The gardens of the Seibels House in Columbia, S.C., reflect the layers of the landscape that are part of its history.

Out & About: by Jenks Farmer

Many historic gardens are restored to replicate a specific period. But most gardens, like people and houses and cities, build slowly. Some plants thrive, some furniture rots, some patios get a new kind of stone. Layers build upon layers of time and history.

I grew up around old southern gardens laden with stories and plants of ancestors. So when the Historic Columbia Foundation decided to renovate the grounds of the Seibels House as a culmination garden, I jumped at the chance to be another bit of the story in the heart of ColumbiaÕs historic district.

Monsieur Jules Elie.

Peonies for the Carolinas

Peonies in bloom are traffic stoppers engendering lust in many gardeners. Herbaceous peonies are field crops for cut flowers in eastern North Carolina, yet I continue to be asked why we canÕt grow peonies in the Carolinas. The answer is we can grow them, but we have to pay attention to certain rules.

Cobalt-blue containers celebrating the hardiness of drought-tolerant succulents at Longwood Gardens.

What's Hot and Why:Try These Ideas for 2008

In addition to these larger trends for 2008, Brad Rollins of Fairview Garden Center has also observed that there is a growing desire for bold color in the landscape; a craving for instant gardening gratification best exemplified by the purchase of larger mature trees and shrubs; more requests for dwarf plants or selections that will remain small at maturity to stay in scale with the ever-decreasing size of new residential lots; and more gardeners using plant materials for privacy screening instead of fences and walls.

A look at current fads is fun, but gardening in the Carolinas this year will be affected by much more than national trends. We will have to garden with the challenges of our weather, using what plants and products are available at the garden centers, and according to our personal needs. Gardening is not a passing lifestyle for Carolina Gardener readers, it is what we do because we love it.