Sunday Feature: Golf Course Gardens

One of the most interesting places I’ve found to admire gardens is out on the golf course. Most try very hard to create a very natural, beautiful setting to enhance the experience, which I definitely appreciate. The gardens and landscaping also work to integrate the courses into their surroundings, which make them a perfect haven for wildlife (see previous post: Wildlife on the Golf Course ). It seems as though the course gardeners often put as much energy into the gardens as they do into the actual course. I’ve found that the gardens can be very calming, the blooms and scents can cheer up a dismal game, or in some cases, they can make you laugh when you come across a random pumpkin patch. Enjoy some of the photos from the courses I’ve been on this year.

South Carolina

Illinois

And then there’s the pumpkins. We watched these grow all summer, not quite sure what we were looking at. Perfect conditions, the pumpkins were huge!

(I do have to give a shout out to all my golfing partners who tolerate my running off to take a quick picture. Can’t always do it, but try to when it doesn’t interfere with the “pace of play”. When I think it might, those pretty scenes just have to be tucked away in my memory 🙂 )

Coleus

I’ve been away from blogging for a few days while my husband and I took a wonderful quick trip to Charleston, SC. As I mentioned in my Kiawah blog (and also the one on Kiawah dining), we’ve flown to the Charleston airport numerous times with the family to go right out to the beach, but never made a side trip to Charleston. I am currently writing up that trip for a “Travel to Charleston” post, but in the meantime there were some interesting gardening ideas that I thought I’d write about.

The first is about Coleus. Seems an odd choice, but I have become quite a fan of this fairly simple and common plant. I remember back in the old days, we used to have them as indoor houseplants. As long as they got some sunlight, kept them evenly watered and kept pinching them, they grew great. Of course, I did none of those, so I got ugly, leggy plants that I think even got mites or something.

Fast forward to today. I have slowly been using them as annuals in pots around the yard. This year I filled 3 pots that are in dappled shady locations with just coleus seedlings that I picked up cheaply at Home Depot. I didn’t really plan it out very well, other than something needed to go in those pots. But much to my surprise, my husband has remarked on numerous occasions how much he likes those coleus pots that surround his grill area. They have turned out to be so colorful and interesting, and have been fun to watch as the summer has progressed. In fact, they still look great as fall colors starts to settle in around them.

They’ve been simple to keep looking good. Keep them watered, they definitely let you know when they need it, and pinch the flower stalks periodically to keep them bushy. At this point I have let them flower and that’s added to their prettiness. I didn’t fertilize them much, but I think like any pot plant, it helps.

So how does this relate to Charleston? As we wandered around this very wanderable city, coleus was everywhere. In pots, in window boxes and in gardens. I was so surprised to see it so many places, and I came to realize what a great mixer it was in the garden arrangements, both as a mass of one color, or a colorful mixture of varieties.

Seeing these beautiful garden spaces has definitely encouraged me to to think about how I can use coleus better in my own garden spaces. They are so easy to grow and versatile in their uses, I’ve already been researching varieties and seed sources for next spring. I will probably grow my own so that I can really plan out the right varieties for the colors, height and sun conditions better. Unfortunately in Zone 5 where I live, coleus is definitely an annual so it needs to be grown each year or plant cuttings overwintered indoors. If I can find a location to overwinter a few, I might do that. But I better hurry, it’s getting close to that first frost here.

So if you’re looking for ideas as to how to grow and use coleus in your garden, check out these sites that I’ve started collecting for next spring. Does anyone have any more recommendations or ideas? Do you have coleus in your garden?

Southern Living-Colorful Coleus
Fine Gardening-Designing with Coleus
Fine Gardening-Sizing up Coleus
Tribtoday.com-Start Coleus Seeds Now for Spring
Swallowtail Gardens Seeds
Burpee Seeds

Travel Tips: Kiawah Island Dining

In a previous post, I talked about all the wonderful things to do on Kiawah Island. This time, I’ll talk about the dining options on the island and nearby. While Kiawah does not have as many food options as other popular islands such as Hilton Head, it has a unique array of restaurants and cafes that make up for the lack of options. When people think of Kiawah, they first think of the highly rated Ocean Room and Jasmine Porch at the Sanctuary Hotel. Our trips to Kiawah have always been a bit more laid back, so we have not eaten at these restaurants. However, from everything I’ve read and heard, these are exquisite dining options and should not be missed if they fit in your budget.

When our family visits Kiawah, we stay in a villa with a kitchen that allows us to eat breakfast and lunch at home. Then, we treat ourselves to a dinner out on the town! Food can be easily bought in a pinch at the Town Market in East Beach. For a more substantial shopping, head to The Village Market by Harris Teeter in Freshfields Village. They are conveniently open from 6 am-midnight every day, with the deli and hot bar open 8-8. So no matter when you arrive, you can head over to pick up some supplies. They have a nice selection of prepared foods such as salads, sandwiches, pizza, dinners and sides and baked goods. There is even a Starbucks inside, so if you’re in need of your special coffee drink, you can get one right there.

Dining on Kiawah Island

There are a lot of dining options right on the island ranging from super casual beer and hot dogs at Oak Point clubhouse, to a Four Star restaurant at the Ocean Room. I will review the places we have eaten at.

