<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.

♪ opening music ♪ ♪ <Amanda> Well good evening, and welcome to Making It Grow.

We're so glad that you could join us tonight.

I'm Amanda McNulty.

I'm a Clemson Extension Horticulture agent.

And I have a wonderful time getting to come and be with people who bring new and exciting information every week.

Terasa Lott this week is going to have us do a holiday craft.

And we also are going to show you the Philip Simmons Memorial Garden at Saint John's Reformed Episcopal Church down in Charleston.

Terasa Lott is already busy enough being in charge of the master gardener, you're the master gardener coordinator for the state.

And we are so glad that you can work us into your busy schedule.

Oh, thank you, Amanda.

I mean, it's really an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Making It Grow team and I think all extension agents have more than, more than they could do in the time that there are in a day is in a day, but we do our best to get our questions answered.

<Amanda> Yeah.

And it is fun to come over and see everybody every week and we catch up with each other.

<Lots of fun> Really kind of family now, aren't we?

<Terasa> We are and it's a learning opportunity.

You always mentioned about learning from the panelists, and very much so.

Every day, every time we're here, I think I learned something new.

<Amanda> We have a very fortunate person.

We're very fortunate tonight to have someone to learn from, Christopher Burke.

And you've got Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester.

So I guess, there's not much that goes on in that area down there that you wouldn't get a phone call about if it were happening.

No, no, absolutely.

And with all three of those counties growing quite fast it is making it quite challenging.

But no, it's a lot of fun.

<Amanda> And so that means you have a lot of people moving in who are not accustomed to gardening in South Carolina.

<Christopher> Yes.

I think most people are coming from up north somewhere, coming here to enjoy the warm weather and of course that means that they have to also start to figure out how to garden here.

<Amanda> Yeah, so there are a lot of things that changed because you know, for a long time, it was just, azaleas, camellias, and centipede.

And we all knew about, but now people are coming in that's, azaleas, centipede and camellias.

What are those?

< laughs > Well, we'll have fun answering some questions tonight.

Thank you so much for coming.

Well, Terasa usually we get to start off with gardens of the week, which means that somebody's been dutifully keeping at least a portion of their yard photogenic.

<Terasa> That is correct.

And so I like to think of this as our virtual field trip where we get to see what you're doing in your yards or gardens.

But today, we take a little bit of a different twist.

You know, the holidays are really reminiscent of certain plants.

Think about poinsettias, maybe amaryllis, and a special plant to me the holiday cactus.

And so today we're going to take a look at a montage of photos of your holiday cactus.

♪ holiday music ♪ ♪ Thanks so much for sharing all of your wonderful photos.

A few years ago I had a chance to do a segment with Laurie Watson from Mill Creek Greenhouses.

And the holiday cactus especially Thanksgiving cactus so special to me because I want to gifted one to my grandparents and it almost ended up in the trash pile.

It was left in their shed, their outdoor shed when they went from South Carolina to New York to spend a few months in the summertime.

< laughs > But somehow it survived and is flourishing even though my grandparents have both passed, I still have some of that existing plant and look forward to seeing it every year.

But what I think is so interesting is that most people call a Christmas cactus, from what I can tell almost everything I see on the shelf is really a Thanksgiving cactus.

And the way you can tell is by looking at the stem segments, so they're not not really leaves, but the stem segments.

And if there are pointy or claw, like that's going to be the Thanksgiving cactus.

That's gonna be one of the easiest ways to distinguish.

The Christmas cactus has a sort of a smoother edge.

And then if we want to throw in Easter cactus as well, it has kind of that scalloped edge, and I believe I have one at home, but I am still waiting for it to flower.

It has not flowered yet.

The flowers of the Easter cactus very different from the Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So if you see the flower, you can tell for sure, that's what it is.

<Amanda> Well, I've heard that it's real hard to find a Christmas cactus.

That they are... <Terasa> I have not seen one.

I don't know, Christopher, how about in your area?

Do you see the... <Christopher> No, I mostly see the Thanksgiving cactus.

To tell you the truth.

<Amanda> Well, and is yours already, does yours bloom reliably at Thanksgiving?

<Terasa> Yes, I mean, the timing seems to be generally in November, but it might be a little earlier, a little bit later.

And the trick to flowering really is they like a long period of dark.

And sometimes people will force them.

So they'll take them put them in the closet or something.

If you have them indoors, depending on where they're located, even say lights in your living room, street lights that are shining in.

They can disrupt that dark period that's needed.

And so you might not get flowering to occur.

<Amanda> So you might need to put them in the closet, but don't forget that they're there.

<Terasa> Put them in the dark, that's right.

< laughs > Temperature can also do it.

I can't remember the specific temperature.

I want to say it's about 55 degrees, but I'd have to look for sure.

And then that would be regardless of the day length.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, since we're talking about seasonal flowers, Christopher, I think you were gonna tell us a little bit about poinsettias, weren't you?

<Christopher> Yeah, absolutely.

<Amanda> I'm gonna pull this one up and hand it over to you, if I can do it without making too much of a mess.

There you go.

And we even have a secondary one that I'll just put right here look pretty too.

<Christopher> So I, I think this is one of the more fascinating plants.

I get excited because of course, the person who founded or discovered the poinsettia is from South Carolina.

But what's interesting is, is all this red foliage, this is actually part of the flower, it's called the bract.

So if you are missing that kind of bright color that you're looking for, you need to get it to flower.

And of course, there's some tricks doing that, but in reality... <Amanda> So, is that a modified leaf, or... <Christopher> So it is part of the flower.

It is not a leaf at all.

