Expert advice is offered during Aiken Garden Show

Before Jill and Marti Gainer headed off to view some of Aiken's beautiful gardens, they had a few questions for the gardening experts.

Marti Gainer's redbuds had been flourishing, and then one morning they were dead.

"Something killed it," said Joel Schlarger, one of the master gardeners fielding questions at the Aiken Garden Show on May 16.

Just what had killed the plants will likely remain a mystery. There were no burrows or tracks to suggest an animal such as a vole.

Questions thrown at the master gardeners covered a number of topics. People wanted to know how to identify certain plants, what to do to make day lilies more attractive and how to care for azaleas.

The master gardeners had several resources at their fingertips, including printed sheets from the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service's Web site and the Master Gardeners' 2008 Aiken County Almanac, which has gardening advice specific to the area.

The Master Gardener booth was one of the highlights of the fourth annual Aiken Garden Show at the Aiken County Historical Museum and area gardens. Garden tours were held May 17.

This was the first year the event has been held in the spring, and chairwoman Tommie Culligan said the move was a good one. "This is the perfect time of year. All of the roses are in bloom," she said.

Nine gardens were part of the event, and two of them were open for special guided tours by their owners.

Members of the Aiken Camellia Society also had a booth at the museum. They discussed growing techniques for camellias, which include grafting and air layering.

Growing a camellia bush from a seed can be a long process, according to member Anna Sheets. It might be five or six years before there's any sign of a camellia bush growing, she said.

The garden show was a fundraiser for three area charities: the Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County, the Aiken County Open Land Trust and the American Red Cross.

Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.