Click on logo above to take a "cyber-tour" of these beautiful gardens & to do an "on-line nature study" with your kids.  Until then, I hope enjoy our little "blog tour."

Every time our family has passed this garden during to one of our daytrips to Charleston, SC., we've said, "We really should go there sometime."  So, this spring, our family finally made it a point to stop by Brookgreen Gardens for a few hours on a Friday afternoon as we were headed down to Charleston for a long weekend.  We were amazed at the beauty of this spectacular place and were very appreciative that the tickets were good for SEVEN days!  The children and I went back the next week and enjoyed having the whole day to walk around, attend the programs, and learn about the garden's history, flora, fauna, and art.

DD & DH stroll through The Palmetto Garden, named for  Sabal palmetto South Carolina’s state tree.

The history of Brookgreen is one that makes you appreciate its caretakers throught the centuries.  Formerly four rice plantations, it was purchased by Archer & Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1931.  The Huntingtons created a nature preserve on the land that is over 6,000 acres and also filled the gardens they created with sculptures by Mrs. Huntington and many other famous artists.  300 acres are open to the public.

The Lowcountry Zoo on the grounds houses animals native to the area.  The blue herons were regal and ruled the bird aviary; the otters were playful and ready to go into their new exhibit habitat that was almost finished; a lame fox found a safe abode where he could live out the rest of his days safely; and deer grazed in a large herd without fear of preditors.

At first, we only saw two owls, but as we walked further down the path and our angle changed, we saw 3 sleepy little owls enjoying their perch!

This little cross-eyed possum melted our hearts.  She was found as an ill baby in a parking lot and taken to Brookgreen.  She was part of one of their educational programs that we attended and the kids enjoyed petting her surprisingly soft fur.

 Below are just some of the many sculptures we saw throughout these miles of gardens.  (The garden has workshops & exhibitions regularly.)

Top Row:  "Presidental Eagle", "In Memory of the Workhorse" (one of my favorites, as I grew up on a farm), "Springtime Frolic."

Center Middle: "Low Country Harvest" (includes the crops of the area -- corn, cotton, rice & indigo)

Bottom Row: "Mongoose & Cobra" (the subtitle was "Hold-on-Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"  -- this was favorite of our kids, as they had just heard the story a few months before our trip to Brookgreen), "The Lion" (there is a matching one on the other side of the path as you enter one of the gardens), "Diana" which is in the middle of the pool (she must be a favorite of artists, as many different renditions can be found of her as you stroll throughout the gardens).

 If you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend a day at this relaxing, beautiful place.  They have a Junior Detective program that kids will enjoy.  (You can see DD &DS in the 2nd row above filling in the answer to the question, "What animals are in the sculpture, "Springtime Frolic.")  Our kids completed their booklets the second day in which they were asked to fill-in facts about the animals, art, plants and other things that they saw throughout the gardens.  It was like a giant scavenger hunt that helped them observe and retain the information and memories from these beautiful gardens. 

Please join the rest of the crowd for Show&Tell every Friday! Get all the information over at: