We are planning a home-exchange holiday next April/May to Daniel Island, Charleston. Our interests include gardens and wildlife. If anyone can give us recommendations of not-to-be-missed gardens open to the public, and good wildlife viewing sites (especially for birds), we would be very grateful.
Many thanks,
Gill (& Michael), Suffolk, England.
Inside Info on SC please
What a lovely time to visit; you will have many beautiful gardens to visit. North of Daniel Island is the famed Brookgreen Gardens.
www.brookgreen.org
To your west would be Cypress Gardens; not as lovely as they once were but still worth a visit.
http://www.cypressgardens.info/
To the south, and not to be missed, are Middleton Place and Magnolia Gardens.
http://www.middletonplace.org/
http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/
These are just the big ones, all within an hour of Daniel Island. Just walking through downtown Charleston is a garden event in itself.
With the exception of downtown, birding abounds at all the gardens. There are many nearby public beaches but for birding, a short (20 minutes) drive north to Bulls Bay
will provide plenty of avian wildlife.
Thanks a lot for those recommendations. It's good to know there's lots within easy reach, as we prefer not to spend too much time driving.
Wishing you an uneventful hurricane season...
Thank you, we are nearing the end of the season which has thankfully been uneventful for us.
I hope you will consider visiting our historic town, Beaufort, which is in the southern corner of SC, midway between Charleston and Savannah.
When you visit Brookgreen gardens,don't forget Huntington State Park right across the road.If you are interested in wildlife, this is one of the best places.
Not to toot our horn but there are many other places on the not to miss list not more than 2hours drive North of Charleston.
Ardesia, history is another of our interests, so certainly Beaufort will be on our list.
Thanks,
Gill.
Hello Downscale,
We'd hate to miss anything really good north of Charleston. Local knowledge is always the most useful in my experience, so if you have specific recommendations, please DO toot your horn!
Thanks,
Gill.
I hope you pointed him to the house in Gone with the Wind.
Lavina
Good catch, I missed that one. Boone Hall is just about 10 minutes, including traffic lights, from Daniel Island.
http://boonehallplantation.com/
We talked about the Gone with the Wind house before. I just googled it and learned that the entire movie was shot in CA but with inspirations from old southern homes like Boone Hall.
"Not surprisingly, several estates lay claim to be the inspiration for ‘Tara’. The staircase was supposedly based on an original at Cretien Point Plantation, about four miles from Sunset, between Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while the avenue of oaks is based on one at Boone Hall Plantation, seven miles north of Charleston, near US17, South Carolina."
Savannah might be worth a look for you too. It's about 2 hours or maybe 2 1/2 hours from Daniel Island. I love the way down town is set up with the squares and all that. Lots of historic building etc.
This might get you started. http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/p&tweb.nsf/950e01f292e02b9c852568ab00686f30/64b3ed817cd0a52885256c5a004a73b9?OpenDocument
If you love history, downtown Charleston is full of it. Don't miss the carriage rides, ghost walks, the Market and the Battery. Also on Sullivans Island is a Fort from the Civil War (forget the name) and you will want to tour Fort Moultrie, get there by boat, where the first shots were fired. There is the original Wall which surrounded the original city of Charleston, and the Old Exchange Bldg where you can go underneath and see the Wall and a mock up of a prison. I'm sure you will find plenty to keep you busy during your stay here and it is absolutely a perfect time of the year!
Amy
Thanks everyone. All contributions gratefully received. We're glad to know there's a concensus on April and May being a good time of year.
Gill.
April should be great for the gardens. The azaleas should still be going, then. I hope you'll be lucky and the dogwoods, wisteria, and azaleas will all be in bloom at the same time, as they sometimes do.
Deb
Thank you Deb. It sounds as though there will be a real feast of flowers.
Gill.
...and it will be nice and warm but not too hot yet.
This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for a group of us to have a get together in Charleston. Gill will win the prize for traveling the furthest.
That's a lovely idea. The opportunity to meet locals with similar interests would be great. Our dates are 19th April to 9th May - in case anyone else is also enthusiastic.
Gill.
Olderbutwiser: There are also several daylily nurseries located in SC: Roycroft is in Georgetown and Brown's Ferry Gardens is in the same general area.
