Oh the beautiful, graceful Southern Belle of the South...the Evergreen Shade Loving Camellia.She sure does make my Heart Shine! I don't know about you, but my heart just tends to get full of happiness when I gaze at these beauties! Thankfully I'm surrounded by Camellias not only here at the Pocket Cottage, but also throughout our Sweet Southern Coastal Town of Southport, NC! https://youtu.be/G3Cl26axaaE I Simply Adore Camellias; the Southern Shade Loving Evergreen! photography by: Erin S. of Simply Living NC A Little Bit About Camellias: Camellias are indeed known as one of the South's beloved plants! Also known as the Camellia Japonica or Sasanqua Camellia An Evergreen Shrub, which can also be shaped or formed into a Tree Camellias produce gorgeous flowers ranging in colors of pink, reds, & whites Some produce single bloom flowers, others produce double bloom like a carnation or peony Flower when other's in the garden are not producing, Sept, Oct, Winter Months until Spring. Most are Deer Resistant Hardy in zones 7-10 Can grow quite large from 6-10 feet tall and wide Love Shade, Dappled Sun/Shade and Some will Sunburn with too much Sun Camellias Don't Like Wet Feet, do not plant in Soggy Soil and Plant a little Higher than soil Camellias enjoy organic matter mixed within their soil when planting They Prefer to be fertilized after their Flowers have Dropped and again in Summer if needed Prune as needed AFTER blooming Camellias are Slow Growing Camellia Pests and Problems: Leaf Scorch or Leaf Sunburn, look for yellow or scorched leaves, provide shade Tea Scale, look for tiny white or brown specs under the leaves, treat with a horticultural oil Petal Blite, look for blooms rapidly browning & dropping, treat by picking up dropped ones Bud Drop, look for buds dropping before opening, caused by freezing, drought or overwatering Root Rot, make sure to plant base of plant a little higher than the soil to prevent soggy feet photography by: Erin S. of Simply Living NC photography by: Erin S. of Simply Living NC Why do I Simply Adore Camellias? Well now, I simply say...who wouldn't love this graceful flower filled beauty?I'll never forget the first moment I laid eyes on a Camellia, strolling through our local park. I say local, because this park is indeed local to me now. However when we first moved to North Carolina I had never even seen a Camellia in person. A simple stroll through our park and my heart was filled with what I thought were some form of rose or peony trees, little did I know they were Camellias!Years later, my own yard is graced with their beauty and I still walk daily through our local park to enjoy the original Southern ladies who filled my heart. Here at the Pocket Cottage we have Several Varieties and are always adding, in fact we just planted a new addition to the garden and can't wait to see her strut her stuff next September! photography by: Erin

Is your desire to build a Small Rustic Vegetable Garden that blends within the surroundings, flows with the style of a cottage garden, all while being deer resistant? We had the exact desires! We wanted to find a way to blend a vegetable garden into our existing cottage garden beds. We felt it was best to create a very natural garden with a little pop of whimsy! Damage from deer A national survey by USDA’s in 1992 identified deer damage as the most widespread form of wildlife damage. Forty percent of the farmers reported having deer damage. There are many ways to combat deer damage such as repellents, deer resistant plantings and as fencing. We have found fencing to be the most effective for us to prevent having to spray pesticides and chemicals near our crops. Deer have the ability to jump as high as eight feet so a fence should be close to that height. Our garden is so small we felt for us closer to six feet was tall enough. Starting with a plan and dead standing Oak trees We started this project like most, knowing what natural resources were available to us. We knew we had nice dead standing Oak logs in our back woods that were solid and free of rot that would work great for post. You could also use something like a Steel Stake which would work just as good. We also had some leftover bricks for the raised beds within the garden. With that and a plan it was time to get started. photography by: Simply Living NC The full plan We stared with tilling the area where the garden was going with a small tiller like this one. At this time we also added some soil amendments of compost. Next was digging for the post holes to set our six Oak posts with a post hole digger. We then wrapped the entire enclosure with Poultry Netting with staples as well as wire to hold to the posts. We also dug a small trench and folded the wire fencing into the ground to stop any animals from digging under the fence. Next was to lay the brick border and mound the dirt up we kept this very simple just standing bricks on there edge with a hardwood mulched path down the middle. Lastly was to make a gate that would keep all the little critters out. For this we went back to our natural store of the wood and found cedar branches and grape vines to make the one of kind whimsical gate. Once the frame was made we once again used the Poultry Netting attached to the gate. photography by: Simply Living NC photography by: Simply Living NC The end result What we ended up with is what we think is the perfect rustic garden that takes up minimal room and flows with our surrounding. We now have a 6' x 12' garden with 16" raised beds on three sides and

Are your plants dying? It could be from Salt Damage to Plants. We share our secrets of how to help your plants recover from too much salt! Salt Damage to outdoor plants is a rare thing to happen in most parts of the country. It could happen from a faulty water softener if you use that water for your plants. Here are a few ways you may have Salt Damage: You live next to a highway or road treated with snow melt Your plants were watered with water from a faulty water softener. Plants were exposed to Hurricane Flooding and/or Flooding In our case our plants were damaged by salt from one of the worst hurricanes to hit our area of Southport, NC! Hurricane Florence created storm surges at astronomic levels. Our outdoor plants were exposed to the type of flooding we had never witnessed before. Since this type of flooding was from the ocean and area saltwater filled bodies of water, it carried along heavy levels of salt and deposited into our soil. After three weeks of being away from our home we came back to many damaged plants and sadly many plants that had died. Some plants like Sable Minor Palms thrived since they are so salt torrent others did not fair so well. Non-Native plants faired the worst and may not be able to recover come spring. Happy Palm! Signs of Salt Damaged Plants: The salt damages the roots of the plants which causes no nutrients or water to get to the plant. After time the plants will start to yellow and parts will start will start to die and the plant growth will also be stunted. This only happens to more sensitive plants verses others are more salt torrent.   Sad Salt Damaged Plant How to Protect Your Soil: In most cases you could fix the faulty water softener or use less snow melt or even build up soil to redirect runoff. All these items would be things to look into to keep from having a constant battle. Another would be to think about more salt torrent plants and replace your damaged or dead plants with more salt loving native plants. First Step Building Up Your Ground: For us, we have started the process of building up the ground slightly and planting more native plants that are used to that occasional salt water flooding. We are hoping with just a few changes we can make a big difference to continue to have thriving plants in the future. Next Step Leaching Your Soil: Once returning back home I went to the internet for advice of how to save the plants. Within my research I kept coming across the word "leach". There are serval ways to help leach one's soil. The first way is to water the affected area thoroughly and often; making sure the water is draining well. If the soil is not draining well you can add organic material to the soil. This will assist