Category: Uncategorized

Berry and Ruthie Edwards signed the papers on a car hood when they bought a piece of Hilton Head Island 50 years ago. They were buying a nursery in a place they’d seen for the first time three months earlier. The two-lane main drag out front was pretty empty in 1973, but Berry saw signs of growth coming. 

Still, it was a dare to quit his job as a textiles executive. He was a 30-year-old Sewanee English major. She was 28 with an art degree from Rollins College. They had two little boys, Berry III, 5, and Lee, 3. And Berry knew not one thing about plants. 

“We made flash cards,” Ruthie said, “and the only way he could get a drink at night was to recite the names of 20 plants.” 

They named their business The Greenery, and it has beaten tremendously long odds. As it marks its 50th anniversary this month, it joins David Martin’s Piggly Wiggly as one the few existing island businesses to survive that long under the same ownership. 

What Berry and Ruthie bought was called Hillside Nursery, with six employees, six lawn mowers and two pickup trucks. This summer, The Greenery expects a staff of 750 to work its locations on the island, Bluffton, Beaufort, Savannah, Greenville, Amelia Island, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach. 

Through it all, the face of the business remains the same: a wood frame building they bought for $600 from Gethsemane Baptist Church in Okatie and barged it to the island. 

“We wanted something attractive there,” Ruthie said. “It was perfect.” 

That simple, decommissioned church stands as a symbol of a plucky generation of new islanders who dared to be different. They often struggled financially, but found other creative people here, and, as Ruthie says, “We worked like dogs all week and partied like dogs all weekend.” 

Lee Edwards now runs the company as president, while his brother owns and operates another venerable business, Island Tire & Automotive Services. 

In an interview, Lee Edwards discussed how a family business can possibly survive 50 years on Hilton Head: 

Have descendants. Lee took over as president in 2007. Mixing family and business can be hard. Ruthie said: “Berry fired me and I quit. We weren’t compatible business partners.” She opened a Christmas shop. 

Add services. They offered tennis court installation for a while; added landscape maintenance, then landscape design, then the design/build concept doing both. Ruthie said business was helped by referrals from legendary landscape architect Robert Marvin, who liked working with Berry. 

Adapt. Landscape maintenance has veered away from residential to commercial customers. The retail nursery in the old church building is now a small part of the business. They do more staff training and have moved to robotic lawn mowers and electric leaf blowers. 

Take care of employees. Berry Edwards said: “You can achieve sustained, quality growth by finding and keeping the best people at all levels of a company.” To do this, the company has become employee-owned. Employees earn stock, which has increased in value. It pays more, accepting that the minimum wage here is at least twice the government mandate. It provides transportation. Employees take company vans home to nearby communities, bringing others to and from work. It provides some housing for workers. The company owns six to eight condos on Hilton Head and rents some houses in the Hardeeville area. It offers a signing bonus to new hires. It offers a referral bonus to employees who refer new workers. It pays a lot of overtime. 

“I’d rather pay a good employee time and a half than pay somebody else who won’t get the job done,” Lee Edwards said. 

Give back to the community. They did landscaping for the island’s Youth Center in 1974, the forerunner to the Island Recreation Association, and in 2012 did landscaping for the Spanish Moss Trail in Beaufort. More than 250 employees were involved when they did a one-day tear-down and replanting of landscaping at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Berry Edwards said, “You reap what you sew.” 

Grow. They did it by buying businesses. “We grow, not to be the biggest, but to give employees the next step up,” Lee Edwards said. 

Work hard. “Dad was a workaholic,” Lee said. He tells about the summer day when he was 14, sitting at home watching television when he told his father there was nothing to do. “Well, there’s going to be something for you to do tomorrow,” he was told, and that was his welcome to the world of landscape maintenance. 

By: David Lauderdale, The Island Packet

**Reprinted with permission. 

Living in the south, we don’t have freezing temperatures very often. But occasionally, Jack Frost DOES make a visit and we need to be prepared to protect our plants and lawn. Although the first freeze warning has already come and gone in our area, there could be more to come this winter. Taking these extra steps before a freeze will help your yard fare much better when the frost arrives. Also, a year-round approach to lawn maintenance makes the transition into spring go much more smoothly.

