Resources
Learn about gardening and horticulture in Charleston and the Lowcountry. Our resources on books, web sites, online catalogs, community gardening and much, much more will put you in the know.
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A clearinghouse for information about native and naturalized plants of the Carolinas and Georgia. Many search features to choose from with a wonderful spectrum of available information.
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The Charleston Area Children's Garden Project works to provide kids with a community-based outdoor learning experience. Most of our gardens are planted in neighborhoods where problems such as crime, poor health or financial hardship are part of everyday life for many youngsters. The project fosters open inquiry and "hands-on" experience and encourages good workmanship, pride of accomplishment and self-worth. Learn more at their website.
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This grass guide explains the planting, care and design uses of the many available to southern gardeners. There are more than 125 species and cultivars described, including the popular and the unusual.
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This book will help you get started with information on the types of fruit and nuts that grow and thrive in the South. There are specific chapters on everything from apples to specialty fruits and pecans, explaining how to care for your trees and fruiting shrubs. Although published in 1992, the information is still useful and somewhat hard to find for our Lowcountry gardens.
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While published in 1987, this book is still the best thing going on growing and enjoying herbs in the southern garden! It is a comprehensive guide to growing more than 130 herbs in the conditions peculiar to the American South. With some 300 color photographs, this book tells what to plant, when to plant and how to take care of it.
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So the guy who wrote this book is from Great Britain. OK, so they spell color (colour) funny. It just doesn't matter. Good books on citrus are impossible to find. This one focuses on the many cold-hardy varieties of citrus from juicy blood oranges to kumquats and vitamin-rich grapefruits that may be grown in containers, conservatories, greenhouses and the open garden. It gives histories and cultivation advice. The pictures are a great way to learn what the different citrus look like. An A-Z of growing these historically important plants in our gardens.
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The Stewards of Hampton Park Volunteer Program provides needed assistance to the City of Charleston's Parks Department. This program is managed by the City of Charleston's Horticultural Division. The program participants assist the Horticulture Division in: ∗ Growing seeds and cuttings for the annual and perennial plants used throughout the City of Charleston parks. This is done in the greenhouse/nursery facility located in Hampton Park. ∗ Maintaining the planting beds and special projects in Hampton Park. ∗ Providing floral arrangements and decoration for City of Charleston special events. The program offers unique educational opportunities to learn the art of horticulture through hands-on experience in one of the most historic parks in Charleston. To learn more about the program and to volunteer, call the Stewards of Hampton Park Horticulture Volunteer Hotline at 843-958-6434.
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Why daffodils in Florida? If they grow there, they grow here. This is one of the best reference guides to which ones really can be grown successfully as a bulb that returns from year to year.
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Even though it was published in 1995, the information is as relevant today as it was almost 15 years ago. It is the ultimate guide to growing old favorites, herbs, gourmet delectables and great new varieties in Southern soils.
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Don't let the name throw you off. He didn't create them, he just knows a lot about them. It is one of the best guides to annuals for landscapes. Although it is not written for the South specifically, it does address many annuals that do well in the Lowcountry. It has more than 1,300 photographs making it one of the most definitive reference to annuals, biennials and half-hardy perennials. Some of the plants those Northerners grow as summer annuals are fall and winter lovers for us down south, so if it looks too good to be true, do the research and then try it. Who knows, you may be the first to successfully grow it in the south!
