Southport Garden Club

08/31/2026

All our yards – indeed, our gardening chores - have been challenging this Summer, to say the least. Drought calls us all to conserve and look for plantings that can survive on little water, heat and humidity.

With a very busy owner, it took the Committee a bit of extra time to approach Shannon Huback about the Yard of the Month designation. Ultimately accomplished, the yard at 310 College Street has been named the Club’s August – September Yard of the Month for its streetside display of white hydrangea and self-seeding fuschia vinca – two varieties known to say ‘keep the heat and humidity coming, and we’ll keep going’!

The roses in the backyard are David Austin roses from England. The owner’s father lived with her in Georgia for several years before he passed away and he loved her 20-variety rose garden. When she sold the Georgia home, she took cuttings of only the best ones. She planted them in his honor in the new backyard’s downsized garden area. Her mom loved all flowers, so the hydrangeas along the yard’s edge and the potted rhododendrons are for her.

On the day photos were taken, we were pleased to see 2 vases inside, filled with gorgeous blooms and smells that might not have lasted long in the intense heat. (And who doesn’t like ‘home-grown smells’ to fill our homes' interiors, too?

A wonderful example of what can be accomplished in a smaller area, take a drive down College (just across from Franklin Square Park) and enjoy a smaller yard with quintessential Southern longevity and sassy boldness!

07/04/2026

HAPPY FOURTH, SOUTHPORT, from the Southport Garden Club!!

Everything about our June-July Yard of the Month speaks to the good ol’ Red, White and Blue. At the home of Tina York at 212 W. Moore Street, the yard showcases the colors all day long but when you go by after sunset W-O-W, the owners have treated Southport to a patriotic spectacle! From fencing bows to buntings, this yard says ‘Happy 250th America!’

Every bed is planted with themed flowers: red vinca, caladiums, and Firecracker plant, Limelight Hydrangea (with its white blooms that transition to pale green), white lantana, and Midnight Blue Salvia. There’s a wonderfully Southern zinnia bed with vibrant Summer colors. Beds are filled throughout with Sweet Potato Vine, Kimberly Queen ferns, and assorted ground cover. The potted hibiscus and roses, trimmed and trained into braided trees, stand sentinel at the front steps and side-seating entryway. Statuary, driftwood art, benches, an arched trellis and a water feature all add texture and fill in and up the planting areas. (And there’s a sign we’ve ALL said in our gardening…if we’re honest!!)

A surprise volunteer is the pumpkin vine – sprouted from one seed from last Fall’s decaying pumpkin. It’s wound its way through the whole side bed and because it’s now choking out light and room for the annuals and perennials it’ll have to go, but Tina just doesn’t have the heart to pull out … yet …it’s turned out to be a gorgeous ground cover!

Beautiful as the yard is during the day, it lights up Southport at night. The Live Oak and palm that anchor the yard are wrapped with red, white and blue lights, and the oak has white lighted sparklers hanging from its branches. The house roofline is lit too. These extra touches are a gift for us all, locals and visitors alike.

Stunningly beautiful, with ideas for all our yards, ride by 212 W. Moore … then come back at night to have your breath taken away. Can we do ‘Happy 250th Birthday America’, or what !?!

06/28/2026

So many yards are reflective of our past – heritage plantings, gifted plants, artful touches collected through time. The Southport Garden Club’s May 2026 Yard of the Month is no different. Located at 319 E Bay Street, the home of Elaine McBride, this yard is a combination of delights for the eye and sentiment for the soul.

We're lucky to be able to show you the ‘before’ pictures of this yard when the home was first purchased. Elaine and her husband Mick started the yard renovations together -- truly a labor of love. When she lost him 17 years ago, the major plantings had been done but Elaine has continued to build the vision they had together. One of the treasured gifts brought by friends on her husband's death is the beautiful Japanese Maple that loves its place in the front yard, getting just the right amount of sun dapples but yet protected from the Southport Summer sun by two of the gorgeous live oaks abundant on Bay Street.

Over the years gardeners learn to watch sunlight and the landscape’s growth; Elaine saw the need for relocation of some hydrangea several years ago that had become too big, too close to the house. She gifted some to a dear friend, and moved others to the opposite side of the house for more sun and a pop of color in a new bed. This bold move proffered a stepping-stone pathway – again, gifts from friends or flea market finds - to a gated fence with perennials peeking beneath shrubs and sheltering ‘yard critters’.

The side yard that runs along Rhett Street is a focal point. It’s the home of the relocated hydrangea, a variety of sun-loving pots, and is a popular ride-by for locals and visitors alike with its collection of vignettes that display collectibles, yard and garden art, and stories of the seasons. Take your eyes off those areas and look up to see the beautiful crepe myrtles that Elaine and her husband excavated for and planted together; they’ve been meticulously shaped over the years and have become a colorful canopy. A table and chair sits just outside the door here for morning coffee and breaks from watering and weeding.

Porches are great blends into both the front and backyards. The front porch here has a water feature tucked in beautiful potted plants. The sign that hangs above the steps is a family heirloom, coming from the home of Elaine’s grandmother ‘Mary’; for it to be ‘pretty from the back side too’, her brother created scenes in copper from their home state of New Jersey.

The back porch – an extension of the interior space, with a mammoth Norfolk Island Pine and comfortable seating that beckons but blends into the back vista with large windows. Surprising through the backyard gate is the astroturf, a putting green for Elaine to practice another passion (because we think her primary passion these days are her gardens) but still perfectly proportioned and easily set up for entertaining.

Throughout this yard, blooming beauties and easy benches, whispers from the past and an eye for art invite passersby to slow down and look and if you’re lucky to find Elaine tending, she’ll treat you to treasured teapot stories and a Memory Lane trip worth the taking.

06/23/2026

Scene 'n Southport - The Southport Garden Club decorating the Garrison House for the 4th of July with help from Southport Public Works and Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation. It really does take teams working together to make a community.

05/22/2026

Free garden plants courtesy of the Southport Garden Club at the corner of N. Lord Street and W. 8th Street. Don't miss out!

05/21/2026

Here's a huge sneak peak of a few of the many plants that the Southport Garden Club will have at its Plant Sale at the Brunswick Community College - Southport Campus on Friday, 5/22 (9-3). All part of Arts MAY-nia 2026. Trust us when we write that there will be MANY to choose from!

05/19/2026

Here's another sneak peak of a few of the many plants that the Southport Garden Club will have at its Plant Sale at the Brunswick Community College - Southport Campus on Friday, 5/22 (9-3). All part of Arts MAY-nia 2026. Trust us when we write that there will be MANY to choose from!

05/17/2026

05/13/2026

Here's a few sneak pictures of a few of the many plants that the Southport Garden Club will have at its Plant Sale at the Brunswick Community College - Southport Campus on Friday, 5/22 (9-3). All part of Arts MAY-nia 2026. Trust us when we write that there will be MANY to choose from!