A freeze warning occurs when the temperature threatens to drop below 32° F. To avoid damage to your yard, follow these five steps:

1. Bring your potted plants inside

The easiest way to protect potted plants is to bring them indoors if possible. But if this isn’t an option, place your plants close together so they can protect one another. The plants most susceptible to damage are tropicals, azaleas, tomatoes and petunias.

Moving potted plants inside and outside regularly can cause undo stress on the plants. So you may want to consider just moving plants indoor for the duration of the cold months.

2. Cover tender plants

Just like we bundle up for cold weather – plants need to also! If possible, cover the roots of your plants with mulch or pine straw. Use cloths or burlap to cover your plants to shield them from the freeze. A proper cover should reach down to the roots in order to trap in heat. Don’t use tarps or plastics that can damage the limbs and create condensation on the foliage. 

At the Greenery Garden Center, we use N-Sulate frost cloths to protect our outdoor plants and shrubs. N-Sulate cloths help covered plants to stay 5 degrees warmer as well as protect against frost without weighing down branches. But keep in mind that this cloth will not help when there is a hard freeze.

Once temperatures start rising during the day, be sure to uncover your plants to avoid condensation from forming.

3. Water your plants

Wet soil helps to retain more heat than dry soil. And winter winds can remove water from plants faster than the roots can actually absorb it. Water acts as an insulator for plants. Plant cells that are hydrated will hold up better against cold damage. 

Try to water a day or so before the freeze in the morning directly at the plant’s root system. Avoid getting any of the actual foliage wet. Wet leaves are more likely to form frost that can cause more damage than just the cold air.

The exception to this rule is for succulents. Because they hold water and water expands when frozen, any freezing temperatures can cause succulents to break open.

Pay extra attention to newly planted trees and plants in your yard. Their root systems are less established and the disheveled soil may allow cold air to penetrate deeper into their roots.

If the ground is already frozen, skip the watering. Also, you don’t want to water if there’s a hard freeze (at least four hours of 25°) or the outside temperature is already below 40°.

This step is quite particular. Over watering can actually cause more harm to your plants. So water with care!

4. Protect your pipes and your irrigation system

One of the MOST important things to do before a freeze is to make sure your pipes are protected. A busted pipe can be an expensive and messy problem!

Unhook your outdoor hoses and turn off the water that leads to outdoor spigots. Try to cover exposed spigots using towels. Another way to protect pipes before a freeze is by leaving a slow trickle of water running overnight. 

To ensure your irrigation systems are protected from the cold winter weather, be sure to:

• Shut off the water. The main valve that controls water flow should be located by your water meter. If your system prevents backflow, you’ll also want to turn that off.
• Turn off the automatic timer.
• Drain the water. This is the most time-consuming, but important step. Some systems are equipped with an automatic drain feature. If not, you will need to drain the water manually.

If you aren’t comfortable with winterizing your irrigation system, The Greenery is here to help! Give us a call to winterize your irrigation system.

5. Avoid walking on your lawn

By the winter months, your grass becomes quite brittle. Walking on your lawn when there is a frost can actually break the blades. In spring and summer, grass blades can bounce back easily from being walked on. But damage done in the winter can affect the growth of your lawn in the springtime. So try to avoid stepping on your grass in the freezing weather. 

Even though it doesn’t happen often – freezing temperatures can be costly on your yard and lawn. It’s much better to be proactive to help your yard flourish once the springtime rolls around.  

For more tips about winter weather preparation and other info, follow The Greenery Garden Center on Facebook and Instagram at @GreeneryIncGardenCenter. 

December 12 is National Poinsettia Day! The date marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett who was the South Carolina congressman attributed with bringing this beautiful plant from Mexico to the U.S. This iconic holiday plant is the #1 selling potted plant in America. In fact, it contributes more than $250 million to our nation’s economy annually despite its short shelf life.

