Today we shine our spotlight on Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, founded in 1676 by the Drayton family. It is the oldest public tourist site in the Lowcountry and the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1870.
By Herb Frazier, special to Charleston Currents | A hand-tinted photograph captures a unique panoramic view 90 years ago of the iconic White Bridge at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens with a glimpse of the pointed cupola of Magnolia’s Main House.
What gives this old-fashioned picture an even more intriguing tinge, however, is a haunting image of a well-dressed artist painted into the photo as a bygone act of defiance against southern racial norms at that time.
Wearing what appears to be a seersucker suit and straw hat, the artist, seated before an easel, is dwarfed by the foot bridge, towering oaks and bushy azaleas in a late 1920s snapshot of America’s oldest garden.
Today, a copy of that original wide-angled view hangs in the sitting room of Magnolia’s Main House where the artist ̶ presumably Edwin Augustus Harleston ̶ would not have been invited for dinner because of his mixed parentage. …
By Herb Frazier, special to Charleston Currents | Decades ago when Magnolia Plantation and Gardens only opened the gates during the azalea-bloom season, Nona Hastie Valiunas and one of her cousins hid in the bushes then jumped out to scare the tourists. It was a playful time for young Nona who now shares ownership of the gardens that has been in her family for more than three centuries.
Staff reports | The Rev. John Drayton Azalea Chapter of the American Azalea Society and Magnolia Plantation and Gardens will host the society’s 2019 convention on March 14-16 in Summerville.
“We are honored to have some of the top azalea experts coming to Summerville to experience the beauty of the gardens we have in the Charleston area,” said Tom Johnson, Magnolia’s executive director who also is president of the local azalea chapter.
IN THIS ISSUE of Charleston Currents #11.15 | Feb. 18, 2019
FOCUS: Photos from a Lowcountry oyster roast
COMMENTARY, Brack: Don’t miss the opportunity for education reform
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SCIWAY
GOOD NEWS: Celebrating azaleas, history and sweet tea in Summerville
FEEDBACK: Tell us what you think
RECOMMENDED: Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs, by Dave Holmes
MYSTERY PHOTO: Who’s this old guy?
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Reformed Episcopal Church
CALENDAR: Charleston Museum oyster roast is Saturday
Staff reports | Ducks Unlimited has received a $1 million federal grant to launch a habitat enhancement and restoration project at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, according to a press release. The goal is to improve the flow of water through the various impoundments and ponds on the 500-acre Magnolia property to raise the diversity of plants and animals.
Funding from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) will be combined with $2.2 million in matching funds from federal, non-profit, state and private sources, said James A. Rader, manager of conservation programs in Ducks Unlimited’s South Atlantic Field Office in Charleston. The first phase of the two-year project will begin in the spring.
Look at the detail of this close-up of a bird spied recently by contributing photographer Michael Kaynard of Kaynard Photography. The photo was taken at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, which now has a hive of other possibilities as outlined in Today’s Focus.
By Herb Frazier | Bee hives soon will give Magnolia Plantation and Gardens a new buzz to highlight the insect’s role as pollinators and the human threat to them.
Tori Johnson, Magnolia’s student and youth group coordinator, recently earned her wings as a certified beekeeper after completing a two-day introductory beekeeping course sponsored by the Charleston Area Beekeepers Association.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Simply put, Tom Johnson is a character — a Georgia-drawling, camellia-addicted, big-hearted, fun-loving, hard-working, straight-talking character.
We tell you this because Johnson, who oversees the country’s largest camellia assortment at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, is featured as “The Camellia Man” in the latest and 50th anniversary issue of Southern Living (pp. 144-149). In the article, he’s as sassy and fun as we remember during a trip to Cuba with him, wife Mary Ann Johnson and more than a dozen others last August.
Issue 