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♪ opening music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Amanda> Well good evening, and welcome to Making It Grow.

We're happy that you can join us tonight and I am Amanda McNulty, a Clemson Extension agent.

And I get to come over here and be with my co-host Terasa Lott.

And Terasa, I always say it's continuing education, which we're supposed to write down on all these evaluation forms, and we get it every single week.

Terasa> We do.

It's a fantastic opportunity for us to share information with our viewers, but I learned something new as well.

Amanda> And then you had an opportunity at the Master Gardener conference you had a while back.

A lot of people went to that.

Learning all kind of new things.

You kind of have to keep up since you're in charge of the Master Gardener program You kind of have to keep up with new trends and find out what's going on in the world of gardeners.

Terasa> That's right.

Want to keep things fresh and up to date, already planning next year's conference.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Well, gosh, Teresa, I'm just thinking about getting some stuff for Christmas, I guess I better get on the stick.

Rob Last, you are now in Lexington.

And gosh, you've got those sandy soils over there.

and I think that's why it's important to have a commercial vegetable specialist.

Rob> Absolutely, it's crucial with the amount of fruit and vegetables that we do have in Lexington County, and Richland counties, as well.

Amanda> And um, it's, you know, they say oh, those soils are so sandy, but that means that you don't have to worry about pooling of water in the fields in those places.

Rob> Most of us will crops do require that really well drained soil.

So when we're in control of the amount of moisture we put in, or the nutrients, it makes the management side of things a lot easier.

Amanda> Do most people add nutrients through irrigation now, is that sometimes done?

Rob> Absolutely.

Certainly with drip irrigation, It's very easy to fertigate and you can really target where you're applying those nutrients.

Amanda> Oh, so you don't have them just all over the field and perhaps going off target, Rob> Right.

That's so we can, we can run the fertilizer through the drip lines.

So it's going directly to the root zone where the plants are going to utilize it and make maximum use efficiency out of it, which can help to cut costs down as well.

Amanda> Yeah, and not fertilize the weeds?

Rob> Absolutely.

Amanda> I guess they're always weeds, even in sandy soils.

And Jackie Jordan, you're the urban horticulture agent for Fairfield, Kershaw and Richland.

And I just love that because I think that here you've got these really dense places where people live like Richland and then Fairfield, which is one of the few places in South Carolina that I guess, is overwhelmed of new people coming in?

>> Oh, definitely.

Yes.

still fairly rural population in Fairfield County, Amanda> And it's a pretty county too?

Jackie> Oh, it's beautiful.

Amanda> It really is beautiful.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, I'm glad that you could come and be with us today.

<Jackie> Definitely.

Amanda> And Mary, you used to be an extension agent.

but now I think you're at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens.

Mary Vargo.

So um, what you're doing there?

Mary> Yeah, so my title, is kind of long, Extension Outreach and Garden Manager, but essentially...

It's a lot, but I just am over certain garden areas.

So, I'm just assessing a lot of the things during COVID.

We really had a setback of volunteers coming in.

So some of the areas have just kind of been unmanaged for a while.

So I'm doing a lot of weed removal.

I've been removing a lot of pokeweed this past, this past week.

I know it's really great for the birds but we had so much that I think the birds are a little overwhelmed by the amount.

So, I'm doing a lot of removal making good plans for the spring so you'd have to come out in the spring and check it out.

Amanda> Those wonderful fruits on the pokeberry are so colorful, but boy they all they must have 110% germination rate or something.

Mary> They totally do.

Yeah.

and then the plant itself is a perennial and comes back.

Mary> It is.

Yeah, so I mean, some of the stems that I'm removing are about this large, I'm having to take some really large saws and doing that, but yeah, they're kind of fun to play with.

When I'm dragging them out of the pathway, it looks like I've done something kind of evil because there's lots of, all those stains...Yes.

So I'll have it all over me.

It's all over the pathway.

Maybe have you ever used it like as a little lip stain for lip color?

Amanda> I one time dyed my hair pink with it, you remember that Terasa?

Terasa> I remember that.

Amanda> And it said that you might get halluci... hallucinations from it or something, but, Mary>-but never happened?

Amanda> No.

I didn't notice anything.

Mary> Maybe you didn't use enough.

(laughs) Amanda> Anyway, it was kind of fun anyway.

Oh, well, we have some wonderful things that you're going to get to see during our show tonight.

Lin Ko, who just does these beautiful Ikebana arrangements came in, and she wanted to do something for Fall using fall colors, I think is one of the prettiest that she's done with us.

And then Historic Columbia, which is just a wonderful organization in Columbia, and they decorate some of the historic houses according to the time periods, and so it changes which I think is great fun, and I think you'll enjoy all of that, and then I know we're going to enjoy gardens of the week.

Terasa, do you have some for us?

Terasa> I sure do.

Our viewers never let us down.

We begin today with Emma Gilliard, the yellow flowers of Senna bicapsularis known by lots of common names like Winter cassia, Butterfly bush and Christmas bush.

From Rebecca Phillips, we have satsumas that are ready for picking.

Deborah Allen sent a platter of lemons that were harvested prior to freezing temperatures in Columbia.

Larry Hines decided to try carrots for the first time this year, and it appears from the photo it was quite a success.

Amanda> How about that?

Good.

Terasa> and last but not least, Jim Young shared a lovely large head of broccoli.

So quite an assortment of photographs this week.

We appreciate you sending them in.

Remember, whenever you see the call for gardens of the week, that's your chance to post your photos in the comments, and they might just appear on air.

Amanda> Rob, are they coming up with some more heat tolerant things like broccoli now?

Is that a trend?

Rob> There is a breeding trend out there for heat tolerant broccoli and brassicas as well to try and extend South Carolina seasons.

There's been a big grant that we've been working on looking at in school.

It's called the East Coast broccoli project to find the appropriate varieties of broccoli for this area.

Amanda> Okay.

Jackie> Is it mostly because it's planted in the fall and they want to be able to plant it in the spring, as well?

Rob> Correct.

Yeah, and extend the season later into the spring as well.

