There’s a big, beautiful world waiting just outside your front door. Meet the locals who can help you enjoy it.

STORY BY BARRY KAUFMAN + PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA STAFF

This year the arrival of spring means a little bit more than usual. Coming off the heels of a long, cold winter — a winter in which we saw actual snow fall, no less — the mercury couldn’t start rising fast enough. At long last the weather has returned to the natural state of comfort that brought us here in the first place.

This is no time to be indoors, ladies and gentlemen. This is the time to get out there, soak up the sunshine and embrace the beauty of your own little corner of the Lowcountry. As you unwind in your backyard oasis, we present three locals who turned their passion for the outdoors into a calling.

Katie Williams

Protecting public health, one mosquito at a time

For most of us, it’s the other way around, but Bluffton’s Katie Williams has mosquitoes in her blood. Her mother worked in mosquito control, and Katie remembers following her around at just six years old as her mother conducted tests of local populations, carefully applied sprays and rooted out mosquito eggs. That’s not to say those early experiences had an immediate impact.

“I wanted to be a dolphin trainer,” she said with a laugh. “I never thought I’d be doing what my mom does.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree in fisheries and biology from Clemson University, Katie pursued a master’s degree at the College of Charleston, studying dolphin feeding behaviors. She then worked in fisheries and wildlife in Florida.

“But it was hard to pay the bills,” she said. “So I got a job in operational mosquito control.”

For six years Katie served as an entomologist and research biologist for a mosquito-control district, following in her mother’s footsteps and keeping Florida’s notoriously brutal mosquito population at bay. Over time, she transitioned from the field to the lab, conducting research on control practices and testing various pesticides.

“I tested out a lot of products to see what resistance there was. There are a limited number of products people can use, and over time that leads to pesticide resistance,” she explained. “That’s what brought me to Valent.”

Now working as a Technical Development Specialist for Valent BioSciences, Katie is diving deep into the science of pesticides, developing mosquito control products that are both effective and environmentally safe. Her work brings her to the other side of the control equation, outfitting mosquito control districts from Texas to the Carolina coast.

“What I love about Valent is that we focus on biorational products — meaning they’re safe for the environment and don’t affect mammals, dragonfly nymphs, crabs, crustaceans or anything else,” she said. “I know what these districts are looking for and what information they need.”

That’s important because mosquito control is about more than eliminating irritating insects.

“Our goal is to protect public health,” Katie said. “In Beaufort County we’re lucky because we don’t have a very high disease prevalence, but we’re constantly testing for West Nile Virus, Zika and Eastern Equine Encephalitis. In my mind, that’s the worst. It’s very neurological and deadly if you get it. It’s a horrible thing to see.”

And in the process of keeping people safe, Katie has learned more about mosquitoes than anyone you likely know.

“Every time I’m at a party, everyone wants to ask me about mosquitoes,” she said. “And a lot of people are shocked to hear that there is local mosquito control they can contact for a service request (Beaufort County Mosquito Control). These folks come out and do treatments with products that are safe for non-target species. People don’t know about it. They’re paying for it; they should utilize it.”

Keeping bugs at bay

If you’re looking for ways to keep your outdoor spaces mosquito-free so you can enjoy spring, Katie Williams has a few suggestions based on years of experience in mosquito control.

“The best thing is to keep your backyard free from standing water,” she said. “The species we have here don’t travel very far, so if you can control your own space, that will help.”

She also recommends avoiding plants like bromeliads, which have natural water tanks that mosquitoes love. If you have birdbaths or other water features, flush the water every 4-5 days to eliminate any mosquito eggs. And if you spray, spray carefully.

“Don’t just spray willy-nilly, because that can make the resistance problem more challenging,” she said.

And, of course, if mosquitoes get to be too much, call in the experts.

“Beaufort County has a great mosquito control team. I just want people to utilize them because they’ll spray a product that’s both effective and safe.”

Donna and Frank Lynch

Planting the seeds of outdoor beauty

Before it was a multi-million dollar gardening and landscaping enterprise with locations in Bluffton and Hilton Head — with a reputation for designing and building gorgeous outdoor living spaces — The Green Thumb was just a couple of new kids in town.

“When we first opened in August of 2009, it was the height of the recession,” said Donna Lynch, who owns The Green Thumb with her husband, Frank. “A lot of folks would come in and say, ‘Have you lost your minds?’”

It wasn’t quite the gamble people thought it was. Frank and Donna had already owned a successful landscaping and garden center in Maryland, powered by Frank’s lifetime of experience.

“My grandfather cross-pollinated daylilies and grew azaleas and rhododendrons from cuttings, and I helped him out as a summer job when I was a young guy,” Frank said. “We lived on a 140-acre farm, and my neighbor would bring in plants from other countries to plant on their farm. I worked for them during the summer, and that’s where it got into my blood.”

Studying horticulture while mowing lawns and taking on small landscaping jobs, he eventually went into business for himself, raising annuals, perennials and vegetables in his own greenhouses. He and Donna were married, and his business, Mr. Naturals, grew to the point that Donna left behind a career as VP of marketing and sales for a D.C.-area hotel brand to help with expansion.

“We were doing a lot of landscape construction, and it evolved into growing plants. We had six 100-foot greenhouses where we grew plants for retail sale,” Donna said.

