Month: September 2026

Flowers in Boxes

| Flower Roberts

Many homes in Charleston are against the sidewalks. Instead of front gardens, these homes have window boxes at each window with matching plantings. Many have large pots by the entrances. This breaks up the look of the walls with some shapes and colors.


We marveled that most of these plantings are in perfect condition. There is no wilting or leggy growth. It is like they are constantly maintained…because they are.
We stopped at one house that had a ladder under the planter and plants in their plastic pots preliminarily placed for arranging.

Window box by Potted Pleasures

We were standing at the ladder when a woman appeared. She said she was from a company, Potted Pleasures, that designs, installs and maintains windowboxes and potted arrangements along the sidewalks.

No wonder all the plantings are perfect!

We stopped back by later to see the finished product. It was balanced with the three basics: spill, fill and thrill.

Another reason I love this city is that beautiful plants are everywhere.

Here are some samples of flowers in boxes.

These had an automatic watering system

Gorgeous displays for folks strolling by.

I am going to miss this.

FLOWER headed back to reality

The Frog Woo

| Flower Roberts

This whole town has me charmed. It usually does that. It’s the art, architecture, fountains and flowers that get me. Wandering through the streets of Charleston is like walking around in a dream. Beauty is everywhere.


The migrating butterflies caused a pause this week.

The sunset at the Citrus Club on top of the Dewberry took my breath away.

Cooper River Bridge

But I did not fall head-over-heals in love until I spied two frogs in a tiny boat.

The cutest scene in the city.

I squealed at them through a hole in the hedge. “This is it!” I said. “There is magic right here!”

Pond of dreams

Thankfully, I did not have to stick my camera through the hedge. We turned the corner to see a ROUND frog pond with a frog party in progress.

Magical

I felt my feet growing roots. I was mesmerized like a blinded frog myself… Staring at something from my imagination created by a soulmate stranger.

There was something so familiar about the scene that I stayed silently planted on the sidewalk, hoping noone would break the spell of the frogs of my dreams surrounding the most adorable tiny floating boat.

It was like a scene from the beloved Frog and Toad books. Did the owners do this intentionally? Did they know their little frogs were wooing women as they passed and paused by their magic pond?

THIS is pure gold made of bricks, moss, water and metals. I do and will always love FROGS and Charleston. Now I know where to find them both together…Just like Frog and Toad!

Adorable amphibians

FLOW

The Passion and the Pea

| Flower Roberts

This was one of my favorite finds of the whole trip to Charleston. These two intertwined vines are covering two separate trellises in the gardens of the Manigault House.

Passiflora vines and Butterfly Pea/ Bluebell vines/Clitoria ternatea vines covering sidewalk sentinel trellises near the gatehouse.

Gatehouse of the Manigault House


Not only are the blooming vines bursting with Fritillary butterflies. They are also crawling with caterpillars of all sizes. 

Fritillary caterpillars all over Passion leaves

One is even forming a chrysalis. It was hanging beside a peapod of a similar shape.

Caterpillar to chrysalis

The passion flowers are a deep purple and the pea blooms are deep blue. My camera did not do them justice.

Passion flower
Blue Pea bloom/Bluebell/Butterfly Pea

I just had to pause a while to watch all the fluttering and crawling on these Passions and Peas.

Fritillary butterfly

FLOWER

More Gorgeous Gates

| Flower Roberts

The wrought iron gates of Charleston are as varied as the wonderfully ornate houses they belong to.
Here are some more of my favorites.

Not iron, but lovely.

I am happy to peek through the lovely gates of Charleston.

I found my favorite little yard today. I hated to leave it it felt like I belonged there. It will get its own post.

FLOWER

Sitting Under the Monarch Flight Path

| Flower Roberts

I spent today sitting on the beach of the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. I did see sea gulls, pelicans and porpoises.

Jonathan?

I watched children digging in sand and throwing water on each other.

Isle of Palms

But the thing that kept getting my attention were butterflies.

Two Monarchs migrating


Not a few. Dozens and dozens of Monarchs. Flying solo or in pairs. All headed in the same direction.  One or two flew by every minute or two. We kept pointing them out to each other.


Do you how hard it is to get a photo of a butterfly riding the wind on the shore of the ocean?

Solo flight


I tried over and over. Photo bursts and all. I got several far away photos but only one definitive shot. My phone seems to have changed the marking as it increased the resolution.

My best shot


Mr. Flower and I marvelled at the migration that everyone else ignored. I have never seen so many Monarchs on one day in my life.


This is the part of today I will remember.
Sitting on a beach witnessing the Monarch miracle migration.

FLOWER

The Floating Spiral Staircase

| Flower Roberts

I have been amazed by many architectural wonders here in Charleston. There are towers, balconies, rounded piazzas, decorative doors and windows of all shapes and sizes.

NATHANIAL RUSSELL HOUSE

The thing that stopped me in my tracks was the spiral, cantilevered, three-storied staircase in the Nathaniel Russell House.

Floating staircase

I had to stop my audio tour several times just to examine it from all angles.

Flying staircase

There was a place cut out underneath so the innards could be seen.

Staircase inner structure visible

This house was built in 1808 and restored to as near its original condition as is possible. The flying stairs are an engineering marvel.

Amazing cantilevered staircase in Nathaniel Russell House.

FLOWER

Getting a Tractor Seat

| Flower Roberts

I have seen Tractor Seat plants in many shady spots here in Charleston. Their big green leaves resemble a vintage tractor seat. Their proper name is Farfugium japonicum.

Tractor Seat

The leaves can get over a foot across if given enough consistent moisture. Their normal range is Zones 7-10.

There is a hybrid ‘Green Tractor’ that survives in Zone 4. I will be looking for this one to put against the house on the mountain.

Farfugium japonicum

Another great attribute besides being ectremely deer resistant is it has big yellow clusters of blooms in late summer and fall.

Tractor Seat around a fountain

I will be looking for a Green Tractor Seat when I get back on the mountain.

FLOWER lovin’ some Charleston

A Loaded Canna

| Flower Roberts

The leaves look like canna leaves, but the flowers are much smaller than other cannas.

The seed pods are spiky green balls that will darken. Its nickname is Indian Shot. That is because the ripened seeds look like buck shot.

Seeds of Indian Shot Canna


I am not familiar with this hybrid. I read it is an invasive species in warm, moist regions. I guess I should not purloin a pod while I am in Charleston. Sigh.

Canna indica

FLOWER