Amanda> Well, and we all like to get local produce, when we can.

So, I think that's just a grand idea.

Well, thanks for telling us that.

Well Terasa, are we going to stump the panel, or do you think we've got some people that we can help?

Terasa> Well, I'm sure we can help our viewers and we have a talented panel.

Let's try this question from Ashley in Lexington.

She said I would like to know if the Bradford pear bounty is happening this year and if so how do I sign up?

Amanda> Ah, Rob.

This is a wonderful program because it gives people information about why not to have Bradford pears.

but what else is involved in it?

Rob> Absolutely.

So we have an online registration for any of the events.

If you type into Google or any of the search engines, Clemson, Bradford pear bounty, the first hit that comes up on that particular search engine, Registration on it is required.

and it's needed, done through the through the website, for any of the events that we're hosting through 2024.

There are some criteria that we need to meet to be able to qualify for the program.

So that will be taken at making sure you've got evidence of the removal of those Bradford pear trees, which can be you standing by a photograph of a cut down Bradford pear tree.

And it's open to any homeowner within South Carolina, and we will exchange up to five trees free of charge.

Amanda> Whoa.

Rob> So and those have been native trees as well.

Amanda> So when you go you get a replacement tree that you can take home and plant.

Rob> Absolutely, yes.

Jackie> Well like a replacement tree, not a tiny one you get a decent sized tree Amanda> Really, and you get a native tree?

Rob> Yes.

Amanda> Isn't that just remarkable?

What a wonderful idea.

And we all want to encourage people to plant more trees and native trees.

And why would we want to do that Terasa?

Terasa> Oh, my goodness.

So we can never, we never have enough time to talk about the benefits of natives.

but essentially, they provide more ecosystem services, and in the grand scheme of things, although we appreciate beauty in our landscape.

Plants serve a much larger function than just looking pretty to our eye, right?

They serve as wildlife habitat.

Amanda> And although we encourage people to have pollinator gardens and things like that, you know, we all, you know, get older and do less and you know or move and a tree could be there for well over 100 years.

Which just really is just a wonderful thing to do, and carbon sequestration too.

Okay, well, that's a wonderful thing to learn about.

Thank you so much.

Rob> My pleasure.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, Terasa, whom else can we help?

Terasa> Our next question comes in from Max in Forest Acres.

Max said, Do I need to continue irrigating my lawn and landscape beds through the winter?

Amanda> Ah, well, Jackie, some- times we have long dry spells, we certainly don't have snow, that's going to sit there and slowly melt and irrigate.

What are your ideas on winter irrigation?

Jackie> Certainly, we've had a drier winter this year.

So when we get into an extended period, three weeks or so without rainfall, it's a good idea to run some irrigation, especially for your evergreens because they're experiencing a lot of losses as winds move across his leaves and take moisture away from them, Amanda> because they're still transpiring.

>> They're still transpiring, and as far as your lawn goes, your centipede grass never goes completely dormant, and so our warm season grasses really benefit from some irrigation, especially when we get those nice warmer days, because you'll have those 40 degree days, and then we'll get that nice 60, 70 degree day.

and that's a great day to turn on your irrigation, because it actually helps to increase the cold tolerance of your turf grass, when we do drop back down into the 30s and 20s.

Amanda> Really?

It can help to increase the cold tolerance?

Jackie> It does.

Amanda> Well, that's cool, okay.

but the main thing is, you don't want to go into winter with it on a timer coming on like it when the summer.

Is that right?

Jackie> No, I would just leave it.

Turn it on just for those days.

There's no need to run it regularly.

Turn it off, and when we get a nice 70 degree day that pops out of the blue, turn it on and run it through a cycle.

Amanda> And then Mary one thing is that if people have plant, done some planting in the fall, which we encourage people to do, and they have some new plants, those plants might need some extra irrigation because they haven't gotten to establish that big root system, yet.

Mary> Yeah, definitely I mean, a lot of our perennials that we're planting out right now, they love to become established during the colder months.

So watering those in nicely for a little couple of weeks or so.

Then they should be set and go a little bit dormant and then pick back up in the spring.

Amanda> Okay, all right.

Water, water.

Terasa> It's complicated.

Kind of -people would love to have like a nice prescriptive, do this on X, Y and Z days, but it just doesn't really work like that.

Amanda> It's kind of like getting up and saying, Am I going to put a coat on today?

Or am I going to get a cup of coffee or get my water bottle and put cold water in it?

I mean, we treat ourselves differently.

So I guess we have to treat our living plants in different ways as well.

Okay, well, is there somebody else we might be able to help?

Terasa> Absolutely.

How about we try to help Sherrie in Piedmont.

She has an excellent question.

She said I have oak trees that generate a lot of leaves.

Is it better to leave them where they fall in my garden beds?

Or should I compost them and use them later?

Amanda> Oh, my goodness.

Well, if you're going to compost them, you got to rake them up some down there.

What do you think?

Mary> Well, Sherrie, I have the same problem.

I have oaks, large water oaks, and tons of leaves.

and right now I'm dealing with a ton of acorns, too.

So I'm going to have to be plucking those out in the spring.

And I've done both.

I've done where I let them just fall on the beds, and I leave them until spring so I let them decompose slowly, but the thing with that is, is that when they're whole like that, and you don't chop them up with a mower, they tend to take a while to decompose because that's such a heavy carbon source, and you really need another green source to help speed up that decomposition, kind of like with a compost pile.

So if you choose to leave them if you don't want to rake them up and mulch them by mulching them with a mower so you can shred them up into tiny bits, and that decomposition happens a lot faster if you chop them up.

So that's one way to do it.

I've done both.

If you leave them whole, sometimes it's a good idea to put a little bit of fertilizer in your beds to help speed that up.

That can also help with that as well, but not a whole lot because you don't want to be fertilizing much in the fall.

So very lightly on the top and mix it in a little bit not directly into the soil and that can help speed up things too.

If you're impatient.

So just depends on what your nature is and if you want to be patient and if you don't want to be.

Piling them up in a pile and making leaf mold is also a really great source so you can take them out and do that as well.

