Swift-Coles Historic Home...Tidewater Mansion

Happy 4th of July!

As mentioned in a previous post, this week I visited the Swift-Coles Historic Home.  I was married here a few years ago.  Click HERE to see the post.  My mother-in-law grew up here, until 8 I believe.  It has since been turned into a museum and the property is beautiful.  It is prettier in the fall, if you get an opportunity to click on the post.  I was married in late October.

 For more information on the house itself, click HERE.

 The place is dripping in Spanish moss.  It is located on Bon Secour (bay?)  Bon Secour mean safe harbor, I think it's where boats came in to protect them from storms...not the the best at local history, I am afraid.

 Path to the front door.  Canopied by oaks and hyrdrangeas on the sides.

Before the gate are planters with beautiful ferns.

Path along the fence.  This is where the bridal party marched.  I was married on the front porch.

These looked like pittosporum.

Grass path that goes around the house.

I married here.

The reason for the visit, was that a family heirloom was being returned from Chicago.  It was being donated to the home.

View from front door.

Above was a straight grassy path on the right, this is the path on the left.

Statue...I think this is a replication of Hera.

Some plants look like azaleas

Some looked like crape myrtles because of the bark

Hydrangeas

Spanish Moss ..the Epitome of Southern Nostalgia

Envision a Southern Plantation Home...do you see Spanish Moss?

Yesterday, I visited my husband's family home that had since been turned into a museum...my MIL grew up here.  The rest of the pictures and why I was here will be a later post.  But I married here as well.  Point is...Spanish Moss and old South seem to go hand in hand.

 I LOVE SPANISH MOSS...so much, that if they said if you had only one plant you could have for the rest of your life (between roses and Spanish moss) which would you choose?  I would pick Spanish Moss...why?

 No maintenance.  Instantly adds character.  For the record, I have lived in many states in the South (AL, FL, GA, MS, LA)....and I grew up around spanish moss on many very alive trees.  It wasn't until I put spanish moss on my own trees that I truly felt "at home".  Most article say that spanish moss is "southern gothic" which is even better!  I love living in Alabama..(other than the intense football rivalry...I don't follow football).

There are many myths I have heard about spanish moss...they kill trees, they have bugs, they are parasites...

I want to say there are some things you should an should not do with spanish moss, but out of all my gardens it's the one thing that truly gives my gardens "personality".  My biggest mentor, Ms. Dina, doesn't like it.  But I won't hear of it...it's as southern to me as grits.

I used to have a job travelling Mississippi.  Natchez is known for it beauty, and it had very manicured gardens, but ironically I loved a town called Port Gibson...which there was not a flower to be seen..but smothered in Spanish Moss....and to this day I think it's the prettiest Mississippi town there is.

Now, I have been growing Spanish Moss for a year.  To transplant, all you have to do is "hang it like tinsel." I, only, put it on mature oaks.  It's not a parasite...but there are some things you have to take note.

• Don't put it on young trees
• It makes branches heavy so I prefer oaks with mature limbs that can stand the weight
• It can get thick and block leaves which is why you want mature tree

Moss by the creek

Moss on Savannah Bird Girl

Before you knock it, try it.....I promise..if you live in the South (and live on a big property), you will wonder how you lived without it!

More information on Spanish Moss,

Links on Spanish Moss

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_problems/hgic2354.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_moss

http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/htdocs-sirsi/spanish.htm

The Gardens of October... Can You Name Private Gardens?

Can you name a private garden?  Seems somewhat haughty....I think I am just giving it a theme.  Some people have ranch's that they name....so why not a garden? One day I want to name mine to be called "The Gardens of October.  I mentioned that in a previous post.  Someone said you could, absolutely....

Why, the Gardens of October?  Because I love October to be honest.  My gardens were never prettier.

Here are some pictures of last year.

I have good elements for it.

• A creek

• A cemetery next door

• Spanish Moss

• A swamp (I don't have a picture)
• Bats (it's hard to take pictures of bats)...I call them all Milo though.  I always seem them at dusk. Would like bat houses.
• A love for "spooky" things.  I lived in Louisiana for at least a quarter of my childhood.
• Oh and did I mention I love October.

So if that is what I will call them one day, then I will gear toward blooms for that month.  Although, wouldn't it be neat to have beds for each specific month? Next year, I am doing the huge peacock topiary but the area is approx 2 to 3 acres, with three spigots and of course the creek runs the whole property.  That is something to consider.

Creekside Landscape...the creek is a risin'

Last year, my project of the year was this creek.. ( I, always, assume that readers do not follow the blog so if I am repetitive that is why)   I live on 15 acres that is shaped like a rectangle. The driveway to our house is almost a quarter mile long.  The west side of the rectangle (long side) is the property line that is divided by a creek.  Meaning I have miles of creek along the property.  As I landscape, I, always, do non-creekside.  This means that on one side of the driveway is a creek and on the other is a cemetery  which is screened.  Because I intend to clear out the underbrush so that you will be able to walk the creekside from end to end.  

When I moved here I was made aware that a creek was on the property, there is, also, a swamp that I have yet to see...(if you knew me, you would find the fact that I have never ventured toward it amazing).   One day while, walking my driveway I was a reflection through a dense underbrush....Investigating I found that the creek was very, very close to the driveway....in my excitement, I opted to clear it out.  This took months....In a little bit I'll show you those pictures.  