So it is not performing any photosynthesis.

It is part of the flower.

It is basically the lower parts.

It's not the petals, but the parts below that, which is known as the bract.

<Okay> And so, but these are fascinating, of course, but what's really exciting is, is that they're actually really easy to care for.

The big thing with poinsettia is, is it's just making sure that they're getting enough water.

So poinsettias don't like to dry out too much.

But at the same time, you don't want to necessarily keep them just sitting in water.

And so you have to be a little bit careful.

But anytime you feel the leaves feel dry, that's a good indication that they need water, at least during kind of that November, December, January season that you're having it indoors.

Once spring comes then you can start to cut down on the water.

You get it outside, you kind of let it harden off a little bit, then you start to cut it back to force that flower back come later in the year.

<Amanda> Well, you know, they come generally in a decorative wrap or foil wrapper.

And so if you put water in there, it's not going to drain out.

<Christopher> No.

My recommendation is, is anytime you get one home, I would go ahead and have a container dedicated to it.

You can see the one next to you.

Perfect example.

You take it out.

Put it in a separate container.

Yes, these look very attractive, but in reality, they're not practical.

The best thing to do is go ahead and re-pot it.

That potting soil that it comes in is probably not very good quality anyways.

Definitely been overused, so getting some fresh stuff on it.

That'll really help it hold water.

So that way you're not necessarily watering nearly as much but that'll also mean you can put it in the container that's going to drain better.

<Amanda> All right.

So maybe carry it into the kitchen and put it in the sink and water it slowly and then let it sit there for a while?

<Christopher> Well absolutely.

Anytime it dries out, go ahead and really you wanna drench it.

You want that whole root system to really be soaked in water.

And so a lot of times either you can let it run under the water for a bit, or you can actually dunk in the water and allow that soil system to sit in there if you have a bucket or something.

That's a really good way to water it.

That way the entire root system's fully, fully drenched between waterings.

<Amanda> So they do not want to dry out.

<Christopher> They don't.

They don't want to sit in water as I said.

You don't want to necessarily put it in a cup and leave it.

But no, they don't like to dry out.

Once you let it dry out too long, it's going to start losing leaves and start to struggle.

<Amanda> Well.

And I do know that some people like to save them, Terasa, and try to bring them back into bloom.

But you know, we're always talking about the importance of agriculture to South Carolina's economy.

And I know that a lot of growers work real hard to get them pretty for so that we can bring them home.

And I feel like we ought to support people who are trying to grow them too.

I mean, if you really want to do it, but you could just say, this is something that I enjoyed, and it's very beautiful.

And next year I want to support my local grower and get a new one.

< laughs > <Christopher> Yeah, and of course, that's probably the easiest thing 'cause getting them to re flower isn't always that easy.

There's there's some pruning practices you have to do.

And so that is probably one of the best ways just hey, you'll always have reliable blooms if you're just buying them fresh.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well I thank you so much.

And I think we have a, sometimes a poinsettia pops up in our gardens?

<Christopher> Yes, there is a wild poinsettia that is considered a weed <Yes> that does pop up in our gardens.

It doesn't quite have the foliage or the flowers that... <Amanda> You recognize it though.

<Christopher> You recognize.

But you do recognize that it is, it's in the same family.

It's in the same genus.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you so much for that information.

Well, Terasa, do you have a question that we may be able to help someone with?

<Terasa> I do.

This comes from Edisto, South Carolina.

Mark would like some help.

You know, this time of the year can be a little bit bleak.

Not a lot of things flowering in the landscape.

But he says I've been seeing some shrubs flowering now and it almost looks like snow when the petals fall on the ground.

What are they and how can I grow them around my home?

<Amanda> My goodness.

Christopher.

<Christopher> So, likely, that is a Camellia.

So of course, Camellias are kind of that typical southern shrub that we have, that is going to be blooming really December, January, February, especially.

<Amanda> Who knows <Christopher> Exactly, but it's the Camellia japonica.

It's in the tea family, but it's an absolutely incredible shrub.

And actually, there's a lot of different types that have white, red, pink flowers.

There's multicolored flowers... <Amanda> And different flower forms, too.

<Christopher> Exactly.

Different flower forms.

And so there's, there's a massive diversity when it comes to the Camellia, especially the Camellia japonica.

I think there's some 12,000 Different named cultivars.

So it's quite an incredible amount and definitely worth looking into.

The only thing is, is you do want to make sure you have fairly well drained soil if you are planting and camellia and of course, for the japonica, which is the larger leaf, probably the one in flower now, that one does need some shade, especially that afternoon shade.

<Amanda> Especially in Edisto.

<Christopher> Yes, definitely down in Edisto.

The sandy soils will help with the well drained part, but unfortunately, you will need some of that shape to keep them thriving.

<Amanda> And I know that you, if anything, you'd want to plant it a little bit high rather than low.

is that correct?

<Christopher> That's a perfect way to put it.

I always recommend, camellias like to really put their roots down.

And so planting it high is probably one of the best recommendations.

And what that means is that root systems actually going, the top of that root system is going to sit a little bit above the ground around it, and you're going to kind of taper that soil up to it.

So still, it's submerged in soil but not completely buried.

And that's really true for a lot of different plants, but camellias especially.

<Amanda> And, again, it doesn't want to dry out.

So I would think you'd really want to be I think very careful to keep a good mulch on it, but not touching the trunk.

Exactly.

Camellias don't like wet feet.

But as you say they don't like to dry out, especially that first year when they're planted.

You want to make sure that they're getting consistent moisture and you want to make sure that they're mulched really well.

