Narrator: 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.

♪♪ Amanda: Good evening And welcome to Making it Grow.

We're so glad that you can join us.

I am Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson Horticulture Agent.

And I get to have continuing education because the people who come bring such wonderful knowledge.

And then Terasa has great questions for us.

It's just a wonderful way to get your brain geared up And learning Terasa, thank you.

Teresa is our co host.

And she's also in charge of the Master Gardener Program, And she's kind enough to help us out with the show.

<Terasa>: It is my pleasure, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be.

And our master gardeners are such a tremendous resource over 61,000 volunteer hours in our last year.

And if you equate that to a full time employee, that would be like adding 35 people to our workforce.

That's huge.

Amanda: That is magnificent, And very impressive.

And to think that they're there, you know, they might be shopping at the same time that somebody else is and that person's like, oh, like it's a, you know, can I help you And dah dada dah, I just think it's wonderful.

Besides sometimes come into the office And go into special events.

They are pretty wonderful people, as Carmen, Ketron probably knows because she's a horticulture agent over in Florence And helps out with some other counties.

And um, And the master gardeners.

They just kind of they kind of double you don't they?

They really do.

It's like having four me's all around the counties.

And it really is wonderful.

I do have to tell them not to wear their badges in the Lowe's, because they immediately get stopped every time And asked all the questions.

They take it at their own risks to go shopping.

<Amanda>: I've also noticed if you wear an apron into those places, because sometimes when I used to work with Ruthie And women's in people's yards, And we'd have an apron on, if you go to the store to those stores in an apron, they think that you're there to answer questions, which is you know, you're always glad to try to help people if you can, yeah.

And of course, Davis Sanders from South Pleasantburg Nursery, helps people all day long.

And then also Davis you do some on your days off when I would be binging Netflix or something.

You're out sometimes working for clients And every now And then there's somebody kind of wonderful that you tell us about too.

<Davis>: Well And I've been putting out a few feelers to maybe get get back with somebody else's gardener in the near future.

You know, there there are two types of people that are in the the segment of business that I'm in they're the people who do it because it's what they do.

And then there are people who do it because it's who they are.

And those of us that are in that category.

Don't mind getting them working in people's yards.

Amanda: All right, well, we... <Terasa>: If you just get the itch and you want to come over to the Pee Dee I mean my yard is almost a blank slate you know, there were no trees.

Old farmland So lots to work with.

<Davis>: Okay.

Do you pay mileage?

<Terasa>: We can work something out.

Can I pay you in food?

Amanda: Terasa is the Baker for excellence.

Yeah, she had an English grandmother And you know, English are at baking.

And then we have we have a fun show lined up besides just having y'all here tonight.

Lin Ko who does just remarkable it Ikebana is going to come And give us an example of that Asian specialized way of doing flowers which is so pleasing And soothing.

And then we're going to a lavender farm King George Lavender.

And um, we'd always been told she couldn't grow lavender in South Carolina.

Well, don't tell anybody you can't because of course you can And that will be great fun for you as well.

Okay, well Terasa I bet you have some gardens of the week to start with, do we?

<Terasa>: We sure do.

This is such a fun time.

It's like taking a virtual field trip I used to say just around the state but sometimes our friends in North Carolina or maybe even Georgia submit photos as well.

So let's see what we have today.

We begin with Gail Bolt who shared the magenta flowers of redwood.

Compared to the yellow flowers of Carolina Jessamine.

Great to see them both in the same shot.

Sandy Johnson shared a row of daffodils And what striking contrast they provide in the dull late winter landscape, from Betty Frye, a deciduous magnolia that also brightens up a rather monochrome landscape.

Carolyn said the Carolina Jessamine has just been beautiful you this year And Carolyn I agree.

From Mike Haley, sent Lenten rose or hellebores in front of a water feature.

And we finish up with Marsha Tennant who said she wished that she could send us the smell of her fragrant tea olive flowers, she brought them inside And display them beside a sweet grass basket.

Thank you for all of your submissions.

I encourage you to visit our facebook page.

See everything that was posted there.

And don't be shy when you see us ask for gardens of the week.

Post your photos right there in the comments.

Amanda: Um, Terasa, you usually have some questions for us.

Let's see if we can stump the panel or your what incredible wise And to the point answers, they will give.

<Terasa>: I doubt we can stump them we've got a talented group.

As always, this question comes in from Michael, Amanda: Ooh, that is a great question.

Oh, that is a good one.

Well, Carmen, what advice would you give Michael And I'm hope he's going to help him out?

We'll, you know, fig trees bloom early.

I mean, you get a first crop of figs.

And sometimes we don't get that.

But maybe this year, we won't get a freeze.

And we'll have three crops of figs.

That's what we're hoping for.

And ideally, cutting figs.

You want to do it in the deep dead of winter, right?

As soon as the winter is kind of passed, but right before spring.

So it's right on that line right now, the trick would be if it's already started to leaf out, it might be a little bit too late.

But if it's still dormant, he should be good to go.

But there's really not a whole lot of technique to the fig pruning, like, you would think of all the rules that go into like peaches or apples.

Figs you kind of just want to shape before getting out of the way, if they're on your walkway, or the three Ds, the if it's diseased, if it's damaged, or if the limbs are dead.

