BROOKGREEN GARDENS!!!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20

If you want to take this tour of Brookgreen Gardens with us you'd best get a cup of Coffee or a Soda and a snack before starting ..  you've got  a LOT of pictures to see .. LOL!!  We walked almost 5 miles and spent over 5  hours in the place .. and we still didn't see all there was to see!!!! 

A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT THE GARDENS

Originally, what is now Brookgreen Gardens was four rice plantations. The plantations from south to north were The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, and Laurel Hill. The current gardens and surrounding facilities lie completely on the former Brookgreen Plantation, which was owned by Joshua John Ward, the largest American slaveholder.^[4]

Only a handful of relics survive on the former plantations. The Alston (or Allston) cemetery survives on the grounds of The Oaks plantation. Gov. Joseph Alston and his child are buried in the cemetery. The same grave is a memorial to the governor's wife Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr, who was lost at sea. Her ghost is said to haunt the Grand Strand, looking for her father. The rice mill at Laurel Hill is all that remains of the plantation today. During the American Civil War, Confederates built an earthen structure on the grounds to block Union ships from coming into the tidal rivers.

Brookgreens Garden is the creation of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington of Connecticut, who purchased four plantations to open the garden to showcase her sculptures. Situated on Waccamaw Neck in Georgetown County, South Carolina between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic coast, it is the country's first public sculpture garden and has the largest collection of figurative sculpture by American artists in an outdoor setting in the world. It is also a nature and historical preserve with a small zoo, and a nature exhibition center.

Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington first visited the property in 1929. Because they were captivated by the beauty of it, they purchased nearly 9,100 acres (37 km²) of forest, swamp, rice fields and beachfront. They intended to establish a winter home on the Atlantic, but Anna saw the potential of the property and they quickly began to develop her vision of making it the showcase for her sculptures. Archer, stepson of philanthropist Collis Huntington, and Anna have donated property and contributed much to U.S. arts and culture in a number of states. Her sculpture of Joan of Arc is a feature of New York City's Riverside Park.

According to our tour guide  the roadway through this line of Oaks is the along the path  George Washington traveled to get to the Huntington's home many many years ago!!! 

Whoops .. YES .. the Squirrel is REAL!!! 

I don't know what this statue is called .. I couldn't find the sign .. LOL!!!

Live creatures .. LOL!!

Names of slaves living on the property .. people were coming up to see what was here so wasn't able to get all the names or a good pic!!

George and Vivain brought Alex and Beth to the Gardens Thrusday and 2 Otters were out swimming and playing in the water .. sad to say there were no Otters out today .. maybe next time!!!

Guess who .. LOL!!!

And then we come to the REAL Alligators ..

Basking in the sun!! 

Can you find the Vultures in the trees?????

There is a Red Fox in the pic below .. hard to find but it is there .. one of the Vultures is in front of it!!!

And YES there was a distinct smell of SKUNK in the area of the Vulture and Red Fox cages!!!  

I think they're trying to ignore us .. I don't blame them .. LOL!!!

There is a Deer waaayyy back there in the woods if you look real hard!!! In about the middle of the picture!!!  I would never have seen it but George and Vivian pointed it out to me!!!

Ken stood beside it so we could see just how big around that Cypress Tree was!!!

On our way out .. about 5 hours later .. and almost 5 miles walked according to my IPHONE!!  A beautiful place .. lots of walking but worth every step!!!  Your admission ticket is good for 7 days from the day you purchase it because it is such a huge park .. it would take more than 1 day to really see everything there!!! 

 

For more on Brookgreen Gardens .. and pictures I didn't take .. click on the link below!!! 

BROOKGREENS GARDEN!!

Believe it or not we spent all those hours walking through the Gardens without stopping for Lunch !!!  Neeldess to say .. not only were our feet and legs hurting but our tummies were rumbling and growling!!!   Off to one of our favorite places to eat .. Simply Southern Smokehouse!!! 

 

 What a beautiful day this was for walking all those miles and what a great time we had .. another great day at Myrtle Beach!!!