March 2014 -Growing Little Green Thumbs
Written by Ruby Haydock-DeLoach
Thanks for joining Ruby and painting little thumbs green. This article celebrates the beginning of a third year of being a contributing editor to JungleTaming.
Many of us have those wet spots where nothing seems to grow. Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, SC is an Ugly Duckling story. So begins this tale of woe of Hamilton Carr Bland, a local businessman, who entertained a vision of beautiful flowers growing in his landscape. He read about the Japanese Iris and began to order bulbs. When the shipment of bulbs arrived he was excited. He tried his best to cultivate them and make them show their beautiful blooms. But every spot he picked failed. Each move got more miserable results. He became so disgusted with the iris that he told his gardener to just throw every one of them into the lake. The gardener dug each iris from all the different trial spots and threw them into the waters at the edge of the lake. Unbeknown to the gardener and Hamilton, the irises were now in the perfect spot that resembled the island habitat from which they came. They began to take root and flourish beneath the shallow edges of the lake and throughout the winter beneath the icy, cold waters. When spring arrived blades of green began to peep above the water level. Soon, stems with buds began to emerge. May arrived with the iris blooming in great profusion. Today, irises of many colors are celebrated during the Iris Festival each May. It is impossible to determine which is the most beautiful. Is it the black and white swans that crook their necks, fan their regal feather and glide thru the black waters as though moving to a Mozart symphony on ice? or is it the beautiful blooming beds of colorful Japanese Iris?
Pick your bog spot and entertain a beautiful vision. Select your plants and write your own Ugly Duckling story. Take pictures before you begin, when plants begin to emerge and when you have a swan. I have selected purple elephant ears for the center of my bog, calla lilies of white, pink, yellow and purple, and red cardinal flowers. I think this will be a great beginning.
Join Ruby at the Irmo Branch Library’s “Meet and Greet” for regional authors. This event will be held Saturday, March 8 from 2 until 5 PM in the Mungo Meeting Room. Ruby will debut her third book, Appalachian Mornings. In April, she invites you to visit her Art Party Studio at 152 Dutchman Shores Circle in Chapin during Columbia Open Studio April 4 & 5 (Saturday 10AM – 6PM & Sunday 12PM – 6PM.