Amanda: Well, how about if it's over your head?

<Exactly.> That is what I do.

Because that doesn't give me I mean, that that's fine for the birds, but it doesn't do me any good.

So I try to cut some of those limbs out.

And also Davis I don't know about what you think.

But I think that they don't like to be heavily pegged up... pruned that sometimes that'll kind of shock Them And they say, Well, I'm not gonna make any figs this year, I'm just gonna sit here And, And recover from all of this.

<Davis>: Well, And that's absolutely a possibility.

The secret to pruning figs properly is not let them get so big that you have to do that extreme pruning.

Figs are perfectly happy being kept at six or eight feet tall by six or eight feet across for the duration of their, their, their time here on Earth.

The one thing that you do want to remember just like any other plant, when you do prune it, don't just hack off the end of a branch, always go back to a larger branch is joined up.

Amanda: And then I think some people still think that you need to put pruning paint on or wound seal.

And that's just been discredited for a long time I believe too Carmen.

Carmen: Yes, you don't have to do it.

You don't have to seal it with any type of wax or tar or anything like that.

And actually, sometimes a fungus can get in there And then they seal it And they've actually kind of sealed its fate.

Amanda: Oh goodness so just let you know, let it scab over.

So just like a skinned knee.

And if you've got a good cut it will it'll scab he'll.

It'll Yeah, Yep.

It'll be perfect.

Right.

Okay.

Well Davis, you said thank you got some show tell for us.

Let's see what this little cheerful fellow is.

<Davis>: I have your hat.

This cheerful little fellow is a it's a native plant.

And I brought this one along because of course there's a huge interest in natives And we really need to encourage our native plants but we always need to use them with a little bit of caution.

This plant can be extremely invasive in a place where it's very happy.

That And that's that's typically a boggy area which the the upside of that is, a lot of times you need something to help... Amanda: In a place not a lot of things want to grow.

<Right right.> <Davis>: So there's no no problem with having this beautiful carpet of yellow flowers And evergreen foliage in a spot where nothing else is gonna grow anyway, but just use it with caution.

If you're going to plant it in your landscape, make sure that you give it plenty of water And make sure that you're ready with a spade to dig up the shoots that get out of hand.

Amanda: Oh, so it's gonna underground rhizomes.

<Davis>: It will make this, what it's gonna do this, this plant in an ideal setting would probably quadruple in size over one growing season.

Oh, goodness, it's not unusual for you Amanda: So in the right spot.

It's just heavenly.

But also, the right one, if you wanted to, if you could sink something near it, And kind of keep it from getting out of hand that way.

<Davis>: About the only way that you could really do that would be to maybe maybe incorporate a French drain around it.

So that the surrounding area doesn't stay as wet.

It's where this was planted.

Amanda: Just keep your uhm, be ready to go out there, And if it gets out of hand.

Cut some dig it up part of that.

<Davis>: Right.

This, this plant won't grow in dry soil And it won't grow in full sun.

Amanda: So well, thank you so much.

<You're welcome.> Well, Davis, you were talking about natives that can sometimes be a little bit aggressive.

And so on the roadsides.

Now, this is just the most magnificent thing in the world our Carolina Jessamine.

But it has its evergreen, it has wonderful dark stems.

It has beautiful flowers, these wonderful glossy green leaves, but it also has tons of seed pods on it.

And so I've seen it come up with peoples yards And get in Azaleas and all kinds of things.

And it just twines all around beautifully.

But it can be a little bit of a problem in that situation.

On the roadsides, of course, it's just beautiful.

But again, of course, we have to remember when I was little we used to always get honeysuckle And didn't know the sweet drop out of honeysuckle, you have to tell children not to do that with this because this is these are poi... poisonous the toxin in them.

Gelsemium, And interestingly, our European honeybee, which is not native was brought over 1500 something... With monks.

Terasa: With monks.

With the Monks.

Amanda: Yeah, can be affected by this however, I've heard And Terasa I don't know what you've read about it, but it seems to be that the only time it's ever been a problem is that there's nothing else but this that generally it's not something to worry about.

But I just think that's kind of interesting that because they weren't here for co-evolution like everything else And so they could have a little bit of a problem.

<Terasa>: That's right, that's what I have heard And there does not seem to be a lot of a large body of research out there to document document that.

Amanda: But anyway, so but it is interesting that it is... it can be a little bit of a problem in yards.

There is one called pride of Augusta they got this some cultivars now I believe.

<Davis>: There are a number of cultivars And there's also the Gelsemium rankinii, And if which is identical to the swamp, the swamp Jasmine, it's not fragrant, where this has a delightful fragrance but it reblooms in the fall.

<Blooms twice.> Amanda: Which is... <Terasa>: There are some that in that market the two together is like duet jessamine.

Okay, something like that.

And so you get, I guess the benefits of blooming, you know, twice a year.

Amanda: Okay.

Anyway, but I'm gonna say handsome handsome thing.

And I declare right now it's just when you go up And down the roadsides.

It's just the prettiest thing in the world.

And a wonderful native, so there you go.

All right.

Lin Ko is from Taiwan.

And goodness, she has spent years studying the art of Ikebana, And is considered a master at it.

And she came to see us And brought her talents with her.

