterfly in German.

Schmetterling

This concludes my week's photo challenge of a photo a day. Hope you liked the insects and blooms.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.