One of our family favorites is the Ryder Cup Bar located in the Ocean Course clubhouse. It’s well worth the drive for the food, the scenery, and the experience. It also has one of the best mojitos around. They don’t take reservations, but we never have to wait too long. And even if you do have to wait, it’s a great time to enjoy the pro shop, use the practice putting green and get some great photos. For appetizers, you can’t go wrong with the Warm Carolina Crab Dip, Mussels Diavola or Charcuterie Plate. We’ve loved the Fish Taco’s, BBQ pork Sliders, Bagger Burger and Shrimp Provencal. They don’t have a traditional children’s menu, but our kids have always found something delicious to eat off the menu.

You can't beat the view.
Shrimp Provençal

The Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House is another favorite. It’s located at the Osprey Point clubhouse and there really are osprey nesting right in view of the clubhouse. If you’re able to get one of the porch tables (and be lucky enough to be there when the gnats aren’t), you also have a good chance of seeing one of the resident alligators. It is a traditional southern BBQ, so some of the sauces are a bit new to northerners like us. Nevertheless, we found everything absolutely delicious. I had the savory brisket, while the rest of the family had the free range chicken, smoked St. Louis Style ribs and the Triple Grind Dinner Burger. At first glance, that seemed like an awfully expensive hamburger, but my son just kept saying it was the best burger he had ever had! That was a mighty high compliment, so we all had to try a bit and we all had to agree. The sides were all tasty, and the beer list is fabulous, too.

Family Seaside Buffet At Loggerhead Grill is a real treat, weather permitting. The Loggerhead Grill is poolside at The Sanctuary. We went a few times when the kids were not yet teenagers and could eat for the child price. They still ask to go every year, and one of these years we will have to splurge and really treat ourselves. It has a little bit of everything for the seafood lover, or for the person willing to try new things, as our kids did. Everything was super fresh and tasty. There’s festive music, great service and a great setting. Just wonderful to eat poolside at sunset.

The Market at Town Center turned out to be the place for us this year. They offer dine-in or take-out items all day from 7 am-9pm. We had their pizzas the first night after we checked in and they made for a perfect first night meal. Later in the week, we needed a quick meal before heading out for an evening kayaking trip, so we called in a sandwich order which were just perfect a casual, quick dinner. Not sure why we didn’t make more use of this before, but we’ll be back. They do have a nice dining area if you choose to eat in, rather than taking it back home. The ordering/paying system is a little confusing, but once you figure it out, it works just fine.

Ice Cream at Beaches and Cream Beaches and Cream is located inside The Sanctuary and is a decadent treat, both for the price and its sweet treats. but it is nice on those hot summer days.

For drinks, The Sanctuary’s Lobby Bar is not to be missed. My husband and I try to make it a point to go over at least once a visit for a relaxing drink in an absolutely beautiful, very Southern room. We never tire of walking through the lobby, seeing the stunning and huge low country murals before entering the Lobby Bar. In this oversized parlor, you are surrounded by warm walnut, comfortable furniture, and of course, a view of the gardens and ocean. They have an extensive drink list, but hands-down my favorite is the Mojito.

There are a number of other dining options that we haven’t tried, including the Mingo Point Oyster Roast, The Atlantic Room, Tomasso’s at Turtle Point and Night Heron Grill. Maybe next trip.

Off Island Dining

The closest place to find dining off Kiawah island is at Bohicket’s Marina, located right between Kiawah and Seabrook islands. It’s a cute market area with shopping, dining and of course, the marina. Salty Dog Cafe Seabrook, Fischer’s Sports Pub and Lucky Luciano’s Pizza are located there.

We ventured over to Bohickets one night to enjoy the sunset and dinner at the marina. The wait for dinner was very reasonable. We just wandered out front and enjoyed the scenery of the river and the marina at sunset. It’s a fun, festive kind of place.

A lot of people will venture to Charleston for dinner, but when we’re on Kiawah, we stay on Kiawah. The fabulous places everyone keeps telling me about will have to be visited in a separate trip to Charleston someday.

Sunday Feature: Wildlife on the Golf Course

One of the best places I’ve found to observe nature has been on the golf course. I’m not really a very good golfer (been known to just pick up my ball on occasion), but I love being out on the courses with friends and family. Right from the beginning, I’ve always had a little bag with me with binoculars, a camera and in the old days, my old trusty bird book. I am always careful though, not to slow anyone else down. That’s a good way to irritate the other golfers on the course.

Nowadays, I’m more apt to have just my iPhone, which has a great deal of memory taken up with the Audubon series of nature guides. It can also substitute for a camera, if I need to cut back on something. I’ve seen the mundane, as well as the very exciting, once in a lifetime types of sightings. It was on golf courses on Kiawah Island and in MI where I’ve seen the only Pileated Woodpeckers I’ve ever seen. I’ve also seen many interesting herons, storks, hawks, ospreys, Bald Eagles, ducks, as well as songbirds like Baltimore Orioles, hummingbirds, goldfinches, wrens, swallows, killdeer, and bluebirds. I’ve even seen one of my partners attacked mercilessly by an overprotective, nesting red-winged blackbird, and twice seen killdeer putting on their broken wing act to distract us away from its nest.

Then there’s the mammals, insects and reptiles. Many different types of squirrels, which I swear sometimes steal the balls for fun, deer, turtles, snakes, dragonflies, butterflies, and of course, alligators. You learn quickly to just leave those balls behind that roll near the ponds or into the swampy grass. That low, grumbling noise of a mother alligator calling her babies is not something to mess with.

Enjoy some of my more recent photos.

Snowy Egrets