Magnificent Gardens

The All Saints Garden Tour opens the gates to Lowcountry’s finest

Story by Nancy Renner

Seven beautiful gardens have been selected for the 2019 All Saints Garden Tour. The 2019 self-guided tour features four on Hilton Head Island and three in Bluffton, and will provide inspiration for gardeners at all levels.

Each garden is unique. The majority feature water in a variety of ways including marshes, lagoons and a river setting — all providing a stunning backdrop for the garden. Several gardens are beautiful restorations from the major damage caused by recent storms. With the significant loss of trees, once shaded gardens are now sun-filled gardens featuring very different plants.

Other gardens have some very unique features. One has skillfully blended over 150 different specimen plants into the landscape, demonstrating the wonderful variety of flora and fauna that thrive here. Native plants are featured in another garden. Not only are they pleasing to the eye and attractive to songbirds and insects, but they also serve an important role beneath the soil-erosion control.

Several of the gardens are designed to be relaxing, tranquil settings, perfect for retreating. One features an abundance of palms, ferns, and evergreen plants, creating an Australian garden. Another combines the unique colors created by the marsh with splashes of brilliant annual and perennial color throughout the garden.

Childhood memories in Charleston provided the inspiration for one of the gardens featuring a formal courtyard in the front and garden rooms for recreation and entertaining in the back. All the gardens provide tranquil settings to enjoy nature and the beauty that drew many of us to the Lowcountry.

2019 All Saints Garden Tour

When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, May 18
Where: Spanish Wells, Hilton Head Plantation, Windmill Harbor, Waddell Mariculture Center, Belfair and Bluffton.
Notes: Tickets $35, includes the tour and lunch served at the All Saints Episcopal Church (11 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Details: allsaintsgardentour. com, 843-681-8333