“But eventually I got tired of the snow,” Frank added. 

Embracing their new surroundings, the couple put down roots in the Lowcountry, where winter’s chill is a distant memory.

They cultivated The Green Thumb, transforming their passion into a thriving business.

“It was a lot easier to be in this industry when you could plant year-round, unlike Maryland,” said Donna. “The slow seasons on Hilton Head were better than being closed all winter.” 

But that’s not to say there wasn’t a learning curve. “It took a full year for us to feel confident with the plant material in the Lowcountry,” Donna said. “We really had to go through every season before knowing what grow best here.” 

Nurtured by Frank’s green thumb and Donna’s business savvy, the business has since expanded from one garden center to a massive operation.

“We’re doing more design-build projects for outdoor living spaces. We create master plans for homeowners in which we show them their entire outdoor living space. That includes pools and any other features related to their outdoor living space. We can either install or subcontract, but most of the work is done in-house. And we do everything from installing a simple walkway to a million-dollar overhaul.”

How does your garden grow?

As you advance those spring plans to add fresh beauty to your outdoor spaces, take a few tips from the experts. We asked Frank and Donna Lynch, owners of The Green Thumb, for some advice on making your backyard beautiful.

“After about the middle of March, that’s really when you want to start planting whatever you want. You can plant trees and shrubs anytime, but for annuals and perennials you’ll want to wait until later in the month,” said Frank. 

This is also the time to start your spring cleanup, adding fresh organic matter to flower beds to ready them for planting. And when you start setting the timer for the lawn sprinklers, maybe give it an early start. 

“You need to water your lawn early in the morning rather than at night,” Frank said. “This is a common problem that occurs here.  Watering at night is a big reason why lawns get diseased.” 

That’s not the only thing you don’t want to do. Donna is begging you to stop committing crape murder.

“Hacking away at crape myrtles destroys the form of the tree, affects blooming and leaves the plant looking sickly,” she said. “If a plant wants to be 20 feet tall, you cannot keep it at 10 feet and expect good results.”

Trevor Strever

Master of water features

There’s some form of landscaping magic in the addition of a water feature. A beautifully maintained outdoor space is a sensual gift — the pop of colors from decorative flowers, the subtle scent of sea air riding the breeze through the tree branches, underscored by the piquant bite of freshly mown grass. But add to this symphony of sensation the soothing sound of flowing water, and the entire experience goes from relaxing to meditative.

“It adds so much interest. I have people say they’ll just sit and watch the water. It’s very soothing and relaxing,” said Trevor Strever, whose company, Island Garden Features, specializes in creating these backyard oases. “That’s the biggest draw for people. They want something that feels natural.”

Creating that feeling has been his calling for the last 20 years. His early years as a game ranger in South Africa instilled in him a deep love of the outdoors, particularly birds.

“You’ll see many migratory birds visiting a water feature that would never come to a feeder,” he said. “It’s something you learn when you first install a water feature. The local birds will get used to it too, and eventually, they’ll start coming every day.”

Eventually, he moved into the landscaping industry, bringing his passion for nature with him. What started as a hobby building ponds soon turned into a full-fledged career.

“I was doing some landscaping, but I’d always had an interest in water features, especially koi ponds,” he said. “Eventually, I started training contractors on how to build aquascapes, and I became certified myself. Through word of mouth, people heard about me… I got so busy with it, I earned additional certifications.”

Opening Island Garden Features made it official. Strever was now the go-to source for pond design, waterfall installation and water-feature maintenance. His projects range from a screened-in koi pond at Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head to a specialized pond used for national magazine shoots. 

“We built a pond for a National Geographic photographer in Charleston,” said Strever. “He actually gets into it and photographs the fish.”

With each project, Strever educates homeowners on the delicate balance of an aquascape and nature’s ability to sustain itself.

“We try to mimic nature and build ecosystems into these water features,” he said. “We don’t use a lot of harsh chemicals. Instead, we balance it through aquatic plants that absorb excess nutrients that algae feed on.”

Through this work, Strever is bringing his love of nature into backyards across the Lowcountry.

Keeping balance

A backyard water feature — whether it’s a waterfall or a koi pond — adds incredible charm to an outdoor living space. But as any pond owner will tell you, they require proper care. Stubborn algae persist despite constant treatment. Algae blooms can erupt, leading to fish kills that wipe out your entire population. Low circulation can promote mosquito growth. It can be a lot.

“The biggest thing is to get an expert out there before you start digging a hole, because it is a lot more work than people expect,” said Trevor Strever, owner of Island Garden Features. “If done correctly, you can save yourself so many headaches.”

To begin with, Strever recommends taking a course on YouTube U, watching every video you can before getting started. Then, don’t skimp on the equipment. Maintaining a water feature is hard. It’s even harder with bad filtration, poor circulation and low-quality materials. But you can’t depend on equipment alone — smart aquatic planting does a world of good.

“Every system needs biological and mechanical filtration,” he said. “We offer UV filtration as an initial option, but by the second season, it’s no longer needed because the plants will absorb excess nutrients.”

Those plants will also provide shade and help regulate water temperature throughout the day. The key is to plant them and let nature do its work.

“Patience is probably your best friend. It’s hard to say that because people have often invested a lot of time and effort into their water feature,” he said. “But it’s a natural process that’s going to take some time to balance itself.”