Amanda> Water oak acorns just sprout, sprout and sprout.

Mary> They do.

Amanda> It's not a very good tree.

I mean oak tree because they spend 50 years growing and 50 years dying.

Mary> Exactly, I've got two of them that are worrisome in my yard.

So we'll see what happens with them.

Amanda> Well, trees that are falling apart are good for nature aren't they?

Terasa> They really are.

That was excellent.

I mean, It's really kind of situational and your goal so if you have an area where it's just trees, perhaps leaving them where they are is fine, but maybe if they're in your flowerbed and you want don't want to deal with acorns germinating in there and everything you can make them use in a compost pile and then use that as a soil amendment.

So, whatever works best for you.

Amanda> And get a little exercise while you're doing it.

Lin Ko is a master at a very unusual art form.

And I know you're going to enjoy the arrangement that she came and did with us.

♪ calming music ♪ Amanda> Well, my good friend Lin Ko has come to visit us.

Lin, thank you so much for coming back to see us.

And you are a certified Ikebana instructor.

Lin Ko> Thank you so much for inviting me again.

Amanda> It's a wonderful treat to have you here.

Tell people a little bit about what Ikebana is.

Lin Ko> Ikebana literally means the way of flowers.

So it's the way Japanese people arrange the flowers and it actually is originated from China.

Amanda> And does it go back to nature or is that a large focus in Ikebana?

Lin Ko> Yes, That's why today I'm bringing things from my yard because this is such a beautiful season and you walk around the yard, you get so many different colors and leaves that I cannot stop.

That's why I have so much.

We are not going to use all of them, but they are just gorgeous.

Amanda> So you have a beautiful piece of Miscanthus grass?

And do you usually start with your tall element and then kind of let things flow from that?

Lin Ko> That's true, Yeah, because this one, almost like it sets the atmosphere of this arrangement.

This is the fall, right?

Amanda> Yeah.

Lin Ko> So from here today, my idea is to show a bank of four colors.

So I will have the green and the green and the yellow and then yellow and then yellow.

A little bit orange.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> Then going all the way to here is orange.

>> Okay.

Lin Ko> So, Amanda> -it's a transition.

>> Yes.

Amanda> A transition- Lin Ko>-to represent the season, Amanda> which does happen in nature.

Lin Ko> That's right.

It's happening right now.

Amanda> Okay.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> Well, you have a beautiful container and you have a lovely piece of driftwood and you've got some I call them frogs, but...pin cushions.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> To hold your things... Lin Ko> It's the Kenzan in Japanese.

We call this Kenzan.

And this is the front of the container.

Amanda> Oh, all right.

Lin Ko> But when doing the arrangement, I'm turning it to myself.

>> Yes.

Lin Ko> So in the middle...

I'm turning to the audience, so you will be able to see the front.

Amanda> And the Lazy Susan is a wonderful thing to use.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> Especially, in this situation.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> Well, we have our... our tall piece that represents the green, And I guess we'll see where are you going to go from here?

Lin Ko> Okay, let's try.

Okay.

So, as I just said, I'm going to go from the green and then go to a little green and a yellow.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> Okay.

So, I'm going to put it here.

And then every time you cut the material, you cut under the water.

Amanda> We have this filled with water.

Lin Ko> So I do have a bowl of water and I cut it under the water.

>> Okay.

Lin Ko> The reason for doing this is because you don't let the air get in to the stem.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> Then the ability to absorb the water will be weakened.

>> Yes.

Lin Ko> Okay.

So I do this and I don't want it to be too tall.

Okay.

Let's see.

Try.

Okay.

And the next one will be it...We'll see...

Some of the leaves... Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> -here, and I probably want two leaves.

One in the back.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> One in the back.

One in the front.

Amanda> Because I'm Trying to remember this is the front that I'm looking at.

Lin Ko> Yes, that's the front.

Amanda> So the taller one is going in the back.

Lin Ko> And this kind of leaf we call is, Amanda> Alocasia?

Lin Ko> Alocasia.

Amanda> beautiful.

Lin Ko> Every time you use it and plug it with go into this So you need to cut it at least one inch off each time.

Okay.

One in the back.

One toward the front and then make sure I want you to see... Make sure, the leaves has different directions.

You don't want them to line up like soldiers.

Okay?

Amanda> Okay.

Lin Ko> So I have them facing different directions.

Amanda> Yes you do.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Lin Ko> And then we add a little bit more of the little tiny green thing, a little lower.

Amanda> Yeah.

>> Yes.

Amanda> It's just the when it goes to flower and then seeing the mature flower head is so beautiful and fun.

Looks like little space cadets or something.

Sputniks Oh, that's just wonderful.

Lin Ko> Oh, okay, and now we are getting into more of the white thing.

Just kind of tuck in.

Amanda> Yeah, just Lin Ko> Tuck in, tuck in.

Okay.

Let's see.

You have to show that transition.

Amanda> Yeah.

Lin Ko> From this end to that end either by color or by the format.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Lin Ko> So I'm trying to focus on format and color.

Amanda> Yes.

Okay.

Lin Ko> And now I'm going to use really turn into yellow.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> Okay.

Amanda> That's yellow.

Lin Ko> Yellow.

Yes.

And then remember, flowers always have to look up and then, towards you, Amanda> All right.

Lin Ko> to the viewer.

Amanda> Yeah.

Lin Ko> So I'm making it up and a little bit to the front.

Amanda> Thank you.

Okay.

Lin Ko> Some people, they did not pay attention make the flower going down.

Amanda> Or else just straight up, but yeah, this is facing us.

Lin Ko> Yes, facing us, also facing the sun.

Amanda> Yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Which is what happens in nature.

Lin Ko> Yes.

And now I'm going to give a little introduction to the orange color.

Okay, so this is a little bit of the nice color get into here.

Amanda> And that wonderful pin cushion has lots of places to put the flowers in.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> So you're very fortunate.

You can choose exactly where you want it and there'll be a way to use it in that very special spot.

Lin Ko> Yes.

The Kenzan is very heavy and also quite expensive.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> So sometimes people try to avoid using Kenzan.

