Junior Naturalists at the Garden

The Junior Naturalist Program at the South Carolina Botanical Garden has been meeting for three years now.  This week we welcomed Wildlife Rehab of Greenville as part of our program studying flying animals.  This is Molly the flying squirrel.

We also met Willow the Barred Owl and Widget the Screech Owl.

Monarchs have arrived!!

Check out these baby caterpillars on milkweed! At only about one half an inch long these Monarch caterpillars have already made a dent in the milkweed on which they crawl.

Visit the Butterfly Garden to see these intriguing creatures.  Check out the parsley for swallowtail caterpillars and the pipevine at the entrance to the Butterfly Garden for pipevine swallowtail caterpillars.

Salvias

We have wonderful Salvias blooming in the Garden right now.  Here's a duplicate of my post on Natural Gardening.

Flowers of Salvia x 'Anthony Parker'

Pathway to HCC

Salvia elegans & Salvia x 'Anthony Parker'

Salvia elegans (Pineapple Sage)

It's time for wonderful fall-flowering sages, and all the rain over the summer has resulted in dramatic growth.  Pineapple sage (S. elegans) and a wonderful sage that was new to me (Salvia x 'Anthony Parker') - a hybrid between S. elegans and S. leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage) were in full flower yesterday along the path to the Hayden Conference Center.

Check out Salvia "Anthony Parker" -- it's a winner, and hopefully we'll have it in the Spring Plant sale!

A audio tour of the Garden

Join us for an audio tour of the Garden to enjoy the sights and sounds of late summer.

On this recently aired YourDay program, Lisa Wagner, John Bodiford, and Kathy Bridges take Dyana Daniels on a stroll along the recently completed President's Garden pathway, past the Duck Pond and around the Children's Garden.

Click through to the link to the archived show, which aired on Aug. 29.  There's lots to see and experience in the Garden's almost 300 acres;  most of the Garden looks wonderful, thanks to the incredibly wet summer.

And don't miss seeing the new plantings around the Geology Museum, either in person or via images (in this case on Facebook).  Education Program Coordinator Sue Watts took these photos last week during partial installation.

Here are some additional images from the Chihuahuan landscape that's taking shape.

Flood damage photos

As we have done preliminary cleanup and prepare for intensive fall work on restoration of the Natural Heritage Garden areas that were severely damaged by unprecedented mid-July flooding,  we're reposting a link to the Facebook gallery of flood damage photos.

You can access the photo album on the Garden's facebook page by clicking here.

SCBG programs in late March

Saturday, March 23

HANSON NATURE LEARNING CENTER OPEN HOUSE:  Garden Birds

In this open house, we focus on the intriguing world of birds.  Late winter is a wonderful time to observe our feathered friends before the trees leaf out.  Learn the calls of some of our native birds and visiting migrants, take a guided walk through the Garden, and create your own bird nest or bird mask to take home.

Fee:  Free

Time: 12 - 4 p.m.

Location: Hanson Nature Learning Center

Wednesday, Mar. 27

BIRD NESTS & NATURALLY DYED EGGS

Adults and children alike are sure to enjoy this unusual nature-based art project. We’ll show you how to make plant-derived egg dyes and will instruct you on the art of hand-blowing and decorating eggs with leaves and flowers from the garden. To complete the project, we’ll make beautiful ‘bird nests’ to house our egg art, which can be enjoyed for years to come!

Must register at least 5 days in advance.

Fee: $12 per participant ($10 members and volunteers)

Time: 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Location: Hanson Nature Learning Center