And if obviously not having that mulch right up against the trunk, and a good mulch to use of course, would be something like pine straw.

That'll help, <Amazing> that of course, it being kind of, it likes acidic soils anyway, so it works out.

But in reality, that's a good mulch because it doesn't sit up against the trunk.

<Amanda> And then camellias do get scale, tea scale and it can be disfiguring.

And I've had good luck since I've decided to limb my camellias up.

It seems like the lower limbs seem to be, I guess it's just the little macro environment there seem to make a better environment for the tea scale.

And it's really done better since I've limbed them up.

<Christopher> Yeah, tea scale, it can be a disfiguring insect pest, but in reality, some pruning, kind of consistently pruning a lot of times can help kind of take care of that.

It's not that, pest is not going to kill it.

And as long as you kind of remove some of the split branches, and of course limbing it up, we're really kind of help given that airflow and of course, that airflow is gonna lead to fewer insects.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, thank you so very much.

I'm guessing that this gentleman is relatively new to South Carolina.

<Christopher> He must be.

Yes.

<Amanda> But that's happening all the time.

<Christopher> All the time.

Well, Teresa knows that I love spray paint.

< laughs > And I've got a lot of ginger lilies in my yard.

And they, this, they've, you know, they've bloomed and blossomed and bloomed and they smell so wonderful.

And so, but I've found that if you take them and spray them with a nice, pretty gold paint, you have to look to find a pretty gold paint.

Terasa, I have made arrangements with them, and you know, just put them in a vase, and they sit there beautifully.

And you know, and just bring such cheer.

And I, you know, so it's not quite, you know, it's a natural material that's had a little bit of attention paid to it.

<Terasa> And what interesting texture that could bring to an arrangement.

<Amanda> Yeah, don't you think so?

And they just hold up beautifully.

And, Christopher, it was interesting.

This is the first year, I mean, we've been having ginger, little since I was a little girl.

They smell so good that I always thought they would taste good.

And I'd always taste one of them.

The next day, I'd say I'm gonna try again.

But this year, I have had seeds form on it, which I have not had happened before.

<Christopher> So that is kind of surprising.

This is obviously not a plant species that we usually see.

<I know> But a lot of times that'll happen, especially if it's been in the ground for long enough, you kind of have all the conditions, or just meet kind of perfectly where it has a long enough growing season.

The pollination is correct.

Kind of a lot of things that can happen.

So I'm not surprised.

But at the same time, it's definitely not something I've seen a lot of.

<Amanda> And then, you know, this year, I've had a long period where we didn't have, we didn't have frost.

And so I cut them open and looked.

It was full of these beautiful little red seeds.

<Christopher> Oh, I know and what's interesting is, though, probably does need some seed treatment.

That is something you could probably plant yourself.

<Amanda> Well, Ginger lilies spread pretty dramatically.

We were always trying to share with people.

So I'll let you do that.

You can take some home and figure out what's necessary.

Is that fair enough?

<Fair enough> Okay.

<Terasa> You should always be wary when people are willing to share plants with you, right?

< laughs > <Amanda> The Heart Garden in, at Saint John Reformed Episcopal Church is just a lovely memorial to the artistry of Philip Simmons and we would like to take you there and found out about the Philip Simmons Organization.

♪ inspirational music ♪ ♪ I'm in downtown Charleston speaking with Rossie Colter, who's the project administrator for the Philip Simmons Foundation.

And today we are sitting in a beautiful garden at Saint John Reformed Episcopal Church, <Right> which was Mr. Simmons' church.

Philip Simmons was a world renowned blacksmith.

And interestingly, I think started school across the street where we've been hearing children's voices earlier.

<Right> and walked past the blacksmith's boundary and became interested in that work.

Well, Philip was born on Daniel Island.

And Daniel Island at the time, it was seven farms.

And so if you were a child and you lived on the farm, you had to help harvest the crops.

So he lived with his grandparents on Daniel Island and his mother lived in town on a street that doesn't exist anymore, but when Buist was built, which is the school across from the from the gardens, his grandparents sent him to Charleston to live with his mother so he can to go to school full time.

And so on his way to school, he passed, a blacksmith shop.

And so he took, he could walk from his mother's house and he took the route that would take pass from Concord Street and Calhoun to school.

And so passing on the corner was a blacksmith shop.

and the sounds that came out of the blacksmith shop, which cracked to him and sparks flying from the forge and so he went in one day and asked the blacksmith for a job.

And the name of the shop was Blacksmith Shop of Peter Simmons.

Peter Simmons was an ex slave.

<Amanda> When y'all decided to start improving the grounds to the church, you first started out front.

And there's a bell that Mr. Simmons brought y'all.

And there's a exquisite gate, there <a walkway gate> that reflects hearts.

<Yeah> And a cross.

<Yeah> <Rossie> Mr. Simmons was giving his heart to his city when he designed the gates to the garden.

<Amanda> And then Spoleto's headquarters is nearby.

And they approached y'all about this area, which at that time was just nothing.

<Rossie> No, it was just raw.

<Amanda> And that led to the collaboration, I believe, between Philip Simmons and the international topiary artist, Pearl Fryar.

<Rossie> Right.

They had never met each other before.

Then they met, and it was just a <Amanda> Melding of the minds.

<Right> And we again had the same beautiful gate that's up front reproduced.

But also we have a very interesting reflection of Charleston.

<Rossie> The, well, the neighbors across the fence in the brick condos, they wanted a window into the garden.

And so they asked to, if they could have a window in the gearden.

Mr. Simmons designed it.