How about a get together sometime over the weekend of April 25/26? The heritage rose garden at Hampton Park should be in bloom then and that might be a nice place for a picnic. Just throwing out ideas here.
Ardesia: Sounds great to me. I'd love to meet some DGers and a visit to a rose garden would be over the top. Why don't you put this together as a Roundup?
Hmmmm, I was thinking something more casual. Perhaps someone else would have other ideas.
Something casual would work as well. A picnic would be nice maybe on Sat. so that anyone traveling has Sunday to do so. You're far enough away that I would have to make this a weekend trip, but it would be lovely that time of year. Maybe everyone could bring a dish and a plant or seeds to swap. Things should be sprouting by then. Or is this even too organized?
I'd love it no matter what we do. I'm hoping for an NC roundup sometime next spring, since I missed two of them this year.
Hemophobic - thanks for the nursery recommendations. We are creating a new Piet Oudolf-style prairie garden here, and it would be nice to browse day lily varieties.
Everyone else - a casual picnic and seed/plant swap sounds lovely. The rose garden would be very nice, but of course you all know best regarding a venue. Hoping this idea comes together.....
Gill.
Have you been to SC before??? You said prairie garden and it got me thinking.
Hello CoreHHI,
We haven't been to the Carolinas before, although we have travelled elsewhere in the USA. Our inspiration comes more from the work of Dutch designer Piet Oudolf than the genuine prairie article. You might like to see his style on this website:
http://www.oudolf.com/piet-oudolf/gardens/public-gardens/pensthorpe/pensthorpe-3
Pensthorpe is in Norfolk, just to the north of us where the soil (light) and climatic conditions (dry - for England) are just like ours. His latest work focuses on linking the garden to the surrounding landscape, something we are seeking to do here. We have a lovely view of ancient parkland which we want to make the most of. It's good to have a grand project! I'm a keen propagator, and as all seed-sowers will know, you soon run out of space. The new scheme has no lawn and requires a planting density of 5 - 9 per square metre, so lots of scope for my seedlings, cuttings etc.
Gill.
Took a look at that link, Gill. Gorgeous gardens!
Gill: No wonder you're anxious to begin your project. I'm impressed by Oudolf's work. Quite lovely.
Thanks for the link. I think you'll get some nice visuals on your trip here and I would think a few good ideas.
The Edisto Gardens here in Orangeburg will be in full bloom then. Here's the link with more information. It's only about an hour-and-a-half from Charleston/Daniel Island, and there is no admission fee. Hope you enjoy your visit to SC!
www.orangeburg.sc.us/gardens/
This message was edited Oct 26, 2008 4:42 PM
Thanks Iussah, it looks as though Edisto Gardens combine 2 of our interests, history and gardening.
To all contributors - we've booked our flights now (19th April - 9th May), and hope the DG get-together might firm up for 25th or 26th April, as suggested by Ardesia.
Hope you are all enjoying some nice weather. We are getting frosts at night here now, but the autumn colour is good.
All good wishes,
Gill.
I have put it on my calendar!
GIll, I have a good friend with a lovely garden who lives on Daniel Island. As the time grows closer I'll put you in touch with her. She will know the local gardens you shouldn't miss.
Sounds like a plan!
Marking my calendar, too. :)
Deb
Thanks for that kind thought Ardesia.
Happy gardening everyone!
Gill.
Be sure and simply walk around downtown charleston - I live here and it is a beautiful town.
Magnolia and Middlegardens are a must to visit!
Hello Paula,
I have just read that "Charleston is like Edinburgh or Bath, transferred to an exotic, palm-treed location". So, we'll be taking your advice and walking the downtown area, but if it is really like Edinburgh or Bath I shall be amazed!
We have Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place on our list. We are going to be busy I think.
I hope you'll come to the get-together, being on site so to speak.
Gill.
Oh no, I was just checking my calendar and noticed that Olderbutwiser will be in SC shortly. Sadly I have to be out for town for most of the time she will be here. Hopefully others will pick up the ball.
I do see that the Charleston Horticultural Society is having their "Plantasia" on Saturday, April 25th. This is always an exceptional plant sale/event although I understgand yuou have to get there early for the best selection. The time is 8 am to noon and the location is the Gaillard Auditorium. Admission is FREE! I bet Stono will be there selling something wonderful.