And I think you're really going to enjoy what she did.

♪♪ Amanda: I'm so happy to welcome Lin Ko back to our Sumter studio.

Lin is an Ikebana expert.

Lin, thank you so much for joining us today.

Lin Ko: Thank you for inviting me.

Amanda: And you are a certified Ikebana person and a member of Ikebana International, I believe.

Lin Ko: That's right.

Yeah, I have been about 25 years, yeah.

Amanda: And so what is, what are the principles of Ikebana?

Lin Ko: Yeah, Ikebana, we normally talk about heaven, human being, and the earth.

Amanda: Okay.

Lin Ko: So you are going to connect the three of them together into one.

So we call it harmony, the harmony among human being, heaven, and earth.

Amanda: All right, okay.

Lin Ko: Okay.

Amanda: Okay, and I think today we're going to do a particular type of Ikebana arrangement.

So tell us what this one is, please.

Lin Ko: Yes, today, we are doing a special style, which belong to Sogetsu school, this is a Tsubo style.

Amanda: All right.

Lin Ko: Tsubo means a round container with a small opening, which the diameter is about a little bit over a fist size.

Amanda: You need to be able to put your fist in it.

Lin Ko: That's right, so you can fix something, and then the body should be round <yes> then probably at least one and a half size <all right> compared to the ring diameter.

Amanda: And you've made some preparations before we started.

And so tell me what you've done.

You've put some water in this to give it more stability.

And you said sometimes, you might even put stones or marbles Lin Ko: Yes, because I already added maybe a quarter of the water inside to secure the container because we are doing a very special style, unique style, which has the branches stick out.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: Dramatically.

Amanda: And these are quite beautiful.

This is coral bark maple and covered with some lichens.

Amanda: What exquisite plant material to begin with.

Lin Ko: That's right, and then because last December we had that bomb cyclone kill most of my plants in the yard.

So this is the thing I can only find at this time.

Amanda: And Ikebana is about a cycle of life, so it can have things that are, although these are living.

This is not, this is dried.

But that is acceptable.

because that is a part of life.

Lin Ko: That's right, we focus on the life going on starting with a bud, <Yes> and then small, little tiny open flower, and then going to completely open flower and then faded, and then maybe dried.

So any stage of the plant, you can use it.

Amanda: All right, and then, if you want, you had a little hint for people to hold these branches, and I think you brought an example of that.

Lin Ko: That's right, this is one way of securing it.

We are not following the traditional way of getting into very complicated technique, I want to make it easy for you.

Okay, so you can use a piece of the driftwood to help secure the branch, or if you don't need this and you don't like this, you can actually, this is the two branches, you can actually put in stainless steel wire and make it into a ball.

Okay?

And then put in.

You need quite a lot, quite a lot, because if its too small, it does not do anything.

Amanda: And you have a pair of clippers that has a special place to cut wire.

And so I'm going to try to cut this for you.

(clanking) Lin Ko: Yes, thank you, you are strong.

You are very strong.

Okay?

Then you want to twist them into a ball.

So together with this, okay?

The larger the size of the ball is easier for you to secure the branch.

Okay.

And then the reason I don't use the regular wire because the regular wire inside the water can rust.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: When it rusts, then it kills the plants.

Okay, so you want to make sure you can have this stuck in and just kind of take it easy.

Don't break the container.

Amanda: And the Lazy Susan is a wonderful device because you can turn and see the arrangement from many angles.

Lin Ko: That's right.

And then the branches also have the front and the back.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: This one, this is the front.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: Okay.

Lin Ko: This one, this is the front.

<Yes> Lin Ko: And then don't put the wrong side.

It looks funny, okay?

So now I'm going to turn the ball to me, so facing me, so I'm going to put this one inside.

And then here, remember you have to cut it slanted so this can touch the wall of the container <Yes> tightly, okay?

So it helps secure.

Okay.

And this one also, you cut it this way, so goes to there.

And make sure if you fit into the wire, it can help you.

And also this too, you can kind of make it lock, lock into each other.

Okay?

Amanda: Okay.

Lin Ko: So the angle is quite pretty.

Amanda: Yes, it is.

Lin Ko: You will see if it's going to move around.

If it's going to move around, you add more of the wire.

Okay.

So at this point, it seems okay.

Okay.

And now I'm going to put in the flowers.

The color will kind of stay in the center, and also low.

Amanda: All right.

Lin Ko: Because this is tall, and we need something to secure to give center of gravity and you feel the thing is not flying away, okay?

So I'm going to use, I think I like you to walk around the yard.

And then find things you can use.

You don't have to go to a florist shop.

And things you can find at this time, camellia is blooming.

Okay, so this very pretty, okay?

<Lovely> So I'm going to first of all, this one is so pretty, I'm going to cut it.

(snip) Cut it.

Okay.

Then, let's stay here.

Amanda: I've got it.

Lin Ko: Okay.

Lin Ko: Then cut more, I will need two to three flowers.

Okay?

The camellia, they are beautiful.

The trouble is the stem is very short.

So you have to make sure your water, you fill the water to the rim, so the camellia can absorb the water.

Okay.

Amanda: And on this one, if you want to, you could even cut down low and use some of the stem.

(rustling) Amanda: Oops.