So that's why there is a new school called Ichiyo school.

Ichiyo school, which almost is the most modern school.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> They avoid Kenzan.

They don't use Kenzan.

They use a different way to support flower.

Amanda> Oh, I have the ones that my mother had.

Lin Ko> Do you like it?

Amanda> Yes, very much.

Lin Ko> Then, give a little bit of this in the back.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> Actually only one side is already pretty.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> But we are going to make a double side.

This style called Kabuwake.

Kabuwake means unattached roots.

So roots are separated.

Too grooves of roots.

Okay?

Amanda> All right.

Lin Ko> So because normally Ikebana there's a smaller container, we only have one Kenzan.

Amanda> That makes sense.

Lin Ko> And then one Kenzan.

Everything has to come out of one Kenzan.

We treat that as one root.

Okay.

But now we have two Kenzans because this container is so wide.

We need two Kenzans.

Okay, So we call this Kabuwake.

Okay, That's a special style.

Okay.

Now on this side the tallest one, Again, I want the one and to go first.

Amanda> So you have something tall here and that needs to have something over here to balance it somewhat.

All right, Lin Ko> This is the burning bush.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> It starts turning some of the area.

As you can see, they are all very red, but in my neighborhood, it just start.

Okay.

So we put in here.

Amanda> That's, and that's a woody stem.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Okay.

And then this one has a single stem.

And I wanted this one to have double.

So it will not look like a so singular.

Okay.

Amanda> All right.

Lin Ko> And again, when you do that, you have to trim all this and unnecessary.

Amanda> Oh, yeah.

Lin Ko> Which is bad.

Okay.

You can make it a little bit clean.

Amanda> And the plain stem without all these things coming out is more attractive, isn't it?

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> Much more so.

Okay.

Lin Ko> Cleaning up.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> Especially, the bottom part of the stem, because you are going to have flowers here- Amanda> They'll be in the way.

Lin Ko> Yeah.

Too much of the stem.

They are fighting against each other.

This one does not have the leaves.

And then you can still see the redder seeds.

Amanda> Fruit and... Lin Ko> Yeah.

Amanda> Then we've got the lovely leaves, as well.

Lin Ko> I love it.

I love it.

Okay, so this is the burning bush.

Now I'm going to put another leaf of this, so I'm introducing the same element to here.

So they have a connection.

They are not totally separate.

If you put things totally different on both sides, then it will look quite unconnected and they are not talking to each other.

Okay.

So again, this is better.

Amanda> Yes.

Lin Ko> So we need to cut this one off.

Amanda> So once it's in, it's in here.

It won't keep curling up.

This will keep it from curling up.

Lin Ko> Yes.

And lots of time you can use waterproof tape.

Amanda> I use that floral tape sometimes.

Lin Ko> Yeah.

You can wrap it around.

Okay.

You have time.

Yeah.

That will be a good practice.

So this one, compared to this, I'm going to kind of balance it out Amanda> because, You said you don't want them all looking the same way.

Lin Ko> That's right.

So let's see if I do Let's try this way... Amanda> I like it that way.

I'm not, I don't know anything about this wonderful art form like you do.

Lin Ko> We can always.

Amanda> We can always change.

Lin Ko> And then I want to show you one thing.

I like this leaf because the back is brown.

Amanda> Exquisitely beautiful.

Lin Ko> And then I'm introducing that to darker orange color.

>> Yeah.

Lin Ko> So this one really helps settle.

Okay, so if I have just a green, it does not look that nice.

Okay.

Amanda> Isn't it wonderful, the way it's curled up here and you can see both those colors.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Amanda> It's just exquisite.

Lin Ko> I really like it.

And then again, we want to add something here.

Not to be showy, but just show some a similar element.

Amanda> Well, it unifies.

It doesn't it?

Lin Ko> Yes.

And this site now is really red.

Amanda> Pretty red.

Lin Ko> Pretty red.

Okay.

And this, too.

I want to one in the front, one in the back.

Okay.

Amanda> So this is the front that we're looking at right now.

So that's where the shorter flower is.

Lin Ko> Yes.

And then again, this yellow mum and this orange color should not be at the same height.

Amanda> Oh, all.

Right.

Lin Ko> They want to have a little bit different height.

Okay.

<Amanda> Gosh, there's so much that you think of in what looks to be a simple arrangement.

Have many things you're keeping track of, paying attention to.

Lin Ko> But once you learn the basic fundamentals, then it's in your mind.

Then you will you will always remember to use it.

Okay.

I actually learned a lot from teaching.

Amanda> Good.

Lin Ko> I really appreciate my students.

They give me a chance to practice Amanda> And, but you think I believe you still- Do you still have an association with one of your teachers?

Lin Ko> Yes, I'm with the Japanese Ikebana International.

>> Yes.

Lin Ko> They have at least 150 chapters around the whole world.

Amanda> Good gracious.

Lin Ko> Yes.

They have that many.

They started with almost 300 chapters, but now only less than 200 still active.

Okay.

So it's important to have a big umbrella and the you are under that.

They plant everything for you.

>> Oh.

Lin Ko> So, I'm actually just registering for a North American conference.

<Amanda> My goodness.

Lin Ko> Next year.

It's next October in Philadelphia.

And look at this.

I'm not done yet, but this one shows you this, this and this three are triangle.

<Amanda> Yes.

<Lin Ko> Are triangle.

Okay.

<Amanda> And that's harmonious, a triangle.

Kind of balanced isn't it.

<Lin Ko> Yes.

Ikebana always like a triangle.

And now in the middle of the driftwood.

I love this.

And where do I use this?

I decide to put here.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> Let's see what happened.

Don't go into the water.

It have to be above the water.

Okay.

Amanda> Oh, perfect.

Oh, gosh.

Lin Ko> Okay.

And now we are almost done.

But the Kenzan, the ugly Kenzan has to be covered.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> Look at the Kenzan.

<Amanda> Yeah.

Lin Ko> So we have to find something... Amanda> Goodness.

Lin Ko>...small to cover the Kenzan Amanda> You do.

