The Charleston Real Estate Search.com

A Breath of Spring

Yesterday I had the pleasure of judging a wonderful flower show out at Cypress Gardens. I’ll have pictures later but nothing beats seeing it in person.  While you’re there, check out the art exhibit as well as the butterfly house.  The show is open 10A – 4P Saturday and Sunday.

Things you might see while you’re there….

Award of Design Excellence (in layman's terms top design in show)

In the butterfly house

One of NGC's new types: Creative Floor Designs

Zebra longwings were everywhere

Don't miss the Button Quail

Thought for today:

Imagination may be more important than knowledge, but the combine the two and the sky is the limit.

Happy Day!  Trish

Exhibition Table Design

Wonderful educational exhibits on gardening, trails and composting

Line Mass Designs

A Design's a Design no matter how small - this one's 8 inches

Posted in Picture of the Day | 1 Comment »

The Eastern Redbud Tree

I read this quote this morning in 365 Tao:

 “Even on the road to hell, flowers can make you smile.”   

“How true” I thought.  No matter how good or bad things may seem sometimes, most of us cannot help but be lifted by a flower filled scene. And what better place to experience such splendor than Charleston, SC where every season offers something in bloom.  Although I admire the winter camellias whose bold colors defy the harshness of the season, there is one flower that brightens my heart even more.  Cercis Canadensis, aka the Eastern Redbud.

With its delicate vibrancy of pink blossoms, the Eastern Redbud tree stands alone against the gray skies of winter promising better days ahead.  

This native tree grows 20-25 feet on average with an equal width, although most of the time, it seems taller than wide because it is used an under-story tree around oaks and pines.  Slow to start, a sapling may take 5-7 years to fully flower but then it will shoot up much quicker bursting forth each spring in what seems like a cloud of pink blossoms.  If you’re patient, you can purchase these trees from the National Arbor Day Foundation for pennies but most nurseries sell semi-mature trees that are 8-12 feet tall so you can immediate blooms.  Immediately after blooming, it covers itself in green heart-shaped leaves that turn reddish or bronze in the fall.

Easy to grow, requiring very little care, this is a very popular tree among Lowcountry gardeners and landscapers. But here are some facts about this native tree that even your landscapers may not know:

~Buds and blooms are edible

~Native Americans ate the flowers raw or boiled as well as the roasted autumn seeds

~Southern Appalachian residents use the green wood to season game and named it the Spicewood tree

~The chemical that makes them pink is called anthocyanins,  a powerful anti-oxidant

~Only long-tongued bees (carpenter, bumble bees) can reach the nectaries. 

~The reddish color is a natural sunscreen. Like most new winter growth, the red color protects against the extreme winter sun.

Posted in Gardening Tips, Picture of the Day | 2 Comments »

Cold Hands, Warm Heart… Not likely

My mother's front yard in Levittown, PA

The recent bout of cold weather has me thinking about weather and mood. As a person with eternally cold hands and feet,  I do not particularly relish the cold weather.  Sure, I can bundle up and have my fun, but I love to come back into the warmth of my home and enjoy a hot cup of something.

But here’s something I recently learned: scientists have finally proven that people who are cold are more likely to be negative than people who are warm.

A 2008 study at Yale University investigated how people judged the world around them while adjusting the temperature of the drink they were holding.  When holding a hot cup of coffee, they were twice as likely to say kind things about others than when holding an icy drink.

They were also more likely to be thoughtful of others than of themselves. When given a choice of choosing a gift for themselves or for a friend, they would choose the gift for a friend if warm and think of themselves if cold.

Interestingly enough, this study showed no differential in male or female responses.

Something to think about the next time you feel grumpy.

Having an argument? Put on a pot of tea.

Having difficulty concentrating? Take a hot shower.

Get warm, get happy.

Happy Day,



Posted in Picture of the Day | 3 Comments »

Cormorants

Cormorants at Bear Island Refuge

I took this photo at Bear Island last weekend. Upon closer inspection I was struck by the pose of each one. Despite the calm of the water’s edge, none were looking at their reflection. They were all too busy looking around to avoid danger.

It reminded me of how people do the same thing. We seek safety outside of ourselves. I heard someone once liken  this behavior to walking into the room and taking everyone else’s temperature to see how we feel.

Don’t think you do this?  How about when you’re having a great day until someone “rains on your parade.”  Or when you obsess over someone else’s bad mood.  Get sad when your child is upset.

What’s the alternative?  How about really looking at your own reflection?

Food for thought.

Happy day,

BTW – Broccoli in bloom  – just as nutritious as the florets themselves and higher in Vitamin C.

Posted in Picture of the Day | 1 Comment »

Beauty in the ordinary

Lichen on oak

There’s an art to seeing beauty in the ordinary.  For some it comes naturally, an innate appreciation for color and form.  For others it can be learned in books or by following masters who teach one how to see. But for some, it can only be acquired by hardship.  When you are stripped of everything you own, or lose the ability to fill your life with beautiful riches, life gets boiled down to the bare bones of survival. Once the dust settles, if you’re lucky, the landscape takes on a new light and you can begin to see the essence of things rather than the things themselves.  This is the blessing of loss.