Did you know…

1. Poinsettias are native to Mexico where they actually grow as shrubby trees. In the wild, they typically bloom in December. 
2. Poinsettias don’t have to be red. The plant has more than 100 varieties…white, cream, pink, purple, orange and yellow. In addition to marble and bicolor varieties.
3. The poinsettias color “flower” is actually a modified leaf called a bract. The real flower is the small yellow flowers (cyathiums) found clustered in the center of the bracts.
4. Although, poinsettias are commercially grown across all 50 states, California is the top poinsettia-producing state in the U.S. 
5. Poinsettias can grow up to 15 feet tall!

In order to bloom and thrive, poinsettias need both sunshine and dark nights. The shorter days and longer nights of the “holiday season” are what cause poinsettias to bloom this time of year. 

Here are some simple steps to ensure your poinsettia lasts all season long:

1. When picking your plant, look for a poinsettia that has tiny greenish flowers in the middle that are tightly closed. As the plant grows, they will turn yellow. 
2. Keep your poinsettia covered when bringing it home. And don’t leave it in a chilly car!
3. Place your poinsettia in a window with sunlight. Since they are tropical plants, they can tolerate full sun. 
4. Remember to water your poinsettia! 

While these plants are mostly short lived, they definitely add a spark of holiday cheer to almost every gathering, doorstep and centerpiece this season. They also make a great hostess gift! Share a little holiday cheer by gifting a beautiful poinsettia at your next holiday party! 

Did you know that Fall is the best season to install new plant material in South Carolina? This is the best time of year in our state to consider installing new material before the chilly winter ahead. Although true northerners may chuckle when those of us in the Lowcountry discuss our “chilly” temperatures – it IS important to be ready for the temperature to drop so that you and your plants aren’t caught off guard. 

In our area, above-ground plants go dormant and cease growth in the Fall and Winter months. This includes evergreen shrubs and plants! However, the soil does not freeze, which allows plant roots to continue growing, even in colder weather.

If you plant now, when Spring does arrive then root development has a head start to search for water and nutrients leading to optimum growth during the warmer seasons.

Important Tips:

• You must provide adequate water during the establishment period. Plants installed in the warmer months will require more water than in the Fall or Winter. That’s why planting during this season requires a bit less water consumption.
• When buying new plant material, take a look at the size of the shrub in the grower’s pot, especially the root ball. The roots are where the majority of water and nutrients are taken into the plant. Smaller root balls cannot sustain larger plants for long periods of time. These will need more frequent and deep watering practices.

It’s always crucial to check with your local garden center to select the right plants for your yard and season. At The Greenery, we rely on a guide called “plant hardiness zones” as well as our many years of expertise in the markets we serve to help make our plant selections for our customers. This helpful guide created by the USDA specifies which plants will fare well in certain geographic regions based on the average temperature and rainfall. (Although no one can fully predict Mother Nature – so it is simply used as a guide.)

Not sure what to plant? Stop by The Greenery’s Garden Center to speak to one of our experts so that you can get planting today!

When you think of flowers in the Fall season – one of the most popular is the Chrysanthemum (or Mum for short). But, if you’ve ever purchased Chrysanthemums, you know that they aren’t the easiest plant to keep alive. Yet this stubborn Fall staple is almost a requirement to keep on your front doorstep or porch this time of year.

Although many people treat Mums as Fall annuals, they are actually fairly hardy perennials. Mums can come in a variety of colors including yellow, lavender, pink, purple, red, bronze, orange, and white.

So…what are you supposed to do to avoid the dreaded brown Mums that inevitably occur if not cared for properly? Instead of hoping that people just think your dead Mums are a scary Halloween decoration, proper care can result in beautiful, thriving mums! Just follow these simples tips:

Begin with Less Blooms: Mums that are covered in colorful blooms may provide instant gratification, but it’s better to purchase plants that haven’t fully flowered yet. Each of the mum’s bloom consists of tiny flowers called florets.

While it may be tempting to choose the plant with the most florets from your local nursery or garden shop, try to choose one with less blooms instead. This will help extend the life of your plant through the season and allow you to enjoy the flowers even longer!

