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Home to America's oldest colonial estate garden and the country's oldest formal landscaped gardens, South Carolina blooms year round and displays a multitude of foliage in a variety of settings. As early as the first English settlement, gardening was a popular past-time for South Carolinians. Today, the gardener and horticulturist can find perennial pleasure at a dozen unique gardens in South Carolina. Almost a hundred years ago, Magnolia Gardens near Charleston captured travelers' attention when it was listed as one of the three "must see" attractions in the United States in the 1900 Baedeker Guide. This South Carolina colonial estate garden was rated alongside two other natural wonders in America -- the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls -- for international recognition. Magnolia Gardens includes the Barbados Tropical Garden, a 125-acre waterfowl refuge, an 18th century herb garden, a topiary garden and a horticultural maze. Also at Magnolia Plantation is the Audubon Swamp Garden. This 60-acre black-water swamp refuge of boardwalks, dikes and bridges is a haven for Lowcountry wildlife, ornamental grasses, colorful wildflowers and exotic shrubs. Just next door, Middleton Place carries the distinction of being America's oldest formal landscaped gardens. In 1740, along the Ashley River Road near Charleston, more than 100 men worked 10 years to plant the more than 5,000 shrubs and flowers. The Garden Club of America claims it to be "the most interesting and important Garden in America."
 Across
the Cooper River, near Mt. Pleasant is Boone Hall Plantation. This
17,000-acre tract was built primarily as a cotton plantation. It is known
for having one of the most majestic avenues of moss-draped live oaks in
the South, planted in 1743 by Captain Thomas Boone. Gardening is a real way of life in South Carolina, where the great climate and soil afford excellent conditions for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Clemson University, near Anderson in the Upcountry, is home to the official South Carolina State Botanical Garden, where some 2,200 varieties of ornamental plants are raised in the over 300-acre consolidation of five smaller gardens. Visitors will take special interest in the camellia and azalea trails, the wildflower and fern gardens and nature trails, and the beautiful naturalistic sculptures, each with a unique story to tell, done by artists from all over. In the heart of the Old 96 Tourism District is Greenwood, the headquarters of Park Seed Company. Here, the test gardens of this renowned seed manufacturer are open to public tours. About an hour away is the state capital of Columbia with Riverbanks Zoo and its 70-acre Botanical Garden, featuring a formal garden, woodland trail and cascading fountain. Sculpture enhances many South Carolina gardens. In Murrells Inlet south of Myrtle Beach, Brookgreen Gardens has been labeled the finest public sculpture garden in America. This National Historic Landmark includes more than 550 works of art by 240 artists (some by the original owner Anna Hyatt Huntington) and is built on four former rice plantations comprising more than 9,000 acres. The Live Oak Allee features a magnificent row of ancient trees lace-covered with Spanish moss. Pulitzer Prize-winning author -- Julia Peterkin -- featured Brookgreen as the setting for her novels. Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter combines the graceful beauty of all eight species of swans from three continents with the exotic colors of white, red, pink and yellow water lilies and Japanese Iris. To the north at Rock Hill, more than 20,000 azaleas burst into bloom each spring at Glencairn Garden. For additional information on South Carolina, visit the state's web site at www.discoversouthcarolina.com or call 1-800-810-5700 to receive a free travel guide and map. |
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Lovetripper.com Romantic Travel Guide