Lin Ko> Let's see... Amanda> Because you don't want to see your accessories.

Lin Ko> That's right and I don't want too much of the leaves.

It's almost too much now.

<Amanda> Uh huh.

Lin Ko> But the color is so beautiful.

So I think when something is too skinny.

Amanda> What do you do?

Lin Ko> You can easily use a more stronger, but hollow...

Okay.

I think that this will be the best if you get a mum.

Amanda> Oh, look at that Lin Ko> And then just chop about two inches of stem, then you can always put this one inside.

Amanda> What a wonderful idea.

Lin Ko> Yes.

Yeah.

Trim it.

Put it inside and make sure when you put you have to put restore this Amanda> All the way through.

Lin Ko> So it can absorb the water.

Okay.

Yes.

Amanda> So don't just stick it in the top, stick it all the way through.

Lin Ko> Yes.

You are right.

<Amanda> What a wonderful idea.

That's a good trick.

I've never thought of that.

Thank you so much.

Lin Ko> Now we can hardly see the Kenzan.

So we keep on doing this.

Okay?

Amanda> Oh, you know, when I'm looking at it, it seems like a boat that's taking me somewhere.

Lin Ko> That's beautiful.

That's beautiful.

Amanda> I feel like I'm floating down towards something.

Beautiful.

It really does.

It makes me think of that.

Lin Ko> I think we are almost done.

I cannot add anymore.

Too much.

<Amanda> Too much is too much.

Lin Ko> Too much stuff.

Okay.

And then the only thing I want to add.

>> Yes.

Lin Ko> Is to show the holiday.

I probably put some of the squash.

Amanda> Oh.

Lin Ko> At the front.

Amanda> Lin, I want to thank you so much for coming and putting us in the mood for the holidays with all kinds of colors and changes that are going on with the seasons.

It's such a joy to have you come and share your skills with us.

>> Thank you for inviting me.

I really enjoy the flowers.

Amanda> Well, we enjoy you coming and letting us see another aspect of the beauty of flowers.

Thank you, Lin.

Lin Ko> Thank you.

♪ Amanda> We certainly enjoyed having Lin Ko come to visit with us and the materials that she uses throughout the year change and this was a wonderful one to see Fall leaves used.

Well, hats, hats, hats.

Terasa, you've told me and we've talked about the deciduous hollies, and so this must be a female holly, isn't that right?

Terasa> Ah, yes in order to have the lovely fruit.

I have Winter berry holly, but it's still holding onto its leaves so far, but it will lose them eventually.

Amanda> Yeah, I guess you could pluck each one off if you needed to have them like they are.

Then there were some flowers that I found, Protea, which I just thought the color was kind of fun.

And I hope you all think so too.

And then a little greenery as well.

But anyway, my mother said when she was little they would try to go into the woods and find a holly, probably just a regular holly, but they would get the one they wanted, a female with berries on it.

And so she would say, "You know, I think we got all the females "out of the woods because now we...", you know, she said it seems like later on we'd only be able to find the males.

But it would be like, it was kind of fun.

And a lot of people don't realize that hollies are male or female.

Terasa> That's right.

Mary> When I was an extension agent, I went and visited a client's yard and they, a landscaper had put in all males, and they'd never they were like, why is it ever fruiting?

And that was their...Yeah.

Amanda> Yeah.

Mary> It kind of sucked.

Terasa> And you really need both, right?

In order for the pollination to happen.

So I have two females that produce the berries, but I needed to make sure that I had a male as well in order for the, the pollination to occur and to get that berry production.

Yeah.

Amanda> And you're getting plenty of berries but they're holding on to their leaves.

Terasa> That's right.

Amanda> Oh well maybe you can go out there and put some ice around them.

(laughs) Terasa> It's just fine.

They can do whatever they want.

Amanda> Okay.

Well, is there someone we could help with the question?

Terasa> We sure can try.

You know what's really nice about our show is, although we are in South Carolina, we get viewers in North Carolina and Georgia, too.

And this question comes across the border from Augusta, Georgia.

Abbye wrote to us and she said, Can you please identify this lemon tree?

It's growing in my sister's yard in Augusta.

I thought it was a Lisbon, but she disagrees.

It makes a massive amount of fruit towards the end of the summer and ripens during the fall.

Amanda> My goodness.

Terasa> And of course, she shared photos with us.

Amanda> So we know it's a lemon, but that she wants to know what cultivars.

Terasa> Oh, yeah.

Amanda> Rob, this sounds kind of like a dilemma.

What do you think.

Rob> I would love to be able to sit here and say that we can identify the specific cultivar of any plant, really.

Because they're so intensely bred, a lot of the characteristics will look very similar to even the wild type species.

So the leaf structure, flower structure will look very, very similar.

So pulling the actual cultivar apart is incredibly hard.

I'll be honest with you, I can't do it.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Well, if she wants to get one like her sister has, do you have any suggestions for her?

Rob> You could try to maybe taking some cuttings and grafting on on some hardwood cuttings, which is a lot of work.

There are some programs available through different universities that will go down to the genetic level and actually truly look at the genetic differences between those cultivars Amanda> That sounds good.

>> They're expensive.

Amanda> Yeah, well, couldn't she just... she knows what kind of fruit it makes, and it seems like she could go to sources and find ones that would grow in her part of the world that might have a similar fruit.

Rob> That would be a very good way to actually produce and produce lemons that would be effective for her area.

Yes.

Amanda> Okay.

Okay.

Terasa> Rob, really hit the nail on the head, though.

We get questions about varieties for lots of things, not just citrus.

They might show us a picture of a camellia and want to know which camellia which cultivated varieties... Amanda> -which is 10,000.

Terasa> Exactly.

So it's I would say, it's probably impossible for the most part.

Mary> Sometimes you can reach out to international societies.

Camellia has a huge one.

So sometimes perusing that website or I think they have like a thread that you can put stuff into.

Sometimes it's really, really helpful if you're unable to, if you really, really want to know what it is.

Terasa> Especially their dis- tinctive.

Mary> Yeah, exactly.

Terasa> But sometimes they'll be very similar looking cultivars and you know, just subtle differences.

