Beautiful Arbequina Olive Tree for Sale

 

The Arbequina Olive Tree produces its wonderful fruit and also does very well as an ornamental plant.

The photo of this girl was taken a little over a month ago...as of this posting she is beginning to produce olives.

If you are interested in having this wonderful plant as is or wish to consider finding a place for it planted on your property, please contact me.

You can learn more about her at https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/arbequinaolivetree?variant=13940803207220. 

She is available for $146.00, in pot, plus delivery, and installation if desired.

The promise of fresh, healthy olives with the authentic taste of Spain. Arbequinas are popular because of their flavor, but they also have a high concentration of healthy, antioxidant-rich oils. You can get up to 20 pounds of olives each year to enjoy in your salads and add to your favorite recipes - and even make your own olive oil at home!

Plus, they grow nearly anywhere. They're seldom bothered by pests and will grow organically, no matter where you live. Even better? Arbequinas grow indoors year-round. These trees are semi-deciduous, meaning they only drop their leaves in extreme cold and tolerate 20-degree weather. Grown indoors, they'll keep their leaves throughout the winter.

Please call or text me, Doug Ingbretsen, at 803-553-5757 or use the Contact Us tab above if you are interested.

Thank you.

 

That Amaryllis...My Love

I had seen her before, long ago...a wall flower, I thought, not a wild flower.

She was and is beautiful; yet, she's unaware of such.

I plodded and trodded by her so many times as I hoped to learn more of her. 

There were conversations we had, none more than we should have. Many left un-ended and plenty left unanswered. Her beauty became more intriguing...it lingered. It still does. 

Simply being near her was comforting, whether in full-bloom or otherwise. There was a sense of compassion, content, an easiness not felt since my youth.

She will always be there. I hope, and I have...

...Hope she will always be near me.

 

Last Call for Smoked Boston Butts...April 4

Once again, we are having our semi-annual Boston Butt Bonanza (bigger and better) and this is a wonderful time to let someone else do the cookin'.

In fact, these wonderful cuts of pork, smoked and prepared by Award Winning Smokers -  DOKO Smoke BBQ - will be available just in time for Easter.

The Easter Bunny is so thankful not to be a part of your holiday dining plans and doesn't mind you pigging out otherwise.

For our spring fundraiser, we usually make pick-up available on Good Friday, butt for reasons outside of our control, we are doing so a week earlier. You don't need to freeze your butt for Easter - just toss it in the fridge.

Get creative! You can freeze your butt off (in the freezer) and feed your family and friends later, host a party or have some bona fide pulled pork for your next picnic.

No ifs, ands; just butts - one of the best butts you'll ever get your hands on.

The Butt: A cooked-weight of approximately seven (7) pounds of shapely deliciousness, packaged in tin foil...Only $40.00.

If you run out of ideas (silly thought) for what to do with your Boston Butt, you can always leave a few pounds for making Chalupas.

If you are not a fan of Boston Butt or still have some hanging out in your freezer, you can always designate your purchase to go to Epworth Children's Home. They are nothing, butt fans.

Proceeds go to church and community projects including funding for Family Promise (hosting homeless families once per quarter), sponsoring and volunteering for the National Prayer Line the first Saturday of each month and funding for Sheriff Leon Lott's Elder Watch Program.

Tickets are now on sale through April 4 at the Bethel United Methodist Church office Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The church is located at 4600 Daniel Drive in Forest Acres.

OR, you can use the purchase feature below and select as many butts as you can handle.

Please enter Epworth if purchase is for Epworth Children's Home.

Pick-up for the Boston Butts will be between 4PM to 7PM Friday, April 11 - in time for Easter. Pick-up will be in the rear church parking lot, off Willingham Drive.

Linebacker Distylium: A Wonderful Screen Shrub

Linebacker Distylium

I love Distyliums as they are such a versatile, low-maintenance and attractive shrub.

I have planted and/or pruned all the most common Distyliums; yet, I only recently became familiar with this one, the Linebacker.

Many property owners find the need for a screen between themselves and neighbors, traffic, a commercial property, an eyesore or simply for some privacy.

The linebacker offers the solution with little mess and maintenance.

