The Garden Spot was an educational program on SCETV that aired in the 1970s. The show featured Mr. Willie Freeland, also known as the Ivy King, and his knowledge revolving around gardening, plants, flowers, and more.
Freeland began to express his love of the gardens when he was only three years old in his hometown of Plum Branch. With the help of his father and a few kitchen supplies, he began to develop his first garden, which eventually turned into a 27-year celebrity career showing off his unique skillset to fellow South Carolinians.
Freeland appeared on over 200 episodes of The Garden Spot, receiving acclaim and recognition, season after season, for his knowledge of various species and his soft-spoken, understated appeal. The Park Seed Company of Greenwood recognized Freeland by making a special presentation of a gold engraved platter presented to Freeland for the 200th episode of the series.
William Park, president of Park Seed Company, stated that Freeland helped viewers to know and strengthen their own gardening skills because of his show, as well as high viewership.
This episode of The Garden Spot featured in ETV Classics from 1979 is all about seeds! Freeland talks about storage techniques, the timeline of when to start seeds, and more. The episode ends with Freeland answering letters sent in from viewers, like a viewer from Summerville, SC who wrote asking for help with their oxalis plant that had stopped blooming.
What other classic SCETV shows do you want to see released from our vault?
We would love to hear from you at https://scetv.org/contact. Add "ETV Classics" to the subject line.