You might have two that are the same cultivar, but you look at them and you're like, Oh, the flowers don't look exactly the same.

<Amanda> Well, it seems to if you went to a garden center, let's just talk about camellias.

And you went when they were in bloom, even if they didn't have the one you wanted there.

So many beautiful ones there, you might just change your mind.

Just like you wanted to get pistachio ice cream, and they didn't had it.

Didn't have it.

And so you had come.

You were very unhappy, but you had to get butter pecan.

Right?

Terasa> As long as it's ice cream, I'm probably happy.

Amanda> I think...Okay.

How about Somebody else, Terasa.

Terasa> Well, you know, sometimes we have plants and maybe we would like more of them or we would like to give them to someone.

So I think Jackie is going to tell us a little bit about how to take hardwood cuttings.

Amanda> Oh, okay.

Jackie, I think you're going to give us an idea of how we can propagate some plants that we have in our yard in the wintertime.

Jackie> Sure.

Absolutely.

So I love winter propagation because it's so much easier.

Amanda> Really.

Jackie> You can do what's called hardwood cutting.

So this is easily done on a lot of flowering shrubs.

We can do this on forsythia.

We can do some blueberries.

You can do this on your roses.

You can do this on Fagelia.

You could do this on...hydrangeas.

You can even do this on camellias.

So there's a lot of different flowering shrubs that you can do this with.

And you can also do hardwood cuttings on some of our evergreens, like our cedars and our junipers.

Amanda> Mercy.

Jackie> So the key to successful hardwood cuttings is that we're looking at one year old growth.

So we're not looking at the older woody grass, but we're looking at stuff that's not flimsy.

That's hardened off.

So and we really want about the size of a pencil.

So this up here is just a little too thin.

But down here and even this branch makes a better option.

So this is a hydrangea.

This is an Annabel.

Amanda> Yes.

Jackie> Pruned out of my yard.

And so really what we're doing is we're coming in and we're taking a longer section.

So you want about a seven, eight inch section.

Amanda> Okay.

Jackie> And we want to include a couple of buds.

So I've got buds here.

I've got buds here.

That's here.

So I'll come down here.

Amanda> Yes.

Jackie> And prune and then I'll prune up here a little bit more up here.

I'll say.

Amanda> So you go and the last cut is going to be a bud a little bit?

Jackie> A little bit of a bud.

Terasa> So we sharpen your pruners too, before... Jackie> Yeah.

Sharpen your pruners too Get a nice clean cut.

So how that one is.

It probably needs a little bit more.

And then what we're doing is we're sticking this in a container.

I like, you can even use the red solo cups.

<Amanda> Yeah.

Jackie> And put some holes in them and then you put about half the cutting in a light mix.

or something like builder sand or a very light mace vermiculite or a very porous soil medium.

Amanda> Uh huh.

Jackie> Put it in there and then it'll take about.

Amanda> So not potting soil?

Jackie> Not potting soil.

Not something's that's going to be too heavy.

>> Okay.

Jackie> You want a lot of air and oxygen to get down to the base of the cutting so that it can start to form roots.

<Amanda> Uh huh.

Jackie> You can use if you have rooting hormone, you would dip it in the rooting hormone and then put it in there.

If you don't have rooting hormone, Don't worry about it.

You don't absolutely have to have it.

And then the nice thing is, is you put this outside.

Amanda> Put it outside?

Jackie> Water it.

And you put it outside and you let Mother Nature take care of it.

Now, occasionally, if we haven't had rain, Go out there and give it some water.

Amanda> Because that mix isn't going to hold?

Jackie> Right.

It's not going to hold a whole lot of water.

But typically we get a lot more rainfall through our winter months and early spring.

So this takes about four or five months for you to start getting some rooting, depending on what good plants you're actually rooting.

But then by next fall you could be planting some new little shrubs.

And it's great because, you know, when you take soft wood cuttings, you have to baby them so much.

So this is something that, you know, you just leave it outside and it's perfect.

If the shrub is hardy here, the cuttings are going to be hardened.

Amanda> Now, you said you could do it on a camellia.

How?

The same process?

Would you take most of the leaves off?

Jackie> You would take the leaves off.

Amanda> You would take the leaves off.

Jackie> The leaves off because we're just getting... Actually So you would leave it and you'll start to get new leaves coming off.

And that's a clue that you're actually getting good rooting and you're actually getting a good cutting at that point.

So you'll see new growth.

Yes, you can do it on camellias, You can do it on junipers, you can do it on cedars.

You can do it on.

There's a whole variety of trees and shrubs that you can actually do hardwood cuttings with.

Amanda> Well, this is just remarkable.

I can't thank you enough for telling me about that, because if it's easy, that means it's a lot more... Mary> I know that potting soil is really important though, because I've done this before and I didn't put a lot of vermicu-, pearlite in to increase the drainage and a lot of them just rot.

So it's really, really important to have something well-drained, otherwise you just...it's sad you spend all this work doing it and then it's just rotted throughout the winters and make sure it's well drained.

Jackie> I would say that do vermiculite, do builders sand to do something very, very light and very, very course.

Amanda> Critical.

Jackie> Right.

To get a lot of oxygen.

So you're not doing just a heavy potting mix.

No peat and mix.

Amanda> Well, I think that's wonderful.

Yeah.

Maybe you'll do one and bring it back and show it to us.

Jackie> Oh, yeah I've got my roses going.

I've got.

Amanda> Come on.

Jackie> Oh, yeah.

Zephirine Drouhin Rose.

Amanda> Whew!

Terasa> We should probably quickly mention that there are some plants that it's not okay to propagate or plants that are patented were not allowed to do this.

But she mentioned, even though that one is named Annabel, it is not patented.

So it is it is okay to propagate that.

Jackie> Yes.

I did not take my endless summer.

Just kidding.

Amanda> Thanks, Jackie.

That was grand.

It's always fun to see how other people decorate.

And we several years ago went to Historic Columbia to see how they were using the holidays to show off their knowledge of the past ways of decorating.

This was a couple of years ago.