And so they put up a matching grant to do that back wall.

<Amanda> And it's a fun gate because it's got a single house, which is certainly reflective of Charleston, two single houses, a fish because Mr. Simmons liked nature, <Right> and reproduced nature, <Right> frequently.

<Rossie> Right.

The star and the heart.

<Amanda> Yeah, a star and a heart.

And then we see that there are many instances where there are stones that are heart shaped.

<Pearl brought those> Pearl Fryar brought those.

<Rossie> Pearl Fryar brought those he also brought a piece from his house and they had hearts in it.

He had like seven hearts in it.

And that was the centerpiece.

And we have a bird bath.

The stones that have hearts in them, <Yes> on the pathways, he brought those.

<Amanda> Rossie now that Pearl Fryar is stepping back a little bit, he's found someone who wants to continue his work, and is coming down and helping certain members of the Garden Club of Charleston with this garden.

And we're going to learn more about that, but I have the chance to speak with them later.

Thank you for all the information you shared with us today.

<Rossie> Well, thank you for coming to see us.

♪ I'm speaking with Mike Gibson.

Mike, you're a property artist.

And that includes the practice of topiary.

That is correct.

Yes.

<Amanda> And in this wonderful space, of course, many years ago, Pearl Fryar came and worked with Philip Simmons to make this delightful, little hidden gem.

<Mike> Yes, yes.

It's such a beautiful garden and I'm thankful that I'm a part of this legacy.

I now help maintain it.

<Amanda> This is not something that anybody can do.

And the Garden Club of Charleston has made it a mission to try to keep it going.

And so tell me how you've been trying to help them understand the practice that will help this garden maintain its unique attributes.

<Mike> Right, right.

So I heard of the Phil Simmons and Pearl Fryar Heart Garden in Charleston.

And when I first moved to Columbia, I had to check it out because, you know, I'm working over at Pearl Fryar's in Bishopville.

I wanted to see what else he created.

I never even heard of this garden.

So when I came here, it was a little overgrown, you know, the shapes weren't as sharp, the lines weren't as defined as they are now.

I kind of reached out, you know.

I said, hey, you know, who do I need to contact to, you know, help out on this garden as well?

So I reached out to the Charleston Horticultural Society, and they put me in touch with the Garden Club of Charleston.

<Amanda> Which had been making an effort for a long time, <Exactly> coming over here and working hard.

But this is a real skill and the different tools.

<Mike> Being a topiary artist is not just like cutting grass.

You know, I do feel that anybody can do it, but it is a certain skill that you have to develop over time to be able to come up with these, you know, fine designs for topiary and some very abstract designs as well, as you may have seen some of my work.

I've been coming down a few times throughout the year, and just maintaining it but not just maintaining it and fine tuning it, I also develope these workshops to teach the ladies of the garden club, how to do these topiaries and how to maintain them for you know, the times that can come down and get a little overgrown, they now have that knowledge of how to maintain the topiaries properly.

So that was all about, you know, the main thing that we wanted to do was to, you know, set in place some standards of how the garden should look from here on out.

<Amanda> And then one fun thing is that there was some juniper trees here that had just been way beyond their ability to think about tackling.

And as you've been working on those, and I was talking to them, you told us that they said, look at how did you come up with this design?

And you said the tree tells me what it wants to be.

<Mike> Right.

You know, I've been called the tree whisperer.

< laughs > And it's true.

I look at the design, I look at the space, and the environment that I'm in, hearing the kids, you know, having fun and being joyous speaks to me.

So now I'm starting to feel that love and the tree is telling me how to cultivate this within respect to Pearl's style.

And it's my philosophy and I've been saying this for years that the more topiary you have in any given space, produces love, peace and just that goodwill.

That's that message that Pearl's been teaching.

I want to make sure that generations to come understand that if you just get out there and just cut up something, it's going to make it beautiful, but it's going to be a domino effect, because you're going to beautify your yard, your neighbors gonna see it, and they're gonna want to beautify their yard, and so forth.

And then you have beautiful neighborhoods, you produce better, you know, more peaceful communities and better cities as well, before that.

So I just love doing topiary and I hope that I can inspire more individuals to want to do the same.

<Amanda> Well, anyone who comes here will be inspired.

You've certainly inspired us and thank you for spending the time with us today.

<Mike> I appreciate it.

Thanks for stopping by.

♪ <Amanda> Well, I'd like to thank Ms. Colter and the women of the Garden Club of Charleston who specialize in pruning and Mike Gibson for keeping this such a lovely space.

And although it is right downtown, and very easy to get to, once you go inside, I think you'll sense a piece of awe and serenity.

I would encourage you to go by and take a break from a busy day if you're nearby.

I was sent home from Taylor Gardens and Gift Shop with a lot of material for a hat 'cause she knew that I made, everyone knew I made hats and so we all sat around the table and made my hat.

And Guy suggested that at the very end, hind.

I should have an elf behind me < giggles > to give me a poke if I started being bad.

< giggles > <Terasa> I don't know if that elf can keep you in line.

< laughs > <Amanda> And I was gonna tell you, Teresa that you know this, uh, you might get you know, coal for Christmas if you're bad.

Our house that we lived in, had coal fireplaces.

And Edward when he was little remembered that his grandmothers, they would always write their message to Santa Claus.

And they would send it up the chimney.

The draft and the chimney would get it going.

So we would build a small coal fire and the children would all have their note to Santa Claus.

And then it would, if you got a good drawing chimney, it just goes swoosh!

<Terasa> Oh, how magical that would seem!

<Amanda> Straight to the North Pole.

Yeah.

