An evening view from the Discovery Center lower lawn

Hummingbird visits

Dropping by the Nature Center this afternoon, it was fun to watch ruby-throated hummingbirds alternate between the feeder and the open flowers nearby. Our hummingbird residents (differentiated from the ones who passed through on their way north) have settled in now, and females are nesting. In our warm southern climates, they have time for a couple of broods each season, according to Bill Hilton, of Hilton Pond and RubyThroat.org

The webcam on the hummingbird feeder onn the Nature Center porch is on now, so we can get a close look from the monitor inside.

In the pollinator border, I saw one male visiting red Salvia greggi flowers, and probably also the blue Salvia gauranitica, always a favorite of hummmingbirds.

A Great Blue Heron

An early morning walk today found a Great Blue Heron at the edge of the Hosta Garden pond. She/he walked up the path above the pond, and must have flown on to the Duck Pond, where we saw him/her next.

We ran into Garden horticulturist Kathy Bridges on the Duck Pond dam, and she said that the Great Blue Heron was a 'regular' visitor each morning, moving from the Hosta Garden pond to the Duck Pond (presumably flying through the trees!)

How cool is that!

An eastern box turtle and male hummingbirds

Along the Heusel Nature Trail this morning, we saw a Eastern Box Turtle crossing the path. The flattened shell and red eyes suggested that it was a male; females have a rounder shell, and brown to yellow eyes, although box turtles can vary quite a bit in appearance. His yellowish color was striking in the morning light.


Eastern Box Turtles have a home range of about 750 feet, which often overlap with those of other turtles. They're omnivorous, eating indiscriminately (everything from mushrooms to frogs), although younger turtles tend to be carnivorous, whereas older ones are more vegetarian.

I've seen a male hummingbird(s) outside my office window a couple of times over the last few days -- hummingbirds, like many other birds, have a hard time distinguishing windows, so collisions are always a hazards. But he seemed aware of the roof and flew off each time.

Springtime in the Children's Garden

With today's sun and rain over the past few days, the snapdragons, zinnias, and salvia have become to blossom in the Children's Garden making for a beautiful scene. Of course the volunteers have made it possible by helping to maintain the Garden.

Bluebirds and phoebes

One of my favorite spring sights is watching our bluebirds set up their nests. We have active nests near the Discovery Center, at the edge of the meadow, near the Hydrangea garden, and probably in the other boxes, too. I haven't had time to check them all, but I see the male bluebirds standing watch on the boxes, and the female bluebirds foraging.

And a peek in the box along the loop drive in front of the Discovery Center (waiting for rotations of first-graders) revealed several nestlings. I didn't have my handy automotive mirror handy to check on their numbers, but it made a good interpretive point for the classes!

Leaving the Garden in late afternoon, a phoebe was foraging near the Geology Museum. Last year, a female built a nest above the Museum porch, and I wondered if this might be the same one -- they often come back to the same nesting site.

Garden Fest: Building Community, Growing Vegetables

What an excellent gathering we had on Saturday!

Information table (thanks, Celia, for a wonderful vegetable display)

Planning a Garden information table: Sue Ercolini,
John Landers, Corrie Norman, Celia Melville and
Chuck Cruickshank (not in this photo).

Improving your soil (Karen Terry, Martha Duke and CU Student Organic Farm staff)

A first community event organized under the 'umbrella' of the Garden to promote growing your own food and finding locally-grown food and reaching out to folks of all ages and neighborhoods had literally hundreds of people at the tents at the far end of the Discovery Center parking area. The parking lot was almost continuously full for the 3 hour event, not a common occurrence.

Vegetable transplants were a hit, along with expert advice provided by CU Home and Garden Information Center staff Joey Williamson and Janet Scott along with Geoff Zehnder of CU Sustainable Agricultrue.

Kids had fun with Vegetable Twister,
coordinated by Sprouting Wings staff members
Allison O'Dell and Kendra Vincent,
along with SCBG volunteer Fred Mettlach


A planted Earth Box (check out the size of the chard!) - thanks to Upstate Locavores Ellie and Ted Taylor (and the donated Earth Box project)

The volunteer staff numbered over fifty dedicated folks from SC Master Gardeners, CU Home and Garden Information Center, CU Food Science , CU Sustainable Ag. Program, CU Student Organic Farm, Upstate Locavores, Students for Environmental Awareness, SCBG volunteers and staff, and dedicated 'independent' volunteers. Clemson Area Transit (CAT) provided free transportation from Clemson Community Care and Littlejohn Community Center, and an opportunity to find out about CAT.

Container Vegetable Gardening (Debra Strange, Dee Person, Linda Alston-Binic)

Planting in hay bales attracted a lot of attention, thanks to Dee Person's demo.

Information tables spanned 'Planning a Garden,' 'Improving your Soil,' 'Keeping Things Growing' to 'Container Vegetable Gardening'. Demo edible containers brought by Linda Alston-Binic and Debra Strange were always surrounded by a crowd.

The Heirloom Seeds table offered heirloom vegetable seeds collected by Dr. David Bradshaw ('graduated' CU professor of Horticulture) now maintained and sold by South Carolina Foundation Seed, through the Heirloom Vegetable Garden at SCBG. 'Preserving the Harvest' - staffed by CU faculty members from the Department of Food Science) encouraged folks to safely can, freeze, and dry vegetables and fruits, extending the season throughout the year.

The Upstate Locavores, who initiated this event (thanks, Ellie, Catherine, and Steve!), provided information about local farmers' markets, how to find local food, crop sharing, and regional resources.Students for Environmental Awareness helped with set-up.

The Garden unveiled our new gift shop offerings and promoted supporting the Garden (anyone who follows the state budget will realize how vital our outside support is to our continued survival and growth, and how much we depend and appreciate the support of our visitors, members, and donors).