Here there be dragons

Charleston Garden, Charleston, SC 

I love peeping over fences and hedges into secret gardens and this one was a happy surprise. Dragons! 

I need to up my citrus game

Citrus, Charleston, SC 

It's gray and rainy so I probably won't be going for a walk this evening so I am dipping into recent pictures to share this wonderful crop of oranges. Wow! I need to up my citrus game. I have one lime tree in a pot and harvested ONE lime this, my first year. It would be grand to have plenty of lemons and oranges in your own back yard.

Fripp Lowden House, Bluffton

Fripp Lowden House, Bluffton, SC  

This evening's shot is another sweet cottage from my weekend trip to Bluffton. It is the Fripp Lowden House and if I recall correctly there was work being done on it the last time I was there. That led me to google the property and I found this article describing heartbreak when a glorious but wild garden was tamed.

Local folks actually held a candlelight vigil to mourn the loss of the historic garden. Every article I pull up mentions the lush garden planted by Mrs. Fripp. Some of the camellias were over 100 years old and named after her. Let's hope the current garden grows to be as beautiful in it's own way.

Bed time, kids!

Garden at Gaillard

Calhoun St., Charleston, SC   

I spotted these pretties in the Gaillard Auditorium garden. Who needs to exercise when you walk with a camera? I stoop, bend, crawl on my belly to get the angle I want.

Happy to come home to find that my heat & air gentleman fixed my dripping overflow hose while I was at work so I can use my air-conditioning this evening. It was a little toasty last night. It is nice to be a long term customer and get prompt service. Thanks Carolina Climate Masters.

Easter Blossoms

West Ashley garden, Charleston, SC 

I stopped by my friend Mary's home West Ashley yesterday morning to tour her garden. I knew she was a gardener and she'd offered to give me cuttings but I had no idea of the scale! It was beautiful. Both Mary and her husband had sections of the garden that they tended to and it seemed that almost every plant had a story.

Needless to say I came home with lot's of cuttings and spend today and $$ at Home Depot working on my own little yard. Thanks Mary!

I hope everyone had a good Easter. I do love seeing all the happy family photos on Facebook at this time of year.

Set a spell

Charleston, S.C.

This garden scene made me think of the expression "come set a spell" and then I wondered where it came from.

I smiled at this query on Yahoo:

What does "come sit a spell" mean?

i saw this phrase "come sit a spell" on a wooden sign on some lady's porch, and i have no idea what it means? no, shes not a witch..any ideas?

Heheh. Here is a better answer:

set a spell
To sit down for a period of time, especially in the company of other people and in order to relax or to engage in casual conversation.  [quotations ▼]

Middleton Place

Middleton Place, Charleston, S.C.

Clearly my rowing machine work-outs have toned up my butt but worn my arms off. Heheh.

Lucky me! A friend offered to leave passes for me at the gates to Middleton Place and I was able to treat a couple of hard working co-workers as a reward.  We enjoyed a late lunch at the restaurant and enjoyed everything on the southern buffet. The blossoms were past their prime but the garden was lush and green.

Lush and green

Charleston, S.C.

This is one of these pretty secret gardens behind a gate in downtown Charleston that is hard to believe as I watch the cold front sweeping the country on the news. We have had some gray days in the lowcountry but have nothing compared to the snow storms everyone else is getting. Brrrr.

I just got back from hosting a career evening for twenty five young aspiring Pharmacists. The Pharmacy staff tends to teach their lessons with edible snacks - they teach compounding with icing and food coloring. Yum! It's the only educational program I do where the students get to eat their work.

Garden decorating ideas

Garden art, Charleston, S.C.

True. I was looking for garden ideas. I think those ducks are heading to the lake.

My favorite things

Meditation Garden, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Charleston, S.C.

I park on the other side of this garden each morning and have the option of walking across the parking lot or through the garden. The garden route is a little less direct so I don't take it every day which is really dumb since it is so breathtakingly beautiful.

Most mornings as I enter the hospital from the west Women's Services entrances there will be a young man sitting on the bench by the door. He is rumpled, bleary eyed and talking excitedly into a phone. It's a different man every morning but they all have one thing in common. They aren't patients but they wear thin plastic bracelets around a wrist. The bracelet is the tell tale sign of a new father. They are new fathers who have fallen in love with a precious baby born during the night. It's finally a reasonable hour to wake up friends and loved ones.

That is the moment I walk by and smile to myself. It's not a bad way to begin a day.

Blossom Gate

Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

Do I have to stop posting Halloween pictures? They were so much fun. I only had three little visitors at my door last night but I had the greatest time hanging out on Facebook looking at all the photos of kids of all ages and pets in costumes. It was almost as good as seeing them at my door.

I spotted this blossom decorating a gate on Meeting St. on Saturday when I was out hunting Halloween scenes. Isn't it gorgeous? It was propped there like a gift waiting for me.