Water Frequently: Although a very popular plant throughout our communities in the Fall, Mums actually do not like the hot southern heat here in the Lowcountry. That’s why it’s crucial to frequently water your mums, sometimes up to twice per day. If you notice the leaves are wilting on your mum plants, then spray a bit of water on the leaves to revive them.

Choose Partial Shade: Mums can technically tolerate full sun exposure, but it’s best to place them in a partially shaded spot. Try to place your mums on a covered porch or under the shade of a tree in your yard.

Select the Right Soils: Mums thrive in moist soil that drains easily. Make sure the pot they are planted in has drainage holes in the bottom to allow water to escape freely during watering. Mums do not like standing water and will quickly rot if left too wet. 

Pondering purchasing a Chrysanthemum? Come visit our experts at the Greenery Garden Center for more tips to keep your Chrysanthemums alive and thriving all season long.

Container gardening is a great way to enjoy beautiful plant combinations on your patio or by an
entryway. You can enjoy beautiful containers of plants and flowers, even fresh herbs, year round.

There are THREE simple elements to designing a wonderful container garden. Remember these when you go shopping for plants and you can’t go wrong. Each container should contain a:

• Thriller
• Filler
• Spiller

Thriller plants are the big, bold focal points of your container plant designs. This plant provides an eye-catching vertical element. Tall, ornamental grasses such as purple fountain grass or Japanese sweet flag work well, but you can also use spiky blooming plants such as Canna Lily, Asters, Cosmos, Salvia, and Dahlia.

Filler plants are mid-size, mounding, or rounded plants that surround and enhance the thriller and fill the space in the planter. You can use one filler or opt for two or three different plants in your container gardening design. Suggestions include: Begonias, Coleus, Petunias, Lantana, Geraniums, Caladium, and Gerbera Daisies.

Spillers are splashy plants that cascade and tumble over the sides of the container. For example, here are some popular choices: Sweet Potato Vine (available in purple or green), Bacopa, Ivy, Trailing Vinca, and Trailing Begonia.

Remember these tips when preparing a Container Garden:

• Be sure to use pots that will accommodate the plants when they are fully grown. 
• Good drainage is a must.
• Use a high quality potting soil, and place plants together that have common needs. For example, don’t mix sun and shade plants. Plants that require a lot of watering shouldn’t be mixed in the same container with drought-loving specimens.
• Group plants in odd numbers. It creates a more natural vibe.

For more information or a little guidance to get you started, be sure to stop by The Greenery Garden Center to ask one of our Garden Experts!

When people think of landscaping, they usually think about plants, trees, flowers and bushes. But there’s so much more to landscaping than that!

Hardscaping is now in high demand for backyards as a key way to add beauty to your property. Hardscapes can include fire pits, patios, and retaining walls, but can also be defined as benches, fences, walkways, and strategically placed rocks or other non-living features that enhance your landscape areas.

Adding hardscaping to your property adds both functionality and beauty to your home and outdoor living space. In most cases, it will also add to the value of your property. Hardscapes provide outdoor living and entertainment spaces, enhance privacy, and even add safety by directing visitors along safely built walkways.

The Greenery’s experienced landscape teams can install your exterior hard surfaces to complement your property’s style and landscape design. Our teams are experienced with projects of all sizes, budgets and levels of complexity.

Some of our exterior hardscape work includes drainage solutions, concrete flatwork, brick paving, retaining walls, columns and decorative walls, trellises, arbors, fencing, gates, synthetic turf, surfacing, and much more.

Our team at The Greenery will work with you to create a hardscape that enhances your landscaping while fulfilling your practical needs.

Contact us today to bring your landscaping visions to reality! (843)785-3848

The May issue of Hilton Head Monthly features a hidden gem – knowledge and expertise from one of our favorites, Janet Fanning. Janet is not only the nursery manager at The Greenery Garden Center on Hilton Head, she is a wealth of wisdom in all things gardening based on her countless years of experience. In the well written article by Dean Rowland, Janet shares with readers the tips for creating the perfect, peaceful outdoor garden in a small space. It’s definitely a must read…

HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW TO CREATE A UNIQUE OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE
BY DEAN ROWLAND
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM HILTON HEAD MONTHLY

Big yards and big gardens provide a variety of options to enjoy all year long, from weekend parties to small gather-rounds with family and friends to quiet strolls amongst the flowers, plants and hardscapes.