Lin Ko: One already dropped, look.

So that's why camellia is beautiful, but they don't stay for a long time.

So this will also go with the philosophy of the Japanese flower arrangement.

They call 'once in a lifetime.'

Every moment of the flower is actually only the moment unique.

It's not going to stay the same tomorrow.

Okay, so we do this, and then - Amanda: You need me to cut the stem above that?

Lin Ko: Let's see, let's see, okay?

This one, I can if I don't feel like to cut it, I can do this way and see how it happens.

Amanda: Oh, all right.

Lin Ko: It looks beautiful.

Amanda:It is.

Lin Ko: It looks beautiful.

Okay, let's see.

Not necessary to cut all the leaves.

We want to do that at the end.

Amanda: All right.

(rustling) Lin Ko: This is the front and this is the smaller one.

Normally the larger one will be lower.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: And the small one will be taller, okay?

So it will look like it's going to tip over.

So if we do this, and don't cut up all the greens, because they are so beautiful.

Amanda: Yes, they are.

Lin Ko: They are beautiful.

Once you put in, then you start looking.

If it's too much you cut, otherwise you don't cut it in the very beginning.

Okay.

So, we have one more.

How about this one, where should this one go?

(rustling) I got this one is very short.

Sometimes one is too short.

There is one way you can tie it into a stick to help with that.

Amanda: Okay.

(rustling) (snip) Lin Ko: Yes, then I can use some of my wire or maybe I can use rubber band.

Amanda: All right.

Lin Ko: Rubber band comes in handy.

Back in the 15th century, of course, at that time, there was no rubber band.

So in Ikebana practice, they did not say you can use rubber band.

But starting this past two decades, I saw lots of the grandmasters.

They were using the rubber band, so you have to go with the flow.

And then the world change, the technology change.

Amanda: Well, and, as you say, it's caught in the moment.

And so we should be not, this it's a movement.

<Yes> And so we should be aware of that and embrace new movements.

Lin Ko: That's right.

Amanda: New technologies.

Lin Ko: Yes, the principle is always the same, but the technology, the skill, you can always have bring in something new.

Okay.

So now I have this.

I make sure I trim this off.

So it's easy for me to tuck it.

(rustling) (snip) Yes, and then normally we want to cut inside the water, so the stem will not get into the air.

(snip) Amanda: There we are.

Lin Ko: Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Amanda: You're so welcome.

Lin Ko: And now we can put in the flowers.

(rustling) And then make sure, they don't want to be at the same height.

They don't want to be at the same direction.

Have the flower turning two different direction, but they are not against each other.

They still need to have a conversation ongoing.

Okay, so I think this looks pretty good.

And we don't need to add any good greenery.

I brought this thinking I may need something to go on the side.

Let's try it.

If we don't like it, we can always remove it.

Okay.

If I cut this... (snip) I got it from the roadside of my neighbors.

(rustling) If you like to have more greenery, you can add anything you like.

Looks nice.

Amanda: That's nice.

Lin Ko: Yeah, it looks nice.

Amanda: And it's a different color green, which is very pretty.

That's right, and also with this little tiny flower bud.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: That's a little bit yellowish.

I think it adds more color and go with the container too.

Amanda: Yes.

Lin Ko: Yes.

Lin Ko: So you can tuck in.

Not too much.

But just dress up a little bit.

So it will not look at that plant.

Okay?

So this is always a way you have to use your own judgment.

Okay?

Nobody can teach you, nobody can teach you.

You just have to see which way it looks nicer.

(rustling) And make sure, you don't want to have four angles, four corners.

Tuck them into three instead of four.

Okay, so I think this, this leaf need to be removed, this leaf.

Amanda: Yes.

It's blocking the view of the flower.

Okay, so I'm going to use this kind of sharp scissors.

(snip) Okay, much better.

Amanda: Oh, lovely.

Lin Ko: Much better.

(Amanda laughs) Take a look.

This is slightly shorter.

Okay.

How do you like it?

Amanda: I think it is very beautiful.

Lin Ko: Yeah, I think that the bud with this little tiny green and make it like you can appreciate from three, from all around the 360 degree.

Okay.

Amanda: Okay.

Well, I just think we're so fortunate that you would come down and share your skills with us.

And if people want to know more about Ikebana, they can contact you through email and you can help them find a class perhaps near them.

Lin Ko: Yes, I started teaching two years ago.

So there's a class in Columbia area, okay?

Amanda: Thank you very much.

Lin Ko: Thank you for inviting me.

I hope you enjoyed this and this is Tsubo style, Tsubo.

T-S-U-B-O, okay?

Amanda: Lots of fun.

Thank you so much.

Lin Ko: Thank you.

♪♪ Amanda: Lin Ko it's exciting.

Because when I make flower arrangements, I just stuff everything in the world in it And hers are serene And thoughtful.

Nice to have a contrast.

And I always try to learn something from her And she will be back soon to share her talents with us in the future.

I have was looking for my hat And I made it all in bed I started thinking And I've got forsythia is the main thing, that beautiful yellow thing that flowers in this in the spring.

And forsythia is one of those plants, y'all see them sometimes.

So they've been cut into a little ball, And the ones that are floriferous And so open And vase shape you want to go in every year And just cut them back down low to the bottom.

