Gardening news, tips and events for Hilton Head Island and Beaufort

Betsy Jukofsky

Gardeners head to area nurseries as spring weather sets in

The Hilton Head Island Greenery Nursery is shown with its large selection of spring and summer plants.

At last, it's spring. The cold weather has left us, and it's time to garden and head for the nurseries, where the staff has eagerly been waiting for us, among tables and benches and racks of colorful plants.

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Archive by category ''Betsy Jukofsky

BETSY JUKOFSKY

Lowcountry Garden: The big freeze that never was

Flashback 30 years ago. It's Christmas Eve and the paper whites in their water-filled containers on the back porch have budded up. Come Christmas morning they lay on the floor amidst ice, water and broken dishes.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

Whether in pot or plot, herbs add serious spice to life and to your gardens

Today's gardener can be defined as a person who grows a few plants in pots or a variety of plants in a garden -- or two that take up much of the yard space.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

Hilton Head Island Town's Xeriscape Interpretive Garden the result of many hours of work by great local gardeners

You smell it before you see it. Marion Gosson and I stopped on the pathway, looked at each other and smiled. For us, it was the sweet smell of success.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

A challenging time for Lowcountry gardeners

This month in the Lowcountry can be challenging for the most devoted gardener. Capricious temperatures outdoors -- near freezing one day, 20 degrees warmer the next -- drive us indoors and into our greenhouse or onto our plant-filled porch.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

You can't fool a kumquat tree in the Lowcountry

It seemed like April this month. Buds on our spring flowering shrubs began to swell; white flowers on ligustrum japonicum, pink and coral flowers on azaleas, yellow and white narcissus, gave our yards in January a whole new look.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

Answers and advice on Lowcountry gardens

It's fun to get mail from readers. Do their questions ever stump me? You bet they do, and that's when my vast library of garden books, magazines and newsletters is used. Some of the books are old. A dog-eared copy "All About Weeds" is often my go-to when stumped answering a weed question.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

A new year's wish: May we always be planning for the next growing season

The earliest garden memory I have is when my mother knelt near her wildflower garden, took my 5-year-old hand in hers and outlined a small flower that she called "Dutchman's Breeches."
BETSY JUKOFSKY

It's beginning to look like a Carolina winter out there

Last week, the holiday shopping, cooking and decorating were not to be.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

Get your garden set for a Lowcountry winter

Our cooler fall weather seems to have energized gardeners. They can be found at our garden centers checking out the stock. With the interesting weather pattern in the Lowcountry, the list of winter's hardy plants grows larger each year.
BETSY JUKOFSKY

Celebrate Southern Arbor Day, the perfect time to plant a tree

Southern Arbor Day is the first Friday in December. Those of us who live in the lower South have the advantage of being able to plant a tree at a time that will give it the best possible start. Because our ground does not freeze, the tree can begin root growth that will help it survive the hot and...