Although most of us would never volunteer for this type of education, when it happens we would be wise to recognize it as a gift rather than a curse.

Happy day,

Posted in Picture of the Day | 1 Comment »

Tinkerbell Attitude

Preparing for the Hat Tea

Ever do something that takes you completely out of your comfort zone? Used to be that I would be the one on the sidelines watching everyone “make fools of themselves.”  I’d say things like “you’d never catch me dead in that outfit,” or “who does she think she is in those heels?”  The dialogue went on and on as I separated myself from everyone with a quiet disdain.

But then life shifted. I began to notice that life on the sidelines was pretty boring.  Sure I was safe from ridicule, but I certainly wasn’t having the fun that others seemed to be having.

One day while sharing these thoughts with a friend, she wisely posed this question, “What makes you think it’s all about you?”

As obvious as that sounds, it had never occurred to me that I was making every situation about me.  And as long as I did, I was comparing myself to others and therefore judging them the same way I assumed they were judging me.  This seems to be a very female trait.  We’re all so worried about being pretty enough, elegant enough, sexy enough, smart enough….. that we insidiously begin to project that on others in an effort to ease our personal burden.  But it backfires every time.  Inevitably, there will always be someone better, prettier, sexier, smarter, more successful and someone else, usually you, will come up short.

So what to do?   For me, I’m learning to do things anyway, despite the knot in the gut or the angst of measurements.  I’m practicing awareness of  judgment and laughing at my “tinkerbell” attitude.

Tinkerbell is known for saying “it’s all about me.”  In a way, she’s right.  It is all about me but now I know that doesn’t mean that everyone is judging me. If they are, that’s their problem. Now it means that my attitude towards myself and others is completely within my control. If I have a bad day, it’s my fault.  If I have a good day it’s my doing.  But it begins with letting go of the fear of what others think in the first place and embracing the concept that true happiness begins within.

Happy Day

Posted in Picture of the Day | 2 Comments »

Fibonacci

Yesterday, Jerry Weise commented on the Fibonacci series.  For those of you who may not know what this is, allow me to share my thimble full of knowledge.

Fibonacci was an inquisitive man who lived in the 13th century.  Born Leonardo of Pisa, son of Bonaccio, he was often referred to as Fibonacci, an Italian  contraction of “son of Bonaccio.” In 1202 he published Liber Abaci about the history of arithmetic.  Applying ancient Indian laws of math to the mating habits of rabbits. he was able to prove that nature often reproduces along a predictable algorithm.

1 + 1 =2 + 1 = 3 +2 = 5 + 3 = 8 +5 = 13 + 8 =21 and so on.

OR 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55,  and so on.

In other words, if you continue to add a number to the previous number you will follow a distinct pattern.  This is the most common pattern of growth in the natural world.  It is what give the nautilus its repetitious beauty.  It adds concentric clockwise and counterclockwise spirals to a sunflower seed head, a pine cone, or a passion flower.

Examined in detail, you can apply this same arithmetic series to anything from human DNA to tree rings.  Ancient Mayans used it to maximize crops in their fields.  Leonardo da Vinci used it to create exquisite works of art that will forever be admired.  Composers use it to create timeless works of harmonious music.

From this series Fibonacci discovered the perfect ratio of proportion and scale. You know it as the Golden Ratio.  I’ll spare you the math, but suffice it to say that if you created a work of art following the Golden Ratio, it would “naturally” appeal to more people because our eyes are trained to recognize natural proportions as correct and beautiful.

Here are some examples of Fibonacci patterns:

A coneflower - notice the spirals going in both directions

If you look closely you will see the 1,1,2,3,5 fruit arrangement along the stem

Want to know more, click here to see the golden ratio.

Posted in Picture of the Day | 2 Comments »

Snow Dance

What is it about freezing snow that makes everything seem more beautiful? 

Transcendent reality

Looking out over the yard the other morning I was struck by the intensities of form.  Overnight the ugly, half-dead shrubbery was magically transformed into a tapestry of patterns as angles of light danced against the dark mass of dormancy.  Studying closely I was in awe of the order of growth. Staccatic branches reached in unison for the sky, alternated like footsteps along path, or twirled to catch the wind.  Perhaps they moved to a silent song of light.

Standing still I could almost hear the subtle rhythm of the earth. In that instant, I felt the pull to join the dance or forever remain a spectator.   In my heart, I danced.

I’d like to think, had you been there, you would have done the same.

Posted in Picture of the Day | 2 Comments »

Snow Around Town

Johns Island Boys Jeff & Lou wanna have fun too!

The sweater is really to help find the dog - Lorine F

Houghton St -James Island Lorine F

The O'Briens - Coker Ave

Snow on Palm Trees - Tommy O

Posted in Picture of the Day | No Comments »

Snow Dogs, Snow Ladies & Fun

Amazingly, five women came out to play in their yards.  No men, no children.  Just women wanting to have fun.  Other women called me to tell me how much fun they are having outside. Here’s proof:

OVerlooking the marsh - Terry R.

Acorns make great eyes

Just having fun

A new use for Camellia blossoms

A fashion statement on many levels

On a day like today, if you’re not having fun it’s your own fault!

Happy Day!

Posted in Picture of the Day | 1 Comment »