Well, Teresa, I think you have a holiday craft.

<Terasa> I do.

A botanically inspired holiday gift tag craft.

It's very easy.

And it was inspired by some gift tags that were given to me when I was a little girl; well, given to my whole family.

They were figurines of a skater, like an ice skater.

Three sizes for my grandfather, my grandmother and for me and I get them out every year even though my grandparents have passed.

And it reminds me of this good friend of the family.

And so I'm hoping that this craft also, not only can adorn a package maybe like you see here under the tree, but then the gift recipient could then utilize it year after year on a Christmas tree.

<Amanda> Ooh, because that is a time for memories.

<Terasa> It really is.

<Amanda> Very much so.

<Terasa> This is very easy.

So we start off with a polymer clay and you can get that at any craft store, even some of your big box stores will carry it.

And it comes in a lot of different colors.

So our rosemary over here, you can see I have some green.

But then on our plates, we have a white polymer.

<Yes> So you could choose whatever color you like.

And you need to gather some botanical materials to make the imprints.

So your wants something, it needs to be pretty small.

And it has to have some texture and durability to it.

Otherwise, it's just going to fall apart and kind of create mush.

< giggles > So I used some chrysanthemum leaves.

I've used parsley leaves.

I used some bee balm leaves.

I think the rosemary would probably work or something like the Arizona Cypress, something, something like that.

So just have fun.

Go outside, collect a few things and then give it a try.

The best part is it's pretty forgiving.

If you don't like it, you can just wish it back together and start over again.

<Oh, my goodness> Yes.

So once you've got your clay, you do have to knead it a little bit.

And then roll it out.

You can use a rolling pin or you could just push it down with your hands.

And I used a biscuit cutter for some of them.

You could use cookie cutters, you could make the shape yourself by cutting it out with a knife, even a glass jar.

So get creative and make it whatever shape you like.

Now once you have it rolled out, you're going to do the imprint.

So lay that botanical material of your choice over the top of your clay.

Put down some wax paper.

And then just roll over top of it with your rolling pin.

You want to kind of firm pressure, but you don't want to have to dig that botanical material out.

So a pair of tweezers might be handy as well.

So once you've got the imprint done, pull out your your botanical material.

And then you need to place a hole in here if you'd like to be able to hang it for your for your your tag.

So I used a wooden skewer to do that.

And then it's pretty much ready to bake.

And you'll follow the instructions on the clay package.

So for this particular one, it was 275 degrees for 15 minutes for every quarter inch of thickness.

And that that's what I tried to go for was about a quarter of an inch.

<Amanda> So this one has been baked?

<Terasa> That one's been baked.

Yes.

I took all the fun out of it.

I did all of the imprinting ahead of time.

<Amanda> No, no, I'm excited just to get put the finishing touches on.

<Terasa> Yeah, and they don't shrink at all.

So some materials will shrink in the oven, but these will remain true to size.

And then once you... <Amanda> Which is good because that way your, image won't be distorted.

<Terasa> Correct?

Yes.

Once you take them out of the oven, allow them time to cool.

Now if you're using just a plain color, you could go ahead and string them and that would be done on the white, I didn't feel like the imprint showed very well.

So what we're going to do is use a little bit of acrylic paint.

And this is where we all get to have a little bit of fun.

So you just want to dilute your acrylic paint with some of that water in your dish.

And you can dilute it as much as you like.

So if you want it to be a dark green color, or you want more of just a hint of green.

And really, you don't have to be too specific in where you paint because we're going to allow it to dry and then wipe it off.

And the paint should just sit down in that imprint area.

<Should> < laughs > Should.

Yeah, so just kind of dab it in there.

< silence > And you could get creative with the colors.

So I chose for us all to use a green paint but I think it would look pretty with maybe a metallic.

If you're maybe, I see things very kind of traditional and as they are in nature but perhaps you'd want to be colorful.

You want to make some red or purple or whatever your favorite color is.

So then that's pretty much it.

We're going to let this sit and dry just a little bit and then we'll go over it with a wet cloth to remove any of that kind of overspray... <Amanda> Oh, so it's going to stay in the... <Terasa> In the indentations.

Yes.

<Amanda> Well that's fun!

<Terasa> And so easy.

You know it doesn't take much time but I think it really personalizes a gift when you send it with something homemade.

<Amanda> And so, did you have a, were you inspired kind of by a question that we got that Christopher might help us with?

<Terasa> Yes, well, our tree over here.

We did happen to have someone write in.

Charity in Somerville said I'm looking for a unique Christmas tree idea.

Are there any species of trees that I can use as a live Christmas tree?

And I think this is a perfect example.

<Amanda> Well Christopher, what are your some of your suggestions and what are some things that we might be wary of if we wanted it to be something that we could have living in our yard for a long time afterwards?

<Christopher> So absolutely, she's absolutely correct.

This rosemary right here is one of my favorites, mostly because I absolutely adore rosemary.

<Oh, gosh> It's an excellent, it's not only an excellent herb, but it's an excellent shrub.

And they prune really well... <Amanda> And pollinators just love it and it blooms in the winter.

<Christopher> Once it go, once it goes to bloom, the pollinators go crazy for it.

So it is one of my kind of go to's.

It's a really good kind of tabletop Christmas tree.

So that's one that's going to sit very well on top of something so it's not necessarily going to get very big.

Now, you mentioned one of the ones to avoid, which would be that Norfolk pine that you see pretty much in every store.

<Oh> That's one I generally tend to avoid for the most part because, though you can keep it indoors year round, it's not going to live outdoors year round.