That's what's so graceful about them those arching beautiful branches.

So if you have forsythia do enjoy it.

But don't.

Don't try to trim it up.

It's supposed to be somewhat sprawling And graceful.

That's what's so lovely about it.

But also is that some cotton in it because I want to give a shout out to my husband's cousin, Luther Banks Wannamaker Terasa, Luther Banks just celebrated his 93rd birthday.

And his wife who's 87 Dorrain, who's just been the most wonderful wife in the world, said, I think it's time for me to have a...

It's time for me to stop coming to work with you every day, because she would go with him every day.

And so Luther Banks retired.

<Oh, wow.> And it's kind of a fascinating story, Carmen, his father, who was my husband's father's first cousin, probably was born about 1890.

And he, you know, started this business And they grew.

They had an old gin that was very slow And so they grew certified seeds because the seeds were gently the cotton seeds were gently ginned.

And so they could they were sold for seed.

And um, And that was what went on And on And on And on And on And on And on.

And then eventually you know, as we've come up with a new kinds of cotton that you know, you can spray herbicides And things on that business ended.

And so Luther Banks started growing black soybeans for the Asian market And traveling to Asia.

From Calhoun, County, to Asia, ins't that fascinating And then had Naked Oats because we had a horse industry And the naked oats were easier for the horses to digest, And finally ended up with wildlife food plots.

So here we start with his, his father from 1890.

And when big Banks when he got to be in his 70s, he bought a racehorse named Johns roll, And that horse won a quarter of a million dollars.

And he was a very good judge of horseflesh.

And he was told me that I was good breeding stock, which I took as quite a compliment, anyway.

(Laughter) But anyway, so to Luther Banks who's starting another phase of his career And to his lovely wife, Dorrain, Luther Banks, it's been a joy knowing you my life, you've been a wonderful presence in the farming community of Calhoun county And the state And beyond.

So nice to get to give a shout up someone.

Okay, Terasa.

<Terasa>: Let's see, this is not so much a question.

But more of a request.

Vicki wrote in to us And said, I'm hoping that sometime in the future, you might have a segment about sharpening your garden tools.

I use mine a lot, And I sharpen them, but I'd love to see a pro do it.

Everything from small shovels flat edge regular to small pruners, clippers And Grass Shears, thank you so much I love the show "Garden on" she says.

Amanda: Well, I'm told Carmen, that she looks like an engineer.

I've never seen so many implements And devices in my life.

So I don't think you have to have all of those.

But give us let's give us let's get the basics And learn what all those other fun things do too.

Carmen: That's very true.

And I am by no way a pro because normally when I go to sharpen my tools in the winter, during the low season usually requires a whole lot of cursing.

Because this can be sometimes a little bit of a pain, but people can find joy in it.

And there's nothing like a good pair of pruners or shears that really make the job a lot easier, so that you're working a little bit smarter, not harder.

But I want to start out with some of your pruners And just go over the basics.

One of the number one things we want to start with, of course, is clean, cleaning them off.

A lot of times, if they've got a grease or debris just hanging around, you want to take a clean rag, kind of wash it off And make sure everything's okay.

And then we want to start with our rust And get any of that rust off.

And I normally will start with just some steel wool, And it comes in different grades.

So I start with the heavy one, you can go into a finer grade, but you just want to come through And kind of just work it And clean off any of that rust.

That'll be the first one now, magic.

It's like a little magic eraser.

Now ideally, we could take this entire system apart, but for time sake, I'm not going to do it And they're pretty jacked on there.

So I tried to take it with a little wrench.

But if you have a wrench at home, this this one will do to kind of get them right.

Just peel them right off.

That makes it easier to get into the next part, which is actually coming through with a diamond file.

Now one of the my favorite ones usually will come with your set of pruners, small works great for little hand pruners.

And if you want to get more invested in it, you can actually go to a set that has three different grades a diamond files working down to a finer grades, And they will even have small little attachments where you can see if I can do this, where you can actually have it sit right in there And even hold it.

So it'll hold steady for you while you file at the perfect angle.

Because that is the number one thing you have to get the right angle of the blade.

And there are you can actually do different degrees based on how it sits right just kind of like this.

Well, it would sit right like that And you can just run it across.

Oh fascinating.

And that way you never have to worry about going too high or too low.

Amanda: Because when I do it I try very hard to keep And it's a tendency to want to do it at a greater angle.

You wanted a relatively flat angle is what I've tried to do over the years.

Carmen: And you can let the end you can sit there And let the blade guide you.

You want you don't want to go too sharp.

You don't want to go too dull.

You want to sit with the factory grade And you only want to go one way.

<Yes.> Working it down.

Just very smooth.

Now sometimes on these if you wanted to, you can get it wet.

It's not technically like a wet stone like you used to do with like a scythe.

Where you have to wet And wet the stone And then come through but you can just come through And just very gently work it down.

And then we were talking about earlier you can turn it over And very gently just kind of take the shears that those little bits of metals... burrs perfect kind of just work those off as you can see it'd be a lot easier if I had the whole thing taken apart but Amanda: I'm get left in the yard And I found it the next day.

Oh my goodness sometimes Thank goodness they got a red handle but mine arem't as well cared for as some people's.

