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on May 18th, 2012  Chrys Rynearson  What could be better than a spring day sampling cool, refreshing beer at Hilton Head? That’s the agenda tomorrow during the Hilton Head Taste of Summer Beer Craft Fest at Shelter Cove Harbour and Marina. From 2pm until 6 pm, a variety of over 70 different domestic and international beers, including summer and seasonal beers, will be on hand for sampling. While admission to the festival is free, tickets are required for beer sampling.
Pale Ales, Pilsners, Hefe-Weizens, fruit beers, American-style wheats, ciders, and more will be available from 30 craft brewers. This is a green event so all cans, bottles, and cardboard will be collected for recycling.
In addition to beer, local restaurants will be serving food and, of course, it wouldn’t be a festival without live music. Rock, reggae, and surf music will help set the tone for an OUTDOORLICIOUS! afternoon of laid back beer sampling.
Everyone is encouraged to drink responsibly. So no drinking and driving ya’ll. In fact, Hilton Head Yellow Cab will be standing by with discounted rates for those who need a little help getting home (locally, that is). The rest of us will just have to be really good and/or have a designated driver (the other option is to get a hotel room and party all night). A percentage of proceeds will go to two local charities: the Palmetto Animal League and the Hilton Head Rotary Club. Come on out, have a fun afternoon, and help support these two great organizations.
on May 14th, 2012 
The last home in my series on the gardens featured on Columbia Green’s 2012 Festival of Gardens tour, the home of Anita and Ralph Turnage, was built in 1959. The original owner was a master gardener who created the garden beds that flow around the house from one area to another.
Many of the original plants remain: burford hollies, Japanese viburnums, and camellias, all of which enhance the casual elegance of this garden. Through the years, as trees and shrubs have grown, the changing light has transformed areas that were once sunny into shade and Anita has responded by adapting the site to accommodate appropriate plants. Today, ligularia, hellebores, hostas, ferns, cast iron plants, and hydrangeas take center stage in the cool shade where roses once flourished.
The ever changing landscape that long term gardeners experience over years of tending a beloved garden is one of the challenges and true pleasures of gardening. Just as your children grow and mature, so does your garden. Observing, adapting, renewing, and responding to those changes rewards those with patience.
The thrill of discovering new plants, introducing them into the garden, and watching them grow is an excitement that every gardener shares. Begonia grandis is one of the many plants with which Anita has become enamored. The leaves are large and impressive in and of themselves, but catch a glimpse of the underside and you’ll be hooked, too.
 
Finding new uses for the old is another thrill that you will often hear gardeners talking about when referencing their gardens. Old pathways that have become overgrown are dug up and the stones may be reset into a new walkway leading somewhere else. In this case, blue stone from an old patio that was found scattered around the property was collected and set into a pathway leading to the propagation and planting area that is hidden from view. An old bird feeder left on the property has been revitalized as a planter for a small succulent garden.
Naturally, anyone who spends as much time in their garden as Anita does, wants to surround themselves with its beauty whenever possible. A covered porch with both seating and dining areas becomes a well-used and much loved outdoor living and dining room. A wicker love seat and lounge chairs balance nicely with a wrought iron dining set.
Pots, both hanging and sitting on the floor and plant stands provide a softening effect and bring the garden onto the porch. Layering heights of the plants in this way creates interest and gently moves the eye from the garden to the porch.
When I visited this garden, construction of a new outdoor kitchen was underway. With several grills, various appliances, a television, and comfortable counter stools at the granite bar, the addition of this outdoor room will take outdoor living to a new level for Anita and Ralph and their family and friends. This image provides a sneak peek of what will become Ralph’s favorite room “in” the house.
Once the outdoor kitchen is complete, I hope to be able to feature it in another blog at a later date. I know you will be as interested as I am to see their new OUTDOORLICIOUS! room.
on May 11th, 2012  Tina Rupp By now, everyone should know what they are getting Mom for Mother’s Day. We all know that moms deserve more than one special day per year to let them know how important they are but this one day that is set aside each year is one that no one can mess with and guarantees their day of honor. So, in addition to that card and gift, make sure you do something nice for your mother on Mother’s Day this Sunday.
