Mary Snoddy, SE Garden Writer
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Mary Snoddy, SE Garden Writer
@marysnoddy-writer.bsky.social
59 followers 85 following 46 posts
Writer, Gardener, Animal Lover. Posting from SC/NC border in southeastern US.
www.marysnoddy.com
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Chenille Plant is so very touchable. Grow this one outdoors in the US Southeast, but bring it indoors for winter.🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/12...
#gardening #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
I grew up in an era where white chenille bedspreads were popular. They had a frustrating habit of leaving fuzz on everything they touched. It would take an entire adhesive lint roller to freshen black...
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December 10, 2025 at 2:46 AM
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Torenia, or Wishbone Flower, is a lovely annual for shade -- Some of my gardening friends are reporting that it overwinters in zone 8 gardens! 🌱
#shadegardening #marysnoddy www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/11...
#shadegardening #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
The dreaded first fall freeze arrived in my area last night, and my garden annuals are now either mush or crispy. Even those in protected areas were damaged by the frigid wind gusts. I hate to say far...
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November 13, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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What do hordes of turkeys have in common with tons of acorns? More than you might think.🌱
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#marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
Anyone witnessing my push-mowing of the back lawn last week would have been amused. Despite my lug-soled work boots, I was slip sliding around like the slope was ice covered. But it wasn’t ice; it was...
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October 30, 2025 at 2:54 AM
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It is a certain sign of fall in the southeastern US when Strawberry Bush starts showing its brilliant seed clusters.🌱
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#nativeplants #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
During my weekly walk through our woodlands, my attention was drawn by a bright spot of color. It was the brilliantly colored seed clusters of Euonymus americanus , (yoo-ON-uh-mus ah-mer-uh-KAY-nus),...
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October 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
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Oleander (Nerium oleander) is a beautiful but highly toxic shrub found along warm coastal areas of the southeastern US. The story of its common name is entertaining. 🌱
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#evergreen #Hedge #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
I enjoy a beautiful shrub that flowers along the South Carolina coast. I had not seen it locally, so I assumed that it was tender and would not survive cold weather further inland. Recently, however, ...
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October 8, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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Strawberry Begonia is neither a strawberry nor a begonia. It is a super groundcover for shade.
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/9/...
#shadeplants #groundcoverplants #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
Strawberry Begonia plant is not a strawberry and is not a begonia. Instead, this shade-loving groundcover is Saxifraga stolonifera , pronounced SAK·suh·fra·guh stoh-lon-NIF-er-rah. The species name, ...
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October 2, 2025 at 12:50 PM
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Yellow-foliage Florida Sunshine Anise is a popular shrub for zones 7-9, but don't ignore the other members of the Anise tribe. They make great hedges and features in shady gardens. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/9/...
#evergreen #shadeplants #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
It seems unfair that bright yellow ‘Florida Sunshine’ Illicium is getting landscape attention to the exclusion of other species, so I want to share the love with other Illicium that are garden wor...
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October 2, 2025 at 12:48 PM
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This morning I am enjoying the deep purple blooms of Princess Flower. It is not cold hardy in my zone 8 garden in southeastern US, but it is so lovely that I will grow it as an annual. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/9/...
#tibouchina #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
My Princess Flower started blooming this week. It has a lovely, deep purple flowers and velvety leaves. Princess Flower, Tibouchina urvilleana , is a tropical plant, reliably perennial only in zone 9...
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September 18, 2025 at 12:14 PM
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Fatshedera, "Bush Ivy," is a solution for dry shade in US zones 7b-10. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/9/...
#garden #gardening #dryshade #evergreen #fatshedera #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
At one point of my gardening life, any suggestion of Hedera (Ivy) for the garden would have been met with a resounding, “NO!” That was before I discovered Fatshedera , an intergeneric cross between...
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September 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
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Sky Pencil holly can make a perfect skinny hedge or container focal point. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/9/...
#evergreen #privacyhedge #ilexcrenata #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
Much of the southeast is experiencing a growth spurt. The latest statistic I heard from my own area of South Carolina is that an average of 29 people move to Spartanburg County every day . New subdiv...
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September 3, 2025 at 8:21 PM
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'Millenium' Ornamental Onion is a great choice for any full-sun southeastern US garden.🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/8/...
#gardening #garden #summerbulbs #provenwinners #allium #marysnoddy #southeasterngarden
Post - Mary Snoddy
Several years ago, I saw Allium (Ornamental Onion) in bloom at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. It was a first for me, and I was immediately smitten by the softball-sized purple flowers on tall st...
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August 20, 2025 at 11:47 AM
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I think the Luna moth is a beauty queen of the insect world. Unfortunately, they are short lived. Here is why. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/8/...
#gardening #garden #mothsandbutterflies #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
After thirty-plus days of ninety degrees or more, my area of the southeast has enjoyed plentiful rains and unusually cool, fall-like temperatures. My brown lawn has turned green, almost overnight. Ann...