Carmen: At least you find yours I normally don't have to.

I don't usually have to sharpen mine because I just lose them too.

Yeah, that's my that's my approach every Easter that those are in my Easter basket.

New pruners.

Amanda: That were like Horry County that's kind of fun.

We'll have to let you tell everybody about that.

Carmen: so I wasn't sure if we were going to find some pruners so I begged my husband to to let me have his Horry County special.

This isn't technically an official Horry county special because it is an old timer.

An Horry County special is going to be a Case knife but in the yellow Okay, usually will usually one one blade, not two.

But this anyone in Horry County, you have to have this one.

And you can even get them engraved with the different high schools on them now.

<Oh my word.> But luckily, I won't have to ruin his knife by sharpening it.

Amanda: And then well actually brought some things you know how to sharpen at home.

Apparently, I do not sharpen up these at home.

This, of course is my favorite tool except for my DeWalt Saw.

Because it just it has weight behind it.

And it's just marvelous at cutting through things.

But again, you said you have a what a bench?

Carmen: I've got I've got a bench grinder bench grinder, sorry, the baby keeps taking all of my brains cells.

(Laughter) Amanda: if you have a local hardware store, And if you have a local hardware store, it's kind of like certified South Carolina.

You know, they have spent you know, they specialize for South Carolina.

And so I've tried to go there.

And so they will, they will sharpen that for me.

And they will also sharpen your spade for you.

And it makes such a difference when you're out there.

Don't you think?

So Davis you do installations And you know how important that is.

And now I will tell you the one thing that's important if you ever had baby diaper that used a diaper pin for which but you can keep a bar if sometimes the diaper pins wouldn't want to go through the baby diaper.

And so you can have a bar of soap And run it through that.

Or if you have a little bit if you had washed your hair And then the last day or two, you can run it through your hair And that will help so <I love that.> So there's a way to sharpen up in your own...

Your your safety pins for the baby diapers.

Okay, well, is.

Isn't life fun?

Yeah.

Davis.

magnolias are just marvelous.

And they smell so good.

And they add such beauty And there's so many different ones, some that are native And some that we bring in, And I thank you both so special ons today so let's learn about what you brought.

<Davis>: Well, over the last few years, we've gained a few magnolias that we used to call something else.

A lot of people are familiar with the Michela Figo.

The banana shrub, yes.

What's beautiful market large banana plant that can be pruned up into a small evergreen tree.

Smells like bananas.

Well, in the not too long ago, it was determined that they are actually a type of Magnolia.

So the banana shrub is now a magnolia And not a Michela.

I did bring some specimens of magnolias over there, the the tall one in the center is a is an inspiration Magnolia that was gonna grow up into a relatively small tree on fairly narrow and, up right, so it's a great Magnolia for small property, it's only gonna get about 10 to 12 feet tall with about a six to eight foot spread.

And since those leaves aren't monstrous like the Evergreen southern magnolia, it's not going to make a huge mess.

So it's not going to hurt it to limb it up just a little bit to allow for some air circulation.

Beautiful small white Magnolia type flowers that one does not have the fragrance.

Amanda: Doesn't smell like bananas.

<Right.> Or magnolias much.

<Davis>: Right the the two smaller ones the the one on the left is is one of the true banana shrubs that one is called stellar Ruby.

It's got a beautiful red flower And it does maintain the bananas scent quite as heavily as species because anytime you hybridize something, you get increased vigor you get in a desired growth habit but it usually is in the expense of something else And in this case, it's the fragrance.

The one just to the right of it is a serendipity Magnolia, that one is a little bit closer to the original banana shrub.

The flowers are white with just a hint of cream And does here again it does have that distinct banana fragrance but the He's a little bit more A strain, both of these are eventually going to get up, they can get up 12 13 feet And, And they lend themselves here again very well to to limbing up into a tree farm like you might do a Amanda: well pruned And well sharpened well sharpen.

(Laughing) <Davis>: That just makes a really nice umbrella shaped canopy like a big mushroom.

Beautiful plants.

Amanda: Great fun.

And um, you know, the fun thing about the old ones the old fashioned was the flowers were relatively small, but you start looking for them.

Because if you leave out in the yard you go, or especially in somebody else says you already go.

Oh my goodness gracious.

Somebody's eating a banana.

Yeah, just like bananas.

That is just way too much fun.

Thank you.

Okay, um, Rob, Last who comes sometimes it helps us so wonderfully on the show, called us up And told us that we should come And visit one of his clients and honestly, right outside of Barnwell, South Carolina.

We went down to the King George lavender farm, what an experience you have waiting for you.

♪guitar strings♪ ♪ <Amanda> I'm in Barnwell, South Carolina speaking with Elinor Poole at the King George Lavender Farm.

Elinor, this is quite an unusual experience because I've always been told that she couldn't grow lavender in South Carolina.

<Elinor> Well, that's what they said.

So we accepted the challenge.

<Amanda> You have a fascinating backstory.

Tell us a little bit about it.

<Elinor> For my, where I came from.

So we're from New York, I'll say from the good part of New York, central New York.

We grew up on a chicken farm and a dairy farm, My husband and I.

So we had lots, of lots of farming in our background.