Since Mother’s Day falls in a particularly nice month weather wise, many of us will be cooking dinner on the grill. While you cook and the family cleans up, Mom can relax and share stories of all of those big family get-togethers she slaved over in years past. Hopefully, someone will be interested enough to get some of those stories recorded or written down. I’m sure there are plenty of good ones that everyone will want to repeat at a later date.
Since you’ll be at the grill anyway, how about making some muffins to go with dinner? Yes, you can cook muffins on the grill. By cooking the muffins on the grill rather than in a conventional oven, they absorb some of the grill’s great smoky flavors. Mom (and everyone else) will be so impressed!
Roasted Bacon and Scallion Corn Muffins
Courtesy Nick Fauchald Food and Wine.com
Ingredients:
- 5 slices bacon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 4 large scallions, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
- Set up grill for indirect grilling, with the coals on one side, and heat to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet set on the grill or stove, cook the bacon over moderate heat, turning once, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and crumble.
- Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir in the corn, scallions, and crumbled bacon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sour cream and melted butter. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just blended. Pour the batter unto the muffin tin.
- Place the muffin tin on the grate opposite the coals, cover the grill and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached.
- Serve slightly cooled.
on May 7th, 2012 
The third week in my series on the Columbia Green Festival of Gardens tour is the home of Robert and Lita DaSilva. Unlike the previous two gardens, this one is located in an older neighborhood where large trees and established shrubbery are firmly rooted.
Approaching the house from the driveway, one notices the inviting front porch with wicker rockers and wooden swing begging someone to sit for while. A great place to gather and greet the kids as they come home from school, a welcoming front porch also makes guests and passers by take notice and offers a little glimpse into the world of the residents within.
The back porch, however, is the outdoor living room where, it is plain to see, this family enjoys hours of restful and casual living. With a roof overhead for protection from the elements, this comfortable porch is decorated with furniture and accessories that offer a natural, almost raw feeling. The large scaled wicker sofa and chairs with a driftwood color and natural color cushions are accented with brown and soft green patterned throw pillows. Over the sofa, a mirror made of twigs reflects the dining area at the opposite end of the porch.
Wicker dining chairs sit around a large natural colored wooden table where eight can comfortably be seated to enjoy a meal al fresco.
Moving from the porch, one steps onto a large brick patio. A brick wall defines this space from that of the pool beyond. Walking between two brick columns topped with pots, the next stop in this floor plan of outdoor rooms is the pool.
Behind a wicker seating group at one end of the pool is a wall of magnolias which forms a natural boundary at that end.
The opposite end of the pool is home to the chaise lounges and umbrella, where the red umbrella makes a bold statement of color in this sea of naturals and neutrals.
Beyond the pool lies an adjacent farm which visually extends this backyard and privacy into infinity. A fence separates this property from the neighbor’s, but you may find the occasional horse, cow, or even coyote watching you as you watch them. In fact, if I hadn’t been told that the pasture beyond was not part of this property, I would have thought this farmhouse style home with its relaxed décor obviously belonged with the farmland beyond. It’s just natural—and so OUTDOORLICIOUS!
on May 4th, 2012  Beech Mountain Bliss.com Has anyone ever told you to “Go fly a kite?” It’s usually a term used to tell someone to get lost and leave me alone. Why? What is the origin of that phrase? Why don’t we say, “Go bowling” or “Go fishing” instead?
Well, I don’t have the answers but I do know that kite flying is fun—or was when I was younger. I actually haven’t done it in more years than I would like to reveal here. When I was young, neighborhood kids would take their kites to a big, open pasture nearby, and see who could get their kite to fly the highest and longest.
 Crowfield Sanctuary,org We always had lots of fun. Come to think of it, we were always tired out from running around trying to get the kite up. Maybe that’s why our parents loved for us to participate in that particular endeavor—we’d be too tired to be any trouble.
If you have the urge to “go fly a kite”, you may want to check out this weekend’s Atlantic Coast Kite Festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia. You’ll find a contest for the best home-made kite, routines which synchronize flying kites to music, kite vendors, and workshops. You’ll also see very large kites that are up to 80’ long. And all of this is free!
 BNB Finder.com  Gipsova.com  Oregon Live.com
 Thompson Trio.com
If you can’t make it to Virginia Beach, get in touch with your inner child and go fly a kite wherever you are. It’s simply OUTDOORLICIOUS!
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