So remember that you can call Historic Columbia.

Go to their website, Historic Columbia, and find out what the hours and what everything that's happening this year.

But it's always beautifully done.

And I know you would enjoy seeing it.

♪ ♪ ♪ We're in Columbia, South Carolina, visiting two of the historic homes here that are under the purview of Historic Columbia.

I'm with Fielding Freed, who's the director of these houses.

Fielding, thank you for bringing us here.

And it's just a special time of the year.

Y'all really have gone all out.

>> Thank you, Amanda We're very pleased to have you and your viewers here to see us this holiday season.

Amanda> I think people should come all the time to see these houses and learn about how the history of South Carolina was and how it's changed and was influenced and influenced the world.

But at Christmas, just like everywhere else, even back in the 1800s, people got excited and did things to make their houses more festive.

Fielding> Exactly right.

And we've done the same here at both the Hampton Preston house and the Robert Mills house.

What we do is we take our visitors through Christmases of the early to mid 19th century.

So you'll see some very big differences than Christmas today.

Amanda> Well, let's talk about the 1820s.

Is that more what is going on at the Robert Mills house?

Fielding> That is correct.

It was built in 1823.

So we had - the construction began then.

So we talk about that earlier time period.

So when visitors go there, they're not going to see a Christmas tree like the one we have behind us here, the holidays during that time period.

And we do call it the holidays because that encompassed both Christmas and New Year's.

It was all kind of a big season, if you will.

It was during the time when the legislature was in session.

Amanda> Oh, big deal.

Fielding> Commencement for the South Carolina College.

Amanda> Now the University of South Carolina.

Fielding> Exactly.

So folks coming and going, lots of entertaining.

Over there you'll see Christmas decorations, but they're much more reserved than even here at the Hampton-Preston.

Greenery was used.

Fresh fruit was used.

The real celebration for most South Carolinians and Americans during that time period was New Years as far as gift giving.

But we did have Santa Claus.

Santa Claus... has been around forever.

And he was also popular in the 1820s.

One of the few books that is published from that time period that still survives has a great portrait of him.

He's immediately recognizable his sled is being drawn by a single reindeer.

I guess over the years he put on a little more weight and had to have more reindeer help him out.

Amanda> And more presents.

Fielding> And more presents.

Amanda> During that time, very few presents.

Christmas was considered reverential.

Fielding> Yes.

Amanda> Religious.

Fielding> It was a religious holiday with New Year's being the time to exchange gifts and then do things like firecrackers and shoot guns in the air.

There was a lot of feasting and food eating that was kind of the highlight of Christmas season in particular.

And for South Carolinians, again, that was also a time when people were visiting each other and things like punches were very, very popular.

Amanda> But all we have to do is cross the street and we can jump forward several decades.

Fielding> That's true, when folks come over to the Hampton Preston House.

We begin the tour in 1818 and move forward to the 1860s.

As you go through the rooms, you'll see even a evolution of Christmas in this household during those time periods.

Amanda> When I come over here, almost every spot that's not moving has something on it that looks holidays.

So really much more elaborate decorations.

Fielding> That is correct.

One of the main things that's different between the 1860s and the 1820s is the Christmas tree.

They were becoming steadily popular here in North America in the 1850s, albeit the tabletop variety, which some people still like those because they're nice and small to move around.

But you'll notice that we do have things like real candles on the tree and the ornaments would have been blown glass or other materials.

Some of them store bought, some of them homemade, some of them purchased mainly from Germany from whence the modern Christmas tree came.

Amanda> And I see we have a bucket filled with water.

Fielding> Just in case.

19th century fire extinguisher.

Yes, a bucket full of water, just in case when the candles were led.

From what we know, the candles would have been lit Christmas morning.

So it was kind of a one time deal.

They were not going to have lit candles on a dead and drying tree for the course of the holidays.

Amanda> But when we come here, we go from room to room and see that they started doing using some cotton, using other natural materials.

Fielding> Exactly right.

Really what's in bloom, if you will, right now, one of the things that we do highlight on our Christmas tours is what Christmas would have been like.

As best we can tell with the research for everyone involved in this household.

And that includes the enslaved African-Americans who were here not only in Columbia, but also on the different families' plantations throughout South Carolina.

Amanda> Well, let's talk about the meal, because it just looks phenomenal.

Fielding> That was...a big deal.

One of the one of the great artifacts that we have is a Harper's Weekly edition from December of 1860.

On that cover, it shows all the elements of a modern Christmas, but front and center in the big circle is the family having their big Christmas meal.

I think the best analogy is if you take a meal that we eat for Thanksgiving now and put that on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, that's kind of, I think, the best way to compare the two, eating, feasting very important.

A lot of the food that we eat today were popular back then.

Turkey, albeit why we - while boiling turkeys is not necessarily popular these days.

That was certainly one of the ways they cooked them back then.

Amanda> There's a table set up, I think, for gentleman.

Fielding> Yes.

Amanda> and in there I see some firecrackers.

So I guess they enjoyed that.

People in the South like to make a lot of noise to celebrate.

Fielding> South Carolinians, We love our firecrackers during the holiday season and that goes back to the 19th century.

They were imported from China back then, just like many of them are today.

And that was a time for lots of merry making and lots of noise making.

Amanda> And you said that spirits were important, that people enjoyed libations over the holidays.

Fielding> Yes.

Big tradition.

Again, one of the things that we try to do is talk about how Christmas of the past is still with us during the holiday season, today.

One of those very 19th century drinks is eggnog which we still enjoy to this day.

They had some other ones like hot buttered rum, where if you look up a recipe online, you can certainly find one very easily.

But it's quite the, I would say, acquired taste.

One of the other things of South Carolina is really going to enjoy drinking was Madeira wine Amanda> Yes.

<Fielding> Imported and that really aged well and the ships coming over and also here in South Carolina during the hot summers it also aged well and I think you pointed out earlier it's better the older it gets, right?

Amanda> It is.

And then again, in that room there was a little bucket and it wasn't to put the fire out the Christmas tree.

Fielding> No.

No.