<Ah ha> And that's mostly due to the heat.

Unfortunately, it's just really not gonna like it and it's gonna get very big.

So you keep it indoors.

Eventually, it's just going to overgrow at spot.

And you have to keep getting it in a bigger container.

But, there are other species, of course now one of the ones we have talked about before, but that's one of my favorites.

And that's going to be the Arizona Cypress.

And that's going to be, this is the Carolina Sapphire.

<Yes> I believe Cypress.

So this is a absolutely beautiful shrub and I've used it as a Christmas tree, and it goes well into the yard once you're done.

So can you say hey, I don't want to necessarily throw it away.

Kind of similar to the Eastern Red Cedar.

The Eastern Red Cedar, of course, is our native juniper.

That's another one that'll work fairly well.

Both of those make good live Christmas trees.

Now if you want to get unique Of course you don't have to necessarily go with the conifer.

Now one of the ones I have seen done very well are the the Oak Leaf Hydrangea, not Oak Leaf Hydrangeas, the Oak Leaf Hollies.

There's one called the Christmas Jewel Holly that actually has a profusion of red berries.

<Wow> And so you can get that kind of Christmasy look from that tree.

And of course, they shape really well in that Christmas tree shape.

<Amanda> Okay, and so you could have that inside and then at the end of the holiday, it's still a good time to be adding plant material to your yard outside.

<Christopher> Oh, absolutely.

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, that was a lot of fun.

Thank you so much.

Terasa, do we have another question?

<Terasa> We sure do.

This is a propagation question coming from George in Orangeburg.

George says My neighbor has a fig tree with the best fruits.

Isn't it great when our neighbors share?

< laughs > Can I take a cutting from it?

And if so, can you tell me when and how?

<Amanda> Oh.

Well, Christopher, what do you think?

<Christopher> So of course, fig trees are one of my go to fruits.

They do really well throughout most of South Carolina, though, the farther north you get in South Carolina, the more cold you have to be a little bit worried about, because unfortunately, they are a little bit sensitive to cold.

That being said, figs are really, really easy to propagate.

And one of the best ways to propagate figs is actually going to be what's known as hardwood cuttings.

And so as you can see... <Amanda> Which would during the... <Christopher> During the dormant period.

So you don't want any leaves on it.

That actually is going to really help the routing process.

What you want is you want a completely bare stem.

That's going to be probably the biggest thing I'm going to encourage so you know... <Amanda> Don't do it too early.

<Christopher> Don't do it too early.

You want to get rid of the leaves.

Usually figs will drop their leaves fairly early anyways.

And so it's not a huge deal.

Once it's completely dormant, then you're going to go ahead, and you're going to pick out a stem like I just did.

You want it to be kind of pencil shaped thick or pencil width.

So about a half an inch really is about as much as you want to do.

But you just picture a number two pencil.

You want to take that and generally you want each cutting to be about six inches long.

And so you know about hand width and the key is, is you want to actually identify and you can see along the stem, figs are very pronounced nodes.

<Yes> But this is the growing point.

And so you want about four nodes to go under the soil.

<Really> Yeah, about four.

You can do more, but with that six inch stem, you want at least four of them to go under the soil.

<Amanda> So are roots going to come out?

<Christopher> Roots are gonna start to come out.

It'll take probably a couple months.

But the key is, is make sure that soil stays damp, and of course you're watering it sufficiently.

But the good news is is with hardwood cuttings is you don't really have to do a whole lot.

There's no leaf material to lose water through... <Amanda> So you have to make some kind of tent over it with plastic.

<Christopher> Exactly.

They're usually fairly, the key is is keeping them warm.

That's going to be one of these things.

And so you notice I took this really long stem.

This is longer than six inches.

Well guess what I can do.

I can take multiple cuttings along this individual stem.

The only thing I'm going to recommend is make sure you know which way is up.

Because I've made that mistake, I'll take a cutting and all of a sudden that cutting starts to leaf out and you realize the leaves are upside down.

It's probably not going to live very long.

But if you do six inches, as you can see, I can get probably two or three out of this.

The only thing I do recommend is make sure you are taking it from some wood that's about one to two years old, nothing that is too old, once it's kind of hard enough, you're probably not going to get be as successful.

I do encourage taking multiple, so don't just do one.

It'll probably route but don't just do one.

Do multiple, because in reality, most of the ones you're buying in the store are going to have multiple coming out from one system.

And they'll kind of grow together naturally on their own.

And so I encourage doing that.

But it's a very easy thing to do.

Figs are one of my favorites.

And they propagate very well.

<Amanda> Now, you said you want to keep it warm?

<Yes> So where are you going to put it.

<Christopher> So generally, I'm probably going to put that somewhere either if I have a greenhouse or something that is similar to a greenhouse, or I'm going to bring it indoors into an area that I can keep fairly humid.

So whether it's you know, it's, you do still want some light, because obviously light is going to trigger a lot of those growth responses.

But you don't necessarily need it to be in direct sunlight all the time.

You just want it to be in a warm spot.

So a lot of times I'll bring it in.

I've got a window sill that I will stick a couple things of water next to it so that way it creates that natural humidity, and I just water it really well.

It does not dry out very fast.

Thankfully, once you get it stuck in about a month later, you can probably bring it outdoors and just keep it watered out there.

Again, if you have somewhere where it can kind of stay in the sun.

<Amanda> Do you want to, I'd like to see you make some cuttings <Sure> and is there a way that you could like angle the cutting so you know that's... give me an ideao of how I can remember what's the top and what's the bottom.

<Christopher> So as I said you want to get about that six inches.

