I recently had the pleasure of touring Middleton Place again! The gardens and architecture are breathtakingly beautiful. The camellias were in bloom and offered a lovely variety of color!
The spectacular design of the grounds and the gardens struck me. I hear modern art celebrated these days and I just don’t get excited about it. But I see the incredible attention to detail with the symmetrical gardens and lovely statues and I can’t help but wish this was the form of art that we celebrated and highlighted! It is tasteful and lovely, carefully tended and manicured.
Camellia Tour
We went on a camellia tour and were told about these lovely shrubs. Back in the late 1700s, four camellias plants were imported to Middleton place. Of these four plants, only one is still alive today and it is 237 years old!
All the other camellias on the plantation were grafted from these originals and the plantation now boasts more than 10,000! (If I recall correctly!)
Did you know that camellias are notoriously slow growing?! It can take up to eight years for a seed to develop it’s first bloom! They recommended buying a shrub that is already a few years old if you want to see blooms anytime soon!
Also, the base of the shrub has nothing to do with the age of the plant – some are stout and some are spindly! Another surprise is that camellias really aren’t fragrant – they’re beautiful and delicate and look like they would smell amazing, but they really don’t have a fragrance!
The Gardens
There are, I believe, 12 carefully manicured and maintained gardens at Middleton Place. Each is different than another and so lovely to admire! One features a sundial, another is an enclosed “Secret Garden”, while several are symmetrical!
Think about a symmetrical garden for a minute – it could be a bit of a trick getting the same plants to grow opposite each other as they would get different angles of the sun! Isn’t that interesting?!
Here’s something else interesting – the gardens have been upkept for a very long time and they try to stay true to the original intent of the designer, a Frenchman. Because of this, the symmetrical garden are especially well tended because if they loose a plant or a tree on one side, they have to take it out on the other to maintain the symmetry! Isn’t that something?!
The Oak Trees
Oak trees are so gorgeously majestic and Middleton Place boasts many of them! This one in particular is between 900 and 1000 years old. Can you even wrap your mind around that? That means it was here before Columbus, almost as long ago as Charlamagne!
Can you imagine the history that has happened under these trees? The weddings and duels, the number of children playing or people taking shelter from a storm. It is just incredible to me to ponder it!
But like all things, even this very old tree has to die sometime. It has lost four of its main branches and only has two remaining. Whenever it loses one, the balancing branch breaks shortly after. It rather reminds me of Ecclesiastes – there is a time for everything.
I don’t say this to be sad, but rather as a reminder that there are seasons in life and it is good to remember that so we make the most of where we are!
Visit Middleton Place
All this to say that I highly recommend visiting Middleton Place! It is beautiful and peaceful and delightful!
They even have lodging and a restaurant so you can make a whole weekend of it! A friend described it as the most beautiful place in South Carolina and I would have to agree!
Even if you aren’t local, you should take a day to enjoy the beauty around you! Make the most of where you are – someday you’ll be glad you did!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Visit Middleton Place’s website for more information and history: https://www.middletonplace.org/