Garden Accents

Garden accents can be a great way to have fun in your garden and personalize your landscape. Here are some tips to help you enjoy your outdoor space while tapping into your creative side.

Accents can be any type of artistic touch. Some people use gazing balls. Others distribute statues, gnomes, wind chimes, and birdfeeders throughout their yards and gardens. A garden accent can be virtually anything — just be sure it can hold up in stormy weather.

Night lights are another way to showcase your landscape. They can show off the unique branching structure of a Live Oak or highlight a delicate Japanese Maple. The shadows they generate on a hardscape at night create an inviting atmosphere for sitting outside and enjoying the stars.

The City of Aiken, South Carolina, recently refurbished an iconic fountain in the middle of downtown. The fountain is dedicated to Thomas Redman Morgan, who was mayor of Aiken from 1899-1900. It depicts a boy and girl standing in the rain holding an umbrella. The fountain has been very popular — it appears in numerous photographs and postcards that showcase Aiken.

Brookgreen Gardens, on the coast in Murrells Inlet, is well known for its lavish display of statues and fountains among the wide assortment of flowers, plants, and trees within the botanical garden.

Gardens are a great way to express yourself. Accents that complement the design, and that are attractive year-round, will inspire you to keep nurturing and adding to your landscape.

The Morgan Circle Fountain. Photo courtesy of the City of Aiken.

Hello Gardeners!

Isn’t it just wonderful to feel spring in the air? I don’t think I could have stood another 6 weeks of winter — Mother Nature would definitely have heard from me … Now that there is a light at the end of that long winter tunnel, it is time to get busy preparing your garden for spring flowers and flowering bulbs. This is a good time to refresh your patio, deck, and porch containers as well. For those of you who are beginners or novices, pick the brain of a friend who is a master gardener, or call me. Over the years, I have learned to be an active listener

The Quaker Gun

The Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, arose in England in the mid 17th century. They were early settlers to the Colonies (future United States) and prominent in many regions until the Revolutionary War. Although Quaker worship varies widely, from silent meetings (about 10% of Quakers) to evangelical services, nearly all are pacifists. The religion has a long history of supporting equality for women, abolition of slavery, non-violence, co-education, prison reform, and social justice. Today there are fewer than 400,000 Quakers world-wide, and about 50% of them live in Africa. Really? A Quaker gun? Aren’t Quakers those ardent pacifists who refuse military service and believe all conflict can

The Augusta-Aiken Trolley Line | A History

The Augusta-Aiken Railway, better known as the Trolley, was established in 1902 by the Augusta-Aiken Electric Railroad Company. James U. Jackson, who owned the Hampton Terrace Hotel and Golf Course in North Augusta, was one of the principal promoters of the Trolley Line. The route started in Aiken near the current Aiken Visitor’s Center, went down Park Avenue, and turned onto Laurens Street. It proceeded into Graniteville via Hampton Avenue and on what is Trolley Line Road today. Graniteville was the first stop in the “Valley,” and stops followed in Warrenville, Langley, and Clearwater. The Trolley then made its way into North Augusta and on into Augusta. It was a

The Sport of Flirting | Cabinet of Curiosities

The history of flirting is a long and seductive tale, stretching back to the first stolen glance across a primitive cave lit by fire. Long before language was conceived, we were flirting. It has been employed as a social tool since the dawn of creation, from insects to fish to birds and all mammals. Now, let us step back in time to the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the sport of flirting was given its own instructional manuals. Valentine postcard, postmarked in 1916. ACHM Collection There’s something in my eye … The first step in flirting is most often establishing eye contact, and it can include a wink or a