Small gardens, on the other hand, are a special place unto themselves. Every plant, flower and outdoor touch of Lowcountry ambiance are nourished with love and attention to detail.
Although limited in space, they can unlock the imagination to create big statements. After all, season-long living in the Lowcountry begs for an outdoor oasis that titillates the senses, from color to fragrance to flowing water to unique textures in furniture to pinching herbs for sublime or bold flavor in your favorite foods.

They can be a place of solitude or casual lazing with a friend. “The past couple of years we’ve learned that you can be outside and have peaceful contemplation that is healthy, or a conversation,” said Janet Fanning, nursery manager at The Greenery on Hilton Head.

Flowers and plants create the foundation on which to build outdoor living space.

“There’s two different ways of seeing it: There’s the garden bed and the space as an outdoor ‘room’ that you create for cocktails or white wine in the summer evening,” she said.

“The first thing you need to consider is plant choice, which hinges on light exposure, direct sun,” Fanning said. “You need to decide if you want the garden space to have annual color that you need to change out two to three times a year, plants that are green all the time, perennials that will die in the winter or do you want a combination of those things?”

The checklist of considerations for creating a small garden includes sun, shade, exposure, maintenance, a water source, deer prevention, hardscapes, visual drama, sound and movement, privacy, color, materials, textures, height, bordering and more.

Free-standing horizontal pergolas or vertical trellises with arches of wood or metal anchor vines creeping up the side and on top greet guests to the garden walkway. Garden gates with welcoming potted flowers in front give an inventive flair to the environment.

Statues of all sorts—animal, religious, historical or symbolic and materials like stone, ceramic, cast iron or metal—can increase the aesthetic appeal of the garden space.

Water, whether it’s a pond, waterfall or fountain, has unlimited ways to embellish the space.

Fanning likes a hardscape that allows water to trickle or flow steadily. “The whole point of having water is for the movement,” she said.

A single or multi-tiered fountain achieves that, especially when stones are added to create a unique display. The soothing effect of water is a pleasant sound in an otherwise quiet outdoor retreat. Wind chimes also achieve the same effect.

A pond liner and pump will set up any homeowner for a small haven. Water lilies and white-water snowflakes add some color and float on the water like nature intended them to do.

Complete the outdoor ensemble with a bistro set of comfortable chairs and table and a water-resistant rug. Infuse the scene with subtle or bold lighting.

“A big statement can be done with hardscapes or decking to put your furniture on,” Fanning said. “There’s uplighting for your plants or specimen trees, which is nice to have at night.”

Decorative lanterns also can make the private garden glow after the sun sets.

Looking to create your own small space of peacefulness in your yard? Stop by The Greenery Garden Center today to talk to Janet or one of our other Greenery team members about the steps to take and the plants to use to make your garden into a little slice of heaven. We’re open Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm; Saturday from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm and Sunday from 10:00 am – 4:30 pm.

The name can be quite misleading for this iconic southern sight found draped on trees across the Southern portion of the U.S. and Central/South America. Did you know that Spanish Moss is neither from Spain nor is it actually moss?

Tillandsia Usneoides (Spanish moss) is actually an epiphytic bromeliad. Tilalandsia Usneoides, sometimes known as air plants, get their required moisture and nutrients from the rain and air AND as with most air plants, Spanish Moss does flower. Flowers are small, barely noticeable, but can be seen if you look very closely. They flower spring through fall. And they also exude a sweet fragrance at night.

Spanish moss reproduces through seed and by producing pups. Pups are genetic replicas and can form chains up to 20 feet long. Seeds are structured to be carried by the wind or creatures to a new location.

Generally, Spanish moss appears in older, more mature trees and shrubs. Because it is an epiphyte, its nourishment comes from dust and water in the air. Therefore, Spanish moss receives nutrients from older trees that are shedding dead cells.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Another common misconception about Spanish moss – it doesn’t actually kill trees! It takes nothing from the tree. Although, it can get heavy and cause some damage with its weight, especially after a rain shower.

