SC ag department encouraging specialty crops - State & Regional - Wire - The State

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina producers who support certain crops could be eligible for special assistance. Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers says his agency is now accepting applications for institutions and groups that support crops like fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture and nursery crops. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service as established by the 2008 Farm Bill
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SC ag department encouraging specialty crops - State & Regional - Wire - The State

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Thousands learn, admire sights of summer at annual Flower Day

By LESLEY LANE

Special to the Index-Journal
Saturday, June 27, 2009 11:48 PM EDT

Photo - A bumblebee rests on a Zinnia (zowie yellow flame) Saturday during the 43rd annual Flower Day at the Park Seed gardens in Greenwood. (Staff photo by T.M. James)

The ribbons of color that weave their way through the grounds of Park Seed drew thousands of spectators Saturday for the 43rd South Carolina Festival of Flowers Flower Day.

Visitors came by car and bus load from as far away as Oklahoma to witness one of the Southeast’s largest and most spectacular displays of gardens.The nine-acre spread includes more than 2,000 varieties of flowers, vegetables, shrubs and trees. Rose and themed gardens also can be found at Park Seed.

Each year during Flower Day, Park Seed offers guided tours of its renowned trial gardens.

The trial gardens, established in 1961, are where Park Seed tries out plants before they are offered for sale in the mail order catalog. As many as 1,000 flowers and 250 vegetable selections grow there every year. Staff horticulturists guided visitors through the gardens Saturday, offering information about the different varieties of plants and how to care for them.