One of the things to keep in mind when we compare and contrast what the holiday experience might have been like for those enslaved on the plantations versus those in the city in the urban setting is for those that were slave here in a house like this.

The work was 24/7, while those on the plantation typically got from Christmas Day to New Year's Day free to move about and to socialize amongst the family members of the other plantations.

To the best of our knowledge, those that were enslaved here in the cities were pretty much working around the clock because keep in mind, they're the ones doing the cooking, the cleaning to take care of the house.

And that bowl that you were referring to was actually a spittoon.

So of those onerous morning tasks that included also emptying chamber pots for those that were enslaved here in a house like this.

Amanda> Although you said the enslaved people were often given a gift, but it was perhaps something that they needed clothing or such things, perhaps.

Fielding> Correct.

They plantation owners made a big display typically about giving holiday gifts for the women.

That might include needle and thread and fabric, typically a blanket for people were given every other year.

Shoes were given.

So these while it was ostensibly a gift, it was also something very necessary and very utilitarian at the same time.

Amanda> But even within the family, the idea of gift giving was restrained.

I believe, as we see from the display, this was one of the wealthiest families in the country and they're not too many packages.

Fielding> Not as many.

No.

They certainly didn't have the concept of Black Friday back then where folks were rushing out to to make holiday purchases, Although during the 1860's in particular, there were plenty of newspaper articles here in Columbia and throughout Richland County, throughout the state of South Carolina, for holiday sales of different objects, not only for your Christmas tree, but also as gifts and gift giving did take place between parents and children and also adults in the family.

But it wasn't quite on the scale that we do today.

And Santa Claus always was.

Looking forward to stockings were definitely hung with care during the 1850s and 60s by the fireplace.

Amanda> Because the fire would be full of...being used right when I came in, I said we now put magnolia in our fireplace.

Not back then, Fielding> No.

It wasn't.

Absolutely.

Amanda> Heating the house.

Fielding> Exactly.

>> Yeah.

And one of the things too, that I think is interesting that perhaps led to the tree was an illustration that was in a London newspaper in, I believe, 1848 of Queen Victoria.

Fielding> Exactly right.

Amanda> And her husband, who had - Prince Albert, I believe, came from Germany, where the tree was more traditionally in use.

Fielding> You are absolutely correct.

And it would be safe to say that South Carolinians throughout our history did their best early on, in particular to mimic the gentry of England.

So what Queen Victoria did, many, many South Carolinians followed suit.

Amanda> Well, I want to thank you so much for telling us how we were connected with our overseas past and how we brought in local customs, local trees, local ways of entertaining and decorating.

And again, that this is really a living history museum.

Fielding> Well, we absolutely, really want folks to come year round, but if Christmas is an excuse for you to come visit us, we'd love to have everybody.

One of the special things we do is a candlelight Christmas tour once a year.

And that's an amazing opportunity to see these houses lit by fire.

I mean, we use real candles, I have to admit as a curator, I'm a little nervous until that last candle is put out at the end of the evening.

But what it really does is offer folks a different time of the day to see these houses, to see them, how they looked during the 19th century.

You begin to see why they had gilded mirrors and gilded frame paintings, because those became reflectors and flickers of light.

And it's really just kind of a magical thing to do to kind of kick off your final stretch in the Christmas.

Amanda> I want to thank you so much for making us feel so welcome with an old fashioned Christmas.

Fielding> Well, thank you, Amanda.

We really appreciate you coming to see us.

♪ Amanda> It is interesting to see how people did things back in the days before electric lights and all of that.

I mean, it certainly was beautiful.

Do remember to check before you go as things may have changed.

Well Teresa, do we have time to help somebody else quickly?

Terasa> Let's try to help Pamela in Pelzer.

She said, I think it'd be fun to plant edible flowers that I can enjoy on my salads.

Do you have any ideas for seeds to purchase this winter?

Amanda> Oh, goodness gracious.

Well, that would be fun.

Mary, do you have any ideas?

Mary> Oh, yeah.

I eat lots of flowers.

One of the first ones that I look out for that I don't have to purchase seeds for is dandelions.

So if you if you pick them really young, they have this really sweet, almost nutty flavor.

Amanda> Just like... Mary> Oh yeah.

They're delicious.

Just make sure you're harvesting them somewhere where maybe it hasn't been sprayed or something, But they're really great on salads as well as borage.

You know, that's sort of a cool season, spring plant.

So you could plant that early spring.

Those seeds are pretty easy to find in most garden centers or online Makes a delicious addition to salads.

They almost have like a cucumber taste to it.

Amanda> That sounds fun.

Mary> Bachelor's buttons entirely You can eat those as well.

And those seeds are very, very easy to find.

Amanda> It would be so colorful.

>> Yes.

Oh, yeah you can make up salads super, super bright, Impress your friends when you have them over.

Those are delicious.

Nasturtium, another cool season annual.

Amanda> Wonderful, tangy >> So spicy.

They're delicious.

It's... Amanda> -I think is fun on even on a sandwich.

Mary> Definitely.

<Amanda> Have real thin bread and a little mayonnaise... Mary> I've seen some people make pesto with the leaves before.

I've never tried that, but I want to.

There's a whole list of edible flowers out there.

Hibiscus is something that's more summer flowering that you can eat.

Let's see.

You can even eat day Lilly flowers, squash blossoms.

Amanda> We used to, We used to fry day Lilly buds sometimes.

Mary> Really?

Amanda> for the kids.

They thought that was fun.

Mary> I bet that's delicious.

Amanda> Well, that's a good idea.

Okay, let's.

Let's make our salads pretty.

And thank you for being with us.

And I hope that your salads are beautiful and that your house is going to be fun for you to decorate.

Night Night.

♪ closing music ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Making It Grow is brought to you in part by Certified South Carolina is a cooperative effort among farmers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to help consumers identify foods and agricultural products that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.

The Boyd Foundation supporting outdoor recreational opportunities, the appreciation of wildlife, educational programs and enhancing the quality of life in Columbia, South Carolina and the Midlands at large.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

Family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

Additional funding provided by the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance and Boone Hall Farms.