This is a picture of the driveway and the creek after I cleared .  In the background beyond the tree you see the underbrush.  That is what I had to clear to get to this part of the creek.

When we have hard spring rains, I get very excited.  During most of the year the creek is rather shallow, with the exception of one spot that is over 10 feet deep.  Often, it does not move.  When you drive past it you can tell the creek is there, but you have to look.

Here is what it normally, looks like...

While driving by you can tell it's there, but you have to be looking.....

However, this is what it looks like this morning...

If you want to see more about how this got cleared and landscaped...I'll post the link below.

Creekside Landscaping

 Like a raging river...I love to see it like this....

Meanwhile, I wanted to show some flowers that are about to bloom or are blooming...I have learned a new appreciation for camellias, they look like roses...except they bloom when its late fall and winter and don't require near the care....I am going to invest in these more often.

It looks like a beautiful rose doesn't it?

Tulip trees are blossoming

Tulips are emerging

Encore Azaleas true to their name

Gardens as Part of Interior Design

Let me get off topic for a moment...I swear it's not my ADHD kicking in....

You ever ask yourself why you garden?  I use my available time, money and energy to my gardens.  I endure extreme heat and cold.  I have worked out in the pouring rain.  I deal with cuts, scrapes, bruises, thorns under my nails, allergies...  I have to cope with snakes, spiders, ants, mosquitoes  gnats (I hate gnats).....Why do I do this?  I sound like I need to go to rehab not write a blog...

I think plants are the representation of LIFE..and sometimes Life can very hard and sometimes it can be beautiful...My home is my place on earth and I want it to be beautiful....That's why I garden...

Okay, back on topic.... I think you don't have to go outside to enjoy your gardens.   I think your garden needs to be a part of the inside of your home as well as the outside...  When I plan my landscaping I am very conscious of how it appears on the inside of the home.  

When you walk in the front door, you enter a foyer.  Then to main rooms.  The back of the house is full of windows.  I recently married my husband and the first thing I did was put up curtains.  Mainly because the outside looked very unruly.  And I like curtains.  If you haven't followed my blog. The property was once an illegal dump site...literally but as I continue to garden...the gardens from the inside look wonderful... who knows...maybe when I am done I might prefer valances...

This is the view from the door.   I have been working on the backyard for weeks.  When I am done you will be able to see roses when standing in the living room or kitchen.  Right now there are over 30 in the ground.  The back porch has a dinette.  I am wanting to create an outside room but the gist is that when you are in the main area of the home there are windows everywhere...and I want the gardens to be visible from all aspects.





This is what it looked like a few weeks ago, I have done a great deal of clearing.  The trees have been cut down that obstruct the view from the back porch.



This is what it looked like last spring.

This is the window in the library....as you can see it's very large....You really only see trees at the moment but I want to see flowers everywhere I look.

This is the view from the library window.  There are snow crocuses planted along the drive, there are also roses.  You see a large oak tree and spanish moss hanging it from it.  When I moved here you could see nothing, because the oak tree had such an undergrowth that all you saw was tree.  Same from the other side...You could not see the house except for one corner because it was blocked by massive tree undergrowth.  I did want to remove the tree altogether but the spanish moss has reconciled me to liking the tree.  However, I do want to see more flowers..

Formal dining room window is large as well.  This faces the front yard.

 This is the view from the formal dining room which is on the same wall as the library. You see the oak..

If you look down you see a  front porch very untidy bed but it normally is packed with flowers.  There was Mexican Heather but now there is perwinkle and encore azaleas and lots of weeds,


This is what my beds looked like last fall so you know it's not always this wretched mess.

This is the view from a back bedroom...This is my stepson's room who (along with my son) is about to go off to college in the fall.  So in anticipation of an eventual guest bedroom(s), I wanted to see what view they have..unlike the other rooms this room has two smaller windows facing the back yard.  In this view, they will see roses and hydrangeas...closer to the window is a camellia, bottle brushes and azaleas.

This is the view from the other window in the same room.  There is a climbing Don Juan climbing rose that will grow up the pillar.  You see a small lawn framed by sky pencils.  If you look down you should see hydrangeas. 

This is me playing with the landscape design program of what I want to see...I have since changed a lot of this..but I wanted you to get an idea of what I had in mind.

This is the view from a front bedroom (stepdaughter's) it is a large picture window.  These sticks are hydrangeas

This is what it looks like during the growing season

This is the view when you look up.  You can see a pole barn which I am desparately trying to hide.

My bedroom, also, has a huge window.  It's wonderful waking up in the morning and seeing beautiful landscaping.  Now, I just want to include more flowers to greet me in the morning.  This is what it currently looks like.

This is the view when I look down.  One of my hydrangeas still have blooms on it.  There are also tons of tulips and daffodils planted in front of this bed but I made the mistake of putting rye grass seed so now I can't tell what's the flower and what's grass...note to self..don't do that again.

The window on the right is the my bedroom.  This is normally what you see during growing season outside the window.

Now my son's room.  He, too, is about to go off to college and this side of the house is very, very messy. This is the view from one of the windows.   This is what you used to see out of the other son's bedroom except much more dense.  I haven't addressed this area but I am making a point to take pictures even if it's ugly because I wished I had taken pictures before I started gardening so that you could truly appreciate the difference.  This room has two smaller windows.   This room is next to the garage.

This is the view outside of the other window.  An air condition unit and trash and weeds.

This my very handsome son, this morning, about to go off to school.