Winter Trips
While my usual trip down South this year was shorter than usual, we did have a wonderful week traveling from Wilmington, NC, to Savannah, GA. It was chillier than normal, though nice and sunny. Perfect for photography; not so great for shorts and flip-flops!
Our first stop was Brookgreen Gardens, located right along Route 17 in Murrells Inlet, SC, just below Myrtle Beach. Plan on at least a half day here and be prepared to walk. Located on the grounds of an old plantation, this garden is dedicated to featuring sculpture, poetry, landscape architecture, and the plants that do well in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. The garden is divided into rooms, each room with a theme. Some garden rooms have plaques of poetry on the brick walls and sculptures elsewhere within the room. Other large sculptures are set in large meadows or related to water features. This is a glorious garden, filled with interest at every turn. There are places to stop and have a drink; indoor sculpture and art galleries; and a lovely gift shop.
From Brookgreen, it was on to Charleston, SC, where some of the prettiest town gardens in the world are located. This is a place for ideas. We like to stroll the back alleys, too, and look at the way people pave their driveways, build their gates, and plant containers and windowboxes. Because of the mild climate, the gardens are interesting the year-‘round. On the Saturday afternoon we were there, it began to rain as we were walking through the streets. The closest restaurant was called Southend Brewery and Smokehouse on East Bay Street. We intended to sit out the rain shower and head back out after one beer, but got caught up in the warm ambience. A few hours and some good food later—barbeque, grits, collards—we headed out with happy smiles. This was certainly not a fine dining experience, yet perfect for a lazy, rainy, winter afternoon.
We spent much of the next day at Middleton Plantation and Gardens, just outside Charleston on the Ashley River. When I think of Middleton, I think of camellias and azaleas. We were there during the peak of camellia season and I would venture to say there are thousands of camellias on the grounds. The azaleas were just barely beginning to bloom. Middleton has a lake and canal, and the reflections of plants on the water are beautiful. This trip, we decided to tour the interior of the plantation house and learned much about the history of one of South Carolina’s oldest families, enjoying the antiques on display inside. Middleton has a little plant nursery on site and you can get a bite to eat there, too.
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