With figs, they have a node that's already naturally angled as you can see.

And so what you want to do is you want to cut angled kind of parallel to that so you're not necessarily or actually like, like so.

And so that way the node is sticking out, but you kind of cut it at an angle.

And the reason why you would cut it at an angle, for the most part is just when it's sticking up out of the ground, you don't want water sitting on it.

And so you want that water to be able to run off.

But as you see I've got my first cutting, and I will stick that in soil and then I'll kind of do the same thing.

I'll measure it off.

I'll identify the node I'm going to cut with.

And then I'm going to cut like so.

And there we go.

So now I've got two cuttings right there off one stem.

And then of course I can probably do that third one.

Let's see.

And there you go.

You got three cuttings off of one stem, and all it did was... <Amanda> So could you score the bottom a little bit or something to let you know what's the bottom?

<Christopher> So usually with figs, you can kind of see that that bud is going to, that doormat but is really going to stick up.

And so it should be fairly easy to identify that.

But at the same time if you want to score it or if you want to make sure you have some way to identify, a lot of times what I'll do is I'll stick them directly into the soil as I take the cuttings because in reality, you don't need to add any routing hormone, you don't need to score anything around the nodes because they're going to route fairly easily on their own.

And because it takes so long that routing hormones kind of unnecessary.

So for the most part, just stick them right in the soil.

Make sure that soils nice and damp when you do so.

And then after that, just put it in a good warm spot and you're good to go.

<Amanda> Now, when you take them out and you're going to put them in your garden or someplace in your landscape, how far apart would you put them?

<Christopher> Now if I'm going to do multiple if I want multiple trees off of this now keep in mind figs get fairly large.

You're probably looking at, I would say probably a good 20 foot spacing that... <Amanda> Oh so you just put one and let that become the fifth.

<Christopher> Yeah.

So I'm probably going to do multiple cuttings in one container and I'm gonna let that be my fig.

And so, because they can grow well, they kind of merge together, kind of similar to something like a crape myrtle.

<Okay> Now for the most part, they're not very difficult and so just stick them, one tree is more than enough in my opinion.

I've got two and I never know what to do with all the figs so, but just be patient with it.

Figs are going to take a couple of years.

Even after rooting, you're probably looking at about three to four before you really want to get consistent fruit.

<Amanda> Okay, well, I think this is just wonderful and that person can enjoy the the fig that the neighbor has been kind enough to share and if the neighbor moves away he'll be okay.

<Exactly> < laughs > Terasa, should we try to see if we're dry?

<Terasa> I think we are ready.

And so I armed everyone with your next tool, which is just a damp, paper towel.

And you're just going to rub across there so that you try to rub off any extra and leave only the paint in that indentation.

Now depending on how dry it is, you may need to rub a little harder to get it off.

And it's all sort of a process of trial and error.

You remember if you rub too much off, the good news is you can always go back and add some more.

<Amanda> I'm gonna touch a tiny bit up.

<Terasa> And I thought it might be neat to go back and you could sort of, for lack of a better word whitewash.

So you could maybe make it darker on the indentation.

<Amanda> I liked the way mine's turned out because it's darker on the outside.

<Yeah.> and I think I can even Terasa, go in, because you had this nice brush and maybe outline a few of the stems to kind of show the nation.

<Terasa> Absolutely get creative, make it personalized.

I just think I had a good time.

But I think kids would have a good time with this.

Now once it's all dry, you can use some, this is a gold stretchy cord that I use.

But if you'd like a more natural look, you could use like a jute or a hemp cord.

You can even use just gift wrap ribbon, you know, whatever suits your preference.

On the backside, you might consider writing a message to the recipient or the year that it was done.

And I think one other use for this, instead of as a gift tag might be to put as a place card on your holiday table.

So you could fasten it to your napkin on your plate settings.

And then they'd have something to take home with them.

<Amanda> Very fun.

So if you wanted to, you could get a sharpie or something and write, Merry Christmas <Terasa> Yeah, permanent marker.

Now if you wanted to be really fancy back in that imprinting process, there are materials that you can purchase that are stampers with letters on them.

So you could make a tag that said Merry Christmas would be pretty long to fit on the tag but something with letters on it, you could personalize it that way as well.

<Amanda> Happy!

<Terasa> Yes.

Merry!

<Amanda> Christopher hold yourself a little bit so we could see it.

< giggles > Well Terasa, this has really been fun.

And it's not very expensive.

<Terasa> No, it's pretty economical.

And I did not try it, but I feel like if you wanted to make a salt dough, so if you've got some kids at home who wants to do the making process, you can make some salt dough.

And it would be very similar.

You just need to follow instructions on terms of how long to bake it.

And I think that that may shrink a little bit during the drying process.

<Amanda> Maybe you have to do a trial.

<Terasa> I got a little bit creative.

I'm not sure if you can see it on any of the ones.

Maybe this tag right here on the rosemary.

So I mixed a little bit of the white polymer clay in with the green to give it a little bit of a marbling effect.

The fun thing about that is no two would ever be identical.

It might have more or less veining sort of like when you you get a cultured marble vanity top right that vein pattern is always unique.

<Amanda> That that's what you want.

I think that's wonderful.

Do you remember the name of your friend who... <Terasa> Oh, yes, um, Carol, Carol Knipes.

<Amanda> Really?

That's so sweet.

Alrighty.

Terasa, I think we've got time for one more question before we go.

<Terasa> Alright.

Well, let's see if we can help Lucy in Aiken.

Lucy said, I have several Holly bushes around the house, but I don't have many with berries.

