Dropping In
Nothing could be finer than to be in South Carolina in April where azaleas bloom beside each door whispering about rainbows, daffodils tulips and more… The Garden Club of South Carolina invites you to Garden Parties from the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains to the southern coastal regions! Nothing creates a love for gardening more than walking along beautiful garden paths. Each garden, handcrafted by its owner, teaches a lesson. You’ll learn how to grow your own vegetables, design prettier boarders, and create outdoor rooms. Explore historic properties, contemporary landscapes and horticultural sculpture. Ride on roads less traveled and explore a glorious variety of gardens throughout small-town South Carolina.
Sharing drop rooted branches from azaleas with gardening friends is a joy I learned from my mother. In spring, when the leaves were raked away from the azaleas, she would discover bottom branches that had taken root in the soil. To prevent disturbance of the roots she would find rocks to hold them in place. Then, gardening friends would start dropping in with their hearts set on seeing these colors in bloom in their gardens. My mind touches yesterday and I can see her bare hands caked with black dirt cutting a stem with pruning shares to separate it from the parent plant, lifting the shallow rooted baby plant with a spade and wrapping it within a newspaper page folded, twisted and secured with a rubber band. If branches were touching the ground but not yet rooted, she placed rocks to hold them against the soil. Soon they would take root and be ready for friends dropping in or a new spot in her garden. (Important fact: Prune azaleas immediately after spring blooms are spent.) Ruby plans to attend the Saturday, April 27 reenactment at the Cross Keys House in Union County, as it was the former home of her first grade teacher, Miss Bess Long Wilburn.
