Native plants holding up well in Lowcountry thunderstorms

When the Southeast end of Hilton Head Island was host to a thunderstorm that dumped 7 inches of rain in a short amount of time, the result brought out water moccasins.

Some were seen hanging in trees.

In Missouri, we called this snake "cottonmouth," and Father taught us how to distinguish the harmless snake from the harmful. These instructions have paid off in the Lowcountry.

Thirty years or so ago, while leading a walk through the Newhall Audubon Nature Preserve on Hilton Head Island, we came upon a snake coiled on a tree branch at eye level. It was a harmless black snake, and we continued on.

Thanks, Dad.

When our group of Master Gardeners is working at Hilton Head Town's Xeriscape Garden, we keep an eye on the water banks for alligators and the snakes we've sometimes seen.

Snakes and alligators were not on my mind though the morning after the 7-inch rainfall in July. What had kept me awake was potential flooding at the Xeriscape Garden.

The previous week, the Master Gardeners had planted 91 wild native plants in the garden. I hurried there the next morning. I need not have worried, the plants suffered not from rain. The few that were slightly damaged had fallen victim to deer and armadillos.

I knew that Daniel Payne of Naturescapes on Coosaw Island -- who had searched out some of our plants and propagated others -- would want to know how they had fared. We gave him the good news that they were healthy and growing.

It was Payne who had suggested our natives be planted in groups of three. This should make a good show when Xeriscape Garden tour time begins this fall.

Where did Payne go to find 28 native plant varieties? I'm ashamed to say that some were unknown to me; some may be unknown in the Lowcountry.

To break it down: 80 percent are native to Beaufort County; 5 percent are native to the Southeast; 15 percent are heirloom plants that are not native, but have naturalized here.

This is exciting news to those of us who grow native plants in our own gardens and are always searching for new varieties.

If you purchase or are given native plants and they fail, don't give up. It could well be your soil that's the problem. If you plan a small native plant garden, dig deep and remove existing soil -- purchase and use commercial. Place the garden where it gets half-day sun. That's all the natives need to make a flower show.

Sixty-year master gardener and environmentalist Betsy Jukofsky has spent three decades on Hilton Head Island learning the peculiarities of Coastal Lowcountry gardening.

Sixty-year master gardener and environmentalist Betsy Jukofsky has spent three decades on Hilton Head Island learning the peculiarities of Coastal Lowcountry gardening.

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This story was originally published August 16, 2014 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Native plants holding up well in Lowcountry thunderstorms."