And, he is a tough one - no known pest or disease issues and virtually drought tolerant once established.

This a wonderful alternative to Cherry Laurel, Arborvitae, and definitely Red Tips and Leyland Cypress, among many other troublesome screening plants.

Its new foliage transitions from red to deep green while it also produces tiny red flowers during late winter or early spring.

If you need a little defense from your adjacent surroundings, the Linebacker may be your perfect player in the right position.

Yes, we can design a layout and install these for you. So please call me, Doug, at 803-553-5757, if need be.

God, You and Me

God’s breath, he breathed in thee.

 

The trees swayed

 

The birds sang

 

God’s son, he lived and died for thee.

 

The sun shone

 

The streams, they flowed.

 

God’s child, you and me.

 

The flowers bloomed

 

In soil turned by you and me.

 

God grows it all with grace and glory

 

As, with you and me.

 

Thus, let it be.

 

Amen.

Plant of Interest - Distylium

 

Blue Cascade Distylium

Winter is an opportune time, as a homeowner, to consider new or different plants to install on your property in the coming season.

The following, in a series of articles, is to introduce you to a few plants of interest, perhaps ones for which you are unfamiliar.

The Distylium is an evergreen, low-maintenance, more open-format shrub which serves as a wonderful alternative or replacement for boxwoods, laurels, hollies, indian hawthorns, just to name a few.

Depending on species, a Distylium can be used as a foundation bed plant, a screen, a specimen plant, in an island plant bed, around a mailbox, or elsewhere. They possess varying mature heights and widths so you have great flexibility for placement.

Typically, the name of a Distylium lends itself to a tint of color the foliage will have as it develops new leaves or perhaps longer. All have very small reddish-maroon flowers which usually appear in late winter to early spring.

The rarely need pruning except to perhaps reduce height or prevent encroaching upon another plant or structure. Or, you can install a mass planting and simply allow them to grow into one another.

These need to be hand pruned properly. DO NOT take hedgers or trimmers to them to cut them back, reduce their size or shape them. The resulting mess will not resemble the original beautiful plant. I have rehabbed many whereas the homeowner or their lawn service decided to make little round shapes out of them. If anything, leave them alone.

I am providing a link which provides more detail on several Distyliums, but there are a few more which will suit most any application.

In recent years I have installed Cinnamon Girl, Blue Cascade, Vintage Jade and Emerald Heights Distyliums with great success.

You can learn more at https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/distyliums/.

If you are considering creating a new plant bed, restoring an existing one or simply placing a few new plants on your property, please contact me, Doug, at 803-553-5757. 

We can begin planning and/or establishing new plant beds now to get a jump on the Spring rush.

Flourish

I stumbled upon this gorgeous plant the other day.

Doing so was not so unusual; yet, something was amiss.

The location, the dense clay soil, the lack of true sunlight and near-drought conditions bode not well for this beautiful creation of nature.

She was surrounded by struggling grasses of yellowing and brown blades.

Yet, she was thriving, beautiful, flourishing.

Taken aback, I considered her unyielding environ, the struggle to survive. Perhaps she endured all the consequences, the adversity and still chose to flourish, regardless - her fortitude.

For then, I began to remember and cherish all the family, friends and acquaintances whom have occupied my life.

Those who have endured, overcome and flourished among harsh conditions - the unsettled foundations, lack of love or care, droughts of praise and confidence. Me included, along with many, many others.

Many were astray spiritually and emotionally by evaluation and admittance, their own, not mine, nor anyone else's. Often such circumstances beget the fortitude to flourish.

Fortitude can be a taught, learned or experienced leverage of positive living often shared by those who once lacked the same along their way.

While fortitude usually deals with overcoming adversity, with hope and visualization, we may begin to flourish.

Share.

The preceding was inspired by a church men's club meeting I attended this morning, at which a member recounted his experiences and feelings from a retreat he attended recently whereas other men were brought together to discuss their experiences, emotions and so many other thoughts regarding the abuse they received as children.

We all deeply thanked the member, who is a wonderful person and dedicated member of our church, for sharing this experience. He has, or is, overcoming so much.

Fortitude is not a gift. I wish it were.