Keep On Growing: Family, Music, and Peanut Butter Powers Sea Island Savory Herbs

By Stratton Lawrence

If Ward Buckheister ate a vegetable during his childhood, it was likely covered in cheese. “Growing up here in the ‘80s, it was casserole time,” Buckheister jokes. “The majority of your plate was gray, brown, and yellow.”

But when the Sol Driven Train guitarist/singer/trombonist met his wife, Danielle Spies, she ate a vegan diet.

“I asked him if he wanted to come over for chili,” she recalls. “He ate three bowls.”

Danielle now knows what a stretch that was for Ward. “I like chili dogs, with hamburger and Manwich,” says Ward, “But I was like, ‘Hell yeah, are there Brussels sprouts in this chili?’”

Biting his tongue and praising the chef paid off. Danielle and Ward are now the parents of a five-year-old son, Beezy, who happily eats cucumbers and lettuce from their backyard farm. “It’s a point of pride, but it has zero to do with me,” Ward admits.

Although new friends may come over and think their backyard veggie plot is “the farm,” the real growing takes place at Sea Island Savory Herbs, Spies’ Johns Island business with co-owner Ella Cowen. On beautiful grounds fronting Church Creek, the pair grows kitchen herbs, succulents, vegetables, and flowers. They don’t buy seeds or cuttings—an entire greenhouse is dedicated to propagating plants.

Danielle, the great-granddaughter of Nebraska farmers, discovered her love of nurturing plants as an employee at Hyams Garden Center in the ‘00s. That job led to another part-time job at Pete’s Herb Farm, and eventually, taking the reins and going through a rebrand—all as a single mother of her daughter, Skyler. “It was magic,” says Danielle of finding a livelihood she’s passionate about. “The universe was looking out.”

The farm’s biggest challenge came in January 2025 when Charleston received a rare snowfall and deep freeze. In a day, Sea Island Savory Herbs lost 60% of its inventory, and most of its greenhouses collapsed. Over a dozen volunteers showed up before the snow began to melt, running reciprocating saws for hours to cut the now-bent metal arches of the destroyed structures. Then Ward and his Sol Driven Train bandmates sprang to action, rebuilding greenhouses from dawn to dusk for weeks.

“Without help, we would have had to close,” says Danielle. Fortunately, Ward’s role as lead “greenhouse putter-upper-er” and his network of musical friends helped keep the farm alive. Ella and Danielle salvaged whatever they could, doubling efforts to nurture and propagate plants to be ready for a normal spring 2026.

Sea Island Savory Herbs is open to the public Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm, with a peak buying season in the spring. The dirt track branching from Chisolm Road is the sort of place that makes you immediately roll down the windows. A pine forest and stands of bamboo draw folks in, as they did during Covid when the farm hosted bands and songwriters on their stage in a clearing of a camelia forest. It’s a space that’s seen weddings, oyster roasts, and Saturday night bonfires.

On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Ward sat on the stage with Beezy, sharing an apple dunked in peanut butter. He goes through two Costco-sized jars a week. Danielle understands the appeal, although she’s over peanut butter—on childhood weekends and summer days, her mother would leave a jar and a spoon out on the steps. “Lunch was peanut butter and hose water,” she laughs. “It came with freedom, but I’m happy to never have it again.”

But peanut butter serves as Ward’s primary conduit to the bounty of the farm. During fall, when the “kale train starts,” he blends mint, African blue basil, “maybe a little thyme,” and a fistful of Danielle’s greens into a smoothie with blueberries, banana, and peanut butter.

“It’s the majority of my meals,” says Ward. “It’s epic. It tastes like Johns Island.”