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August 13, 2025 at 11:57 AM
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If Canada geese are turning your lawn into their own private campsite, there are a few steps you can take to encourage them to move out of your garden and off your lawn. Important: these birds are federally protected in the U.S.🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/8/...
#wildlife #garden #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
Here are a few steps to discourage Canada geese from moving into your garden.
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August 6, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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I've always thought of earthworms as the garden's best friend, but there may be another side to the story. Today's guest blog educates us about an evil invasive earthworm that is definitely NOT a friend. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/.../guest-bl....
#gardening #garden #invasivespecies #marysnoddy
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July 30, 2025 at 1:26 PM
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I wish I had this guidance when I first started writing. Tiffany Hawk's blog spells out the acceptable (read: attractive to an agent & publisher) word counts for each genre.
www.tiffanyhawk.com/blog/word-co...
Word Count: The ideal length for your book — Tiffany Hawk, Writing Coach
What is the minimum (or maximum) word count for your book's genre? Can you get by with less (or more)? I'll tell you, then I'll show you what to do if your book is too long or too short.
www.tiffanyhawk.com
July 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM
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Yes, I am guilty of ignoring a hardworking, wonderful plant in my garden while I obsess over the divas. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/7/...
#garden #gardening #pollinatorplants #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
I tend to take for granted the low-maintenance, high-performing plants in my flower gardens while I obsess over the Japanese Beetles on the roses, the rust on the Daylilies, or the brittle stems of th...
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July 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
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Is American Burnweed a friend or foe? It's up to you, gardeners.
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/7/...
#garden #gardening #weeds #natives #marysnoddy 🌱
Post - Mary Snoddy
I have received a number of requests to identify a weed that seems to have appeared overnight in almost everyone’s garden. In reality, these have been present but they grow so rapidly that they are no...
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July 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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🌱The heat is radiating off the lawn at 8am here in the southeastern US. There are a few steps you can take to help your garden survive: www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/7/...
#garden #gardening #heattolerant #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
The southeastern US has been melting under a heatwave over the past weeks. Last month, I provided some recommendations to help you select heat tolerant plants for next year. But what can you do here a...
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July 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM
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Consider planting Rohdea japonica in your garden's dry, shady spots. It is a carefree, lovely, evergreen that spreads slowly.
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/7/...
#garden #gardening #dryshade #marysnoddy
🌱
Post - Mary Snoddy
Cast Iron Plant, Aspidistra elatior , fills the gardener’s need for an evergreen, vertical plant that will survive in dry shade. Sometimes, though, the long leaves of Cast Iron plants can suffer wind...
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July 4, 2025 at 1:13 PM
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While the southeastern US is suffering under an intense heat dome, gardeners appreciate heat-tolerant plants. Here are a few winners in my garden.🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/6/...
#garden #gardening #heattolerant #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
A record-breaking heatwave is punishing the southeastern US right now. Yesterday’s heat index in my area was 105 and today is projected to feel like 107. At these temperatures, gardeners and their pla...
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June 25, 2025 at 11:07 AM
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I have an exciting new plant in my southeastern US, Zone 8 garden. Eriobotrya is borderline cold hardy here, so my is a container resident that will overwinter in the greenhouse. A love, evergreen, exotic-looking tree. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/6/...
#garden #gardening #marysnoddy #tropicaltree
Post - Mary Snoddy
Creating beautiful flower gardens is satisfying, but part of me is thrilled when I grow something edible. This is the genetic result of my grandparents’ farming background, I suppose. Two years ago, I...
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June 4, 2025 at 12:09 PM
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At the Piedmont Publishing Symposium today, Jim Scott of M. Judson Booksellers spoke to how independent book stores select and display their chosen books. It was an a-ha moment for me. #writingcommunity
May 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
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The Piedmont Publishing Symposium at Wofford College represented four presses: Univ of SC, Univ of NC, Hub City, & Clemson Univ. I was lucky to meet Cathy Esposito, Marketing & Sales Director & Michael McGandy, Director of USC Press. Informative event. #WritingCommunity #‪@uscpress.bsky.social‬
May 29, 2025 at 8:04 PM
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This is my first growing season for Chitalpa, a intergeneric hybrid between Southern Catalpa and Dessert Willow. Looking forward to good results here in the southeastern US.🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/5/...
#garden #gardening #easyplants #marysnoddy #provenwinners
Post - Mary Snoddy
I occasionally splurge and buy intriguing plants for which I have no intended location in my garden. Such is the case with El Niño®  Desert Orchid, an intergeneric cross between Southern Cat...
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May 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
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Verbena hybrids are an easy, heat-tolerant plant for the southeastern US gardens. They offer bright color all season long, require little maintenance, are a butterfly magnet, and are typically ignored by deer. 🌱
www.marysnoddy.com/blog/2025/5/...
#gardening #garden #heattolerantplants #marysnoddy
Post - Mary Snoddy
Verbena (pronounced ver-BEE-nah) is a popular garden plant due to its ease of growth, low maintenance, and heat tolerance. There are more than 250 species. Most grown in home gardens are hybrids, Ver...
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May 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM