There’s a new kid on the block and he’s a thug. His name is Chamberbitter (Phyllanthus urinaria), and his sole purpose is to make my life miserable. OK, yours, too. He’s also known as “gripe weed” (no wonder why there) and he comes better equipped to replicate himself than Kudzu ever dreamed.

If you can get beyond the two-and-a-half inch high expanse of meticulously maintained lawn; if you can think more widely than St. Augustine, Bermuda, or Zoysia; if you can avoid being distracted by that substance still illegal in our state, although beloved by many; then open your mind to the vast family of grasses – especially native ones – suitable for use in the garden and in the landscape.

Football and hurricanes are taking center stage again; that’s how you know it is fall in the Lowcountry. The Friday night lights are ablaze in every small town and the rest of the time all eyes and ears are glued to the weather channel. As I write this we are once again waiting to see where Hurricane Florence is headed.