Features

Outsider art will be celebrated this weekend as the Eighth Annual Summer Folk Art Festival kicks off at House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Regional and national artists will display their work around the venue for purchase.

The festival will open at 9 a.m. and continue until 10 p.m. May 10 and 11. Admission is free.

A fellow stopped by the office last week and asked a very pertinent question: “Isn’t grass supposed to be green?” He had a centipede lawn with lots of yellow spots and streaks that turned even more yellow when he added nitrogen.

If this sounds like your lawn, you’re probably dealing with high pH soils and iron chlorosis. For most folks, talking about the vagaries of plant nutrition is about as exciting as watching the one stoplight change in the little town I grew up in, so I won’t bore you with all of the gory details.

Spring has started on a dry note along our coastline. Drought conditions are unpredictable and can be difficult to deal with in the landscape. Although droughts are usually thought of as long periods of time, such as months or years, our sandy soils can experience drought conditions after only a few days without rain. Even if we don’t have an outright drought this summer, preparing your lawn for dry weather is smart.

Three local artists take the spotlight in Franklin Square Gallery's new Members Show running from May 12 to June 19. Painters Susan Sokolowski and Ann Thompson and potter Eileen Gordon will be featured in this new exhibit by the members of the Associated Artists of Southport .

Their diverse styles are the culmination of years of experience and recent classes and workshops, yet each still reflects on her continuing passion for art.

Susan Sokolowski's detailed oil paintings often capture the immediacy of a scene because many are created from her own photographs.

Sunset River Marketplace art gallery in Calabash, is featuring works in pastel by Kevin Beck through May 9. Beck is a contemporary artist living in Blowing Rock.

Known for the vibrancy and resonance of his palette, this well-known colorist sees and interprets the landscape in shades of teal, chartreuse and berry. Viewers are transfixed by the depth and translucence of his work both in pastel and oil.

Transplants from other parts of the world already know it is a requirement you include evergreen azaleas in your landscape. Shirk this responsibility and the azalea police will be on your case faster than a Garden-stater can utter “youse guys.” In an effort to help you avoid this unpleasantness, here are some tips on growing azaleas along with some varieties to consider.

CALABASH—Lois Wilkinson brakes for plants, especially those she saw for sale at Carolyn’s Flowers on Persimmon Road last week.

“I just heard about this place,” Wilkinson said, browsing the latest spring array of potted flowers and plants Calabash native Carolyn Schreiber has cultivated to sell for another season at the roadside stand in front of her house.

“I need flowers that need a lot of sun,” Wilkinson said as Schreiber, a natural-born gardener, assisted her.

Ongoing

Oak Island Art Guild exhibit, Oak Island Recreation Center, 3001 Oak Island Drive, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit renewed every 60 days. For more information call exhibit coordinator Miriam Pinkerton at 278-5562.

Ongoing through Aug. 3

Robert Delford Brown, “Meat, Maps and Militant Metaphysics,” Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington. This is the artist’s first solo museum exhibition. For more information, call 395-5999.

Ongoing through May 9

Small gardens often must rely on fencing to provide privacy. We don’t have enough room to plant large evergreens that grow wide and take up the limited space, but plain fencing doesn’t make any gardener’s heart skip a beat. To solve this problem, consider vines for foliage, flowers and a welcome softening of the stark fencing.

Wisterias have a horrible reputation for swallowing everything in their path. For the ones from China and Japan, it is well deserved, but the American wisterias aren’t nearly as invasive.