Is there something I can add or do to encourage more berry production?

<Amanda> Okay.

Well, Christopher, that may have happened when she purchased them.

I don't know.

What do you think?

<Christopher> You're absolutely correct.

So, as with certain species, of course, Holly's are actually going to be what's known as dioecious, which means they're going to have separate male and female plants.

Which means that in order to get the berries, I do need to have a female plant that is going to produce them as opposed to the males.

The males will not produce them.

And unfortunately, when it comes to the nursery trade most of them are going to be the males because those are going to have a very just evergreen, solid green look.

As opposed to some of the kind of more wild species.

You're gonna get a little bit more variation.

Unfortunately, most nurseries aren't going to label theirs either.

And so even if you go in and say, hey, I want a yaupon holly, which is one of our native Hollies that has berries you really don't have have a way to knowing unless you're buying it when it's already in berry.

<Oh my goodness.> So it can get a little frustrating.

My encouragement is, is if you find one that you like, go ahead and pick it out, go ahead and take cuttings from it if it's, you know, one that has the berries, because if you clone it, of course, you automatically keep it as a female, as opposed to trying to start it from seed or even buying it from a nursery.

And if you buy it from a nursery just do it when it's in berry.

<Amanda> Terasa I have had an Ilex decidua verticillata Whatever it is, that had been growing somewhere and I needed to remove, bring it home, and I did and it gotten real big and I chopped it up, and I planted it and it's never had a berry on it.

And I guess I'm gonna have to find a pollinator stalloin, you know, whatever you call it.

Didn't you tell us I mean, you can go to stores, I think and find a male have that label of sometimes.

<Terasaa> Yes.

So we talked about it a few shows ago, I believe.

We just recently installed the Ilex verticillata, the Winterberry Holly, and they were labeled.

And so I have two females for the berry production.

And then I used one male that should be able to pollinate both of them.

<Amanda> This had been just been covered of berries.

I feel like I'm too far away.

I feel like they're probably some Holly's around, you know, because I've got some woods around me, but I must need to get one closer to these.

<That sounds like it.> Are they wind pollinated or are they're pollinated by insects?

<Christopher> Generally they're going to be pollinated by insects.

<Amanda> Okay, so I do so close proximity would be more would be?

<Christopher> Yeah.

And you do want the species to be able to cross pollinate fairly well.

So you mentioned the verticillata.

That's going to not necessarily be, have the same pollination requirements as say the the Ilex vomitoria, which is the yaupon or even some of these more exotic Hollies.

<Amanda> Well, in this case, I don't know if it was verticillata or deciduous, I'm just gonna get one and cross my fingers.

I think I've read that generally, with the deciduous hollies, one will do pretty well with the other so I mean, what do I have to lose?

< laughs > They're growing like mad, Terasa, but, I want those wonderful berries.

<Terasa> I know it really does add winter interest and can be used in decorating so I can understand why why you would want them.

<Amanda> Well, I think we have a couple of minutes left.

Is there somebody we might be able to help that amount of time?

<Terasa> This is a sort of related question, because birds might come and utilize the holly berries.

Dale in Jamestown said, I tend to have plenty of birds that come to the yard throughout the year, but what can I do to better keep birds over the winter?

<Amanda> And I've noticed that holly berries seem to be the last ones they eat.

I'm not sure they're very tasty.

that's good if they sit there a long time because then they're there, you know, later on when they need it.

But what what do you recommend?

<Christopher> So for any of the bird species that you're going to have in your yard during the winter, the big thing that you're going to need to provide is protein.

And so of course, birds are getting lots and lots of insects.

And unfortunately, insects aren't nowhere near as active during the winter.

And so usually the best thing to do is to figure out some way whether you're doing it through your bird seed, or you're bringing in something that's going to provide that protein, because unfortunately, The... You know, the berries or any of our... <Amanda> Or fruits and vegetables.

<Christopher>Yeah, the fuits and vegetables aren't necessarily gonna be as good for that.

But they still need that protein, especially during the winter months.

<Amanda> So you just maybe need to get a bird feeder.

<Christopher> Getting a bird feeder... <Amanda> And getting the right one.

<Christopher> Yeah, getting a bird feeder and making sure you have the right type of seeds, making sure you're using the right type of feed.

Don't feel like you need to just do the seeds.

But a lot of the bags are going to be labeled, if you're buying the bird seeds, they're going to be labeled for the types of birds they support.

And they'll even have mixes that are meant for say winter time.

They'll even have other things that are meant for wintertime.

So providing some type of food source that's going to provide that protein is really going to be ideal.

<Amanda> You know, Terasa.

We've have one thing we had, we've had this year we had a long period where I am not getting any rain.

And so I've been real careful about having, keeping a stick in the cat water bowl so that, when the pollinators come, if they fall in, they can crawl out 'cause I have found them in there.

But then also, if we get a freeze, I'll go out and put water in something on top of the car so the birds can come and get water because they need water, too.

<Terasa> Sometimes there are products that you can purchase that will keep a moving stream of water.

But Audubon SC is a great resource for anyone who is looking to attract birds to their yard.

You can put in an email address and zip code and it will give you a list of have native bird friendly plants for your yard.

<Amanda> What a wonderful resource.

<Yes> Thank you so much for telling us that.

<You're welcome> Gosh.

Well, I thank y'all for being here.

And to everyone out there, I think we'd all like to say, the happiest of holidays and the very best of New Years to everyone from Making It Grow.

We'll see you in the new year.

♪ closing music ♪ ♪ <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.

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Family owned and operated since 1916.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 40 varieties of peaches.

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