I snooped around the internet and never did find a definitive site that listed if Ribes or Rubrus were legal in SC. I guess if your state is listed at the end of the plant description on any bush web catalog that would tell you. When I first heard about the restrictions I thought they sounded kinda harsh but I went along with them. Now I have read and re-read various articles online about the history of the problem and it all makes me mad enough to plant a million of them in my yard. I understand the importance of the lumber industry to North Carolina. I respect all that it involves. I can comprehend the danger that a disease can cause when it spreads. But this problem was NOT caused by backyard berry growers - it was caused by shortsighted lumber industry people importing infected pine seedlings from Europe. And then, to top things off, they formed teams that went throughout the pine forest across the US and destroyed the NATIVE gooseberries and currants!!!!!!!!!!!!! all in the name of covering up their mistake. A whole lot of wildlife depends on those berries but wildlife isn't as important as furniture making or two by fours. This is as bad as the Canada Goose problem - which also has a non-natural cause (just thank the US Wildlife Dept the next time you step in goose poop at the lake). Shortsided government. Now, over time, both pine trees and gooseberries and currants have developed various degrees of resistance to White Pine Blister or whatever the disease is now called. This resistance came from nature, not a government lab. Some states recognize this fact and have lifted the ban on Ribes & Rubrus (Gooseberries and Currants). Some states lifted the ban because all the efforts to eradicate the disease didn't work. North Carolina stills bans them. Shortsighted government.

Butterfly4u, please message me once you spot Pinus pinea (Italian Stone Pine) in HD or elsewhere. You're in Aiken, SC right? I grow them from seed myself, but I only got a dozen of them in pots and I do not sell them since i'm going o plant them in my acreage to grow some pine nuts. Want to see how they look outthere, perhaps someone has them growing in their yard larger size than just 2-3 footers. I got 7 growing in my yard, but they all are 3+ year olds and only up to 3 foot tall. They are very slow growers. When they grow big they should have a typical umbrella shape, more wide than tall. I think if they are planted in SC widespread the state would benefit from their good looks and even attract more tourism. Plant more Washingtonia fan palms here as well, cause they do grow well here. I already tested Washingtonias in the ground.

We've had a second residence in the area for 22 years ~ first, a condo on HHI, then a home in Bluffton. During the first couple years, we kept our big home in WI, and then eventually down-sized to a condo in WI. We feel we would NEVER give up WI so that we always have it for the summers. It's pretty brutal with heat & humidity during the summer season! However, we were surprised to find out that the summer is when all the rental condos are fully booked! ~ In all this time, we have only experienced ONE hurricane! Yes, we suffered $$$ house damage. ~ We had one squirrel manage to find its way into our attic! Palmetto bugs are easily managed with pest control....along with termite control, due to our lush woods, trees, etc. Much to our surprise, the area has armadillos!!! ~ Health care access is important to us, thus there is NO WAY we would be at the beck-and-call of the water taxi! ~ In the current goods shortages and lack of employees, grocery shopping presents its own issues, much less having to "ferry" them. Don't get me wrong, Haig Point and Deffuski is a beautiful area......to visit! We just find we need stronger bases. Speaking of which, storing things gets creative since there are no basements like we have "up North". We were blessed to find the perfect community for us surrounded by like-minded, caring, friendly, welcoming people. We LOVE it. It may rain during the cool winter, but as I often say: "no shoveling involved". I still get to wear my favorite sweaters and fleece. Finding Drs. and a good hairdresser was an adventure!

I was taught in interior design classes that crawl space (pier and beam) foundations are superior to slabs, and I warned my sister not to buy a house with a slab foundation. She ignored my advice, and within a year, she had cracks in her foundation that required thousands of dollars to repair. The advantage of pier and beam is that repairs (if necessary) are easy and inexpensive. That said, we did buy a house in Cathedral City with a slab foundation, but we did not have many options. Since it is in an earthquake zone, I do have some concerns, but the house was built in the 1990s and does not have any structural damage. It is very important to understand the soil/land that the house is built on to decide whether a slab foundation is acceptable. In an area with a lot of rain, the soil could shift, depending on whether it is rock or dirt.