We had a small greenhouse that we grew just things for ourselves and we decided when we came down here that we were gonna take that love that we have of horticulture and plants and outside and farming and turn it into our dream.

<Amanda> And you are very fortunate in that you have a job that allows you to work long distance and that because this is a lot to start and rely on and build a business.

<Elinor> Yeah.

So I work for Oracle.

I work there and I spent a lot of time in their horticulture department.

So I started to do some research about Lavender.

Lavender likes the heat.

It's not, that's not the problem.

It's the humidity that it struggles with.

<Amanda> Is it a Mediterranean crop?

<Elinor> It is a Mediterranean crop.

But Mediterranea doesn't have again, the humidity so that's the challenge.

So we did work with Clemson University, Rob Last in particular.

He was a great resource for us, helping us decide on you know, will this variety work, looking at the soil samples, looking at the irrigation, the layout of the plants, just to make sure that we could try to combat that humidity issue that we have here.

<Amanda> So I have never seen such a plethora of insects and so varied.

Right now, I think we have mostly bumblebee, <mostly bumblebee> but a lot of other things as well.

We've got a data moth, we've got some wasp.

This is just phenomenal and yet you say that actually, lavender can be self pollinating.

<Elinor> It is self pollinating.

So we don't need the pollinators, but we love that they're coming here and enjoying the crops that we have.

They do last for a short relatively short amount of time about six weeks.

We will be harvesting most of it but we are going to leave a section for our pollinator friends.

<Amanda> And apparently, even plants that are self pollinating, get better yield, better production.

If you have pollinators.

<That's right> And boy do we have pollinators.

And you have a relatively sandy soil here.

<Elinor> We do.

It's actually very sandy, which helps with the, with the drainage.

One of the troubles with lavender is it doesn't like its feet being wet.

So we got lucky that the soil was accommodating for what we wanted to grow.

<Amanda> Well tell me how you harvest it and what you do with things that you do harvest.

<Elinor> So we harvest by hand.

So we use both a hand hedging tool, and we also use sickles so you can grab you know, you can grab hold of the plant in clumps, and then we just sort of sickle it off.

It's really important to do that in a kind of an organized way.

We want to keep that nice shape of our plants so that they produce for us for about 12 years.

We waste nothing on the plant.

We use everything from the stock to use smudge sticks and fire sticks.

And then we also use the flowers for oil.

We distill our own oil here and we use that oil to make soaps and lotions and bug repellents and all kinds of products.

If anyone's into aromatherapy or anything like that, we have that pure lavender oil.

But we also get a secondary product that's called hydrosol and that can be used for skin toners, for sunburns for bug repellent too.

<Really> Yeah.

<Amanda> It has some medicinal properties.

<Elinor> It does.

It's actually it helps with minor scrapes and abrasions as well.

<Amanda> Perfectly lovely.

And the sticks, the smudge sticks you said you've had good luck putting them around you and as insect repellents.

<Elinor> I do, I do.

Yeah, so a lot of people don't know what smudge sticks are, but it's basically just dried stems.

And if you like that, blow it out and let it smoke and you sit it next to you outside, it'll burn for about six hours and it keeps the bugs away naturally.

No DEET.

< laughs > <Amanda> And you make your products available sometimes here at the farm.

<Elinor> So our products are available both here.

We have a country store when we're open for our events and during our U-Pick season which is primarily in June.

And then they're also available at our mercantile in town and online <Amanda> And online.

But, you just aren't leaving any stone unturned because you have an event space.

<Elinor> We do.

So we just finished that, or are in the process of finishing it.

We've got some weddings planned.

We do other events.

We just had a comedy show here.

We're going to be doing a... <Amanda> A comedy show!

<Elinor> We did.

I did.

So we're trying to bring a little bit of entertainment to Barnwell and then we're going to be doing a bluegrass festival in the fall and a pumpkin picking in our lavender patches.

So we have that planned for the fall.

<Amanda> I guess you'll have to import the pumpkins.

<Elinor> That's right.

That's right.

<Amanda> You you figured out how to grow lavender in South Carolina, but I don't think anyone's... <Elinor> I'm gonna leave the pumpkins to the professionals.

<Amanda> I think that's a good idea.

Well, thank you so much.

I'm so happy that y'all made the big trek from New York, down here.

<Elinor> Thank you.

We're really happy to be here <Amanda> And I just want to see the chickens before I leave.

<Elinor> Okay.

< laughs > Very good.

♪ ♪ Amanda: They are so busy at the King George lavender farm.

They're always things going on.

So check out their website And find a reason to make a visit there.

I think you'll have a wonderful time And be glad that you went.

Terasa.

If we have another question or something we can help someone with.

<Terasa>: We do.

But I just got thinking about lavender.

It reminded me of my great grandmother when she would come over And she would teach me how to knit And sew And we would make lavender sachets And then you could put them in your in your drawers.

Make your clothing smell fresh.

<Oh, what a wonderful.> So now I feel like I need to make a visit to the lavender farm And perhaps some recreate some of that activity from my youth.

Amanda: I think you should.

<Terasa>: But questions were supposed to be helping people aren't we.

Sherry from Easley sent us a message And she said I live in the Upstate, The person said they will be fine this way.

It doesn't feel right to me.

What do you think?

Amanda: Instinct in this case just was probably giving her the right direction on the Carmen.