Spanish Moss is sensitive to air pollution and is said to not grow well in areas where pollution is significant. So Spanish moss doesn’t need to be removed from the trees, and in fact plays an important ecological roll.

Many people also incorrectly believe that Spanish moss contains chiggers. After repeated attempts and experiments, entomologists have not found Chiggers in most Spanish moss. Chiggers are most commonly found in tall grasses.

**For those not native to the Lowcountry or the south…chiggers are extremely tiny pests that can only be seen through a hand lens or microscope. Their presence is usually made known by the extremely itchy welts they leave behind.

USEFULNESS

Spanish moss had many uses back in the day. In fact, during the civil war, Spanish moss was used as blankets and saddle pads. It was durable, waterproof, did not chafe horses, was breathable for the horses and was found in ABUNDANCE.

Spanish moss was used right up through the 1960’s as furniture stuffing, insulation, string, floor mats and many more everyday items!

Spanish moss has also proven useful to other creatures. Birds such as Warblers and Oriels often use it to build their nest. In addition, some snakes and bat species make their homes in Spanish moss.

This misunderstood centerpiece of Southern horticulture has gotten a bad rap but deserves to be defended. The next time you see Spanish moss magnificently draped on a majestic towering oak tree – don’t avoid it or plan to remove it. You should just enjoy the texture and beauty that it adds to the lovely scenery that surrounds you.

For more information about various plants and flowers, be sure to consult with one of our horticulturalists on staff, follow The Greenery Garden Center Facebook page, visit us at The Garden Center.

The summer months are fast approaching in the Lowcountry. And that means an increase in the temperature and more water required to keep your lawn and landscape well hydrated to survive the summer heat. Proper watering is key to keeping your yard looking good in all seasons, especially summer, but that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank with your water bill. There are steps you can take to assure that your lawn is watered and your back account isn’t drained in the process. Here are the six signs that your irrigation might need some professional help:

Your Water Bill Makes You Faint – A spike in water usage can indicate a leak that’s letting water escape from pipes while it drains money from your wallet. It’s also possible that your controls are not properly set. Irrigation systems can be complicated, and every installation is unique. The Greenery’s irrigation technicians have experience with both residential and commercial systems.

Your Lawn Has Water Puddles, or Brown Spots, or Both. Overly saturated areas and patches of yellow or brown grass both indicate trouble that can range from incorrect zone settings to faulty sprinkler heads. The Greenery’s irrigation professionals can pinpoint the problem and restore the efficient water flow that keeps your grass and landscaping green and healthy. 

The Sprinklers Activate at the Wrong Times – Your system controller probably needs attention. The information stored in the controller, the brain of the system, tells it when and how long to supply water to the sprinklers. There are hundreds of different controller systems on the market, and The Greenery’s irrigation professionals have experience with all of them. 

Your Driveway and Garage Door Get Watered Thoroughly, Leaving Your Grass High & Dry – Sprinkler heads can get clogged, blocked, or even worn out over time. Maybe they weren’t properly aimed from the beginning. One sprinkler head can waste hundreds of gallons of water over the summer.

You’ve Gotten Plenty of Rain, But the Sprinklers Still Turn On (Even During the Rain) – Remember the system controller we mentioned above? Something has to tell it that you’ve gotten enough rain. A simple rain sensor detects measurable rainfall, and automatically turns off the irrigation valves. The Greenery’s irrigation professionals can easily install a rain sensor, making even older irrigation systems up-to-date and more efficient. 

The Water Company Wants to Know the Results of Your “Backflow Test”. A special backflow valve is installed onto your plumbing system to protect your drinking water and the city water supply from contaminants that could flow back from the irrigation system. A regular test is required. The Greenery’s irrigation professionals can conduct the backflow test to certify that your system is compliant.

Don’t get stuck with a faulty irrigation system that wastes water and your money. CALL US TODAY for an affordable, professional check of your irrigation system 843-785-3848.