Generations of green

There's a lot of interest and debate in garden circles lately over heirloom vegetables. If you like to examine something before making a commitment, there's a program next weekend you should check out.

Growing History will be offered from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, July 18, at the Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site, 181 Redcliffe Road in Beech Island.

Heirloom plants are those grown from seeds or otherwise cultivated that have been around since at least 1951.

Some folks swear by them for their taste and beauty. However, they can have a harder time surviving insect and disease problems. (There's a reason commercial growers sought the hybrid seeds we see these days.)

Elizabeth Laney, the park interpreter, sent information about the event, which will feature heirloom gardens, a chance to taste heirloom vegetables and to pick up packets of seeds.

There's also a tour of the nearby crinum lily fields created by Jenks Farmer, the former curator of Riverbanks Botanical Gardens in Columbia, which is an excellent day trip, by the way.

At Redcliffe, the gardens feature the fruits and vegetables the third Redcliffe owner, Julia Hammond Richards, raised during the Depression. She sold produce from her gardens to help her family survive the economic woes of the 1930s.

Members of the Aiken Master Gardeners Association will be on hand to talk about their work in the garden and to provide tips.

Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for children and $2.50 for seniors. For more information, call (803) 827-1473 or send e-mail to redcliffe@scprt.com.

Redcliffe is a historic site deeded to South Carolina in 1973. It is open to the public.

IF YOU'RE ITCHING for a garden road trip Saturday, The Gardens at the University of Georgia in Athens is having an open house from 8 a.m. to noon. The trial gardens are used to test plants to find the best varieties. There will be tours, and the chance to buy plants, books and rain barrels. Check out the gardens at ugatrial.hort.uga.edu.

If you can't make it, the Gnome will have a full report next week. The GPS is already charging.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or sandy.hodson@augustachronicle.com.

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