Let's get some actual factual information to this person.

Carmen: Sure.

Well, Davis And I were going back And forth about it.

There are a number of landscapers who will suggest this now.

Yeah, And we were talking that crocus's Probably could work in a pinch.

<Davis>: To some extent, because they don't really have a long lifespan And they're very shallow anyway, you always plant those right at the surface.

So just putting them into depression with little mulch on them, they will probably do okay.

And some of the bulbs like Crocosmia And gladiolas that that multiply from the bottom of the corm might might work in a situation like that, because they're gonna work their way down into the ground.

Amanda: You're saying might I just think it's better to have soil.

Carmen: And that's what we agreed on anything that needs to be a little bit deeper And different bulbs require that different planting depth.

So make sure you know how deep they need to go.

But that soil really does a number for keeping them insulated, making sure they have maintained the right moisture.

And so And mulch just will not do that.

And sometimes if the mulch is too wet, it can actually lead to a lot disease And rot in the bulbs.

Amanda: And we've got to talk about what kind of much we'll even talking about.

I mean, there's so many things people use for mulch Okay, Carmen: Exactly.

So we would go along And say in a pinch you probably could, but ideally in the ground is better.

I actually thought she might have been getting confused with forcing bulbs indoors a little bit And so I brought one of my mother and I's favorite activities to get in fights about for any of our spring parties.

Birthdays And things is that's when we'll force tulips Hyacinths indoors.

That's the trick indoors I can maintain And control the temperature.

But that little bulb has all the energy And information it needs to pop up And bloom just absolutely gorgeous.

So a lot of people will do either rocks or I have a plastic thing that holds right at the bottom of our hurricane jar here.

And so as long as you keep it above the water, let the roots actually soak up the water, you can get a really nice force, but a lot of the times people will go out to the store And just get whatever tulips that they have.

These needs to be pre chilled.

So you have to make sure that you're purchasing them pre chilled or you order them pre chilled.

Or else they won't have the same effect.

Amanda: Okay, all right.

<Terasa>: Okay, I'm really intrigued by the little plastic structure at the bottom.

Carmen: You can get it in either landscape stores or you actually need the florist I have it but it's a little spike plate.

And I will reuse it year after year.

Because this is what Amanda: Kind of pleasant looking.

I mean it just blends right in.

Carmen: You wouldn't be able to see it but this is how we did flowers for my wedding.

All sorts of stuff.

Amanda: Well, thank you so much.

Okay, well Davis, you've got something sitting over here that looks like it's just ready to start.

It's got new growth all over it.

<Davis>: This is this is a relatively new introduction to the retail nursery trade.

This is Sorbaria sorbifolia.

It does have several common names it's often called false spirea, false goats beard.

The unfortunate thing there as with most common names is there are several other plants that go by false Sprirea or false goats beard so in Sorbaria is not that hard to say.

So that's what we prefer for this one.

It is an import, it does bear a resemblance And it is a distant cousin to our native mountain ash the Sorbus this one is particularly valuable because it has a relatively aggressive root system.

It has a pretty good drought tolerance And it has a sucker And growth habit.

So this one is excellent for erosion control, ah, spectacular color in the new growth it's it's usually very much infused with pinks And And Burgundy's it'll have little raciums of white flowers similar to the mountain ash I don't think it produces those those beautiful bright bright red berries.

So the mountain ash does.

But but this is one that we we we don't recommend for every landscape but it is one that we recommend for certain problems settings just like some of the other plants.

Amanda: We use it for erosion control, how large is it going to be?

And how far would you space them apart?

<Davis>: I would probably space this one at least six feet apart because it is going to form a colony And all you need to do is get out with your sharpened spade And trim the roots whenever it starts getting to the to fill the space that you want it to fill.

It's gonna specimens have been recorded at 10 to 12 feet but in the in the landscape, probably six to eight feet is all you'll see.

The main plant will probably reach a width of about six feet, but with that sucker in growth habit, it's going to colonize so you'll you'll have a big thicket of them.

Amanda: Ok well, thank you so much.

I'm gonna jump up real quick And talk about red bud.

I never understood why they call it red bud since it's purple, but anyway that's called red bud it's one of our wonderful natives.

And Carmen, we were talking earlier that it blooms quite early.

And that some of our native pollinators, some of our native pop pollinators, like the blueberry Bumblebee, which comes out early the new the virgin queens who emerge come to it And it's very attractive And important to them as a source of nectar And pollen.

And it's also just so beautiful.

It's a beautiful plant And now I looked it up it's called called litoris um, because it sometimes you'll have flowers, you know, it's almost like they're coming out of the out of the stem And there's a Mexican one that used a great deal in the city of Columbia as a street tree.

This one is kind of an understory tree in most places, but in Colombia I've seen it And it's really has just flowers coming all over the you know, the trunk And everything.

I'm just really really cool native not horrendously long, real live, but I'm certainly something everyone should have in his or her yard, don't you think So?

<Davis>: Thanks.

So too, this is important as they are for the blueberries you gotta have them.

Amanda: Well, we want to thank everyone for being with us.

Thank y'all for coming in for all the wonderful information And we'll hope we'll see you next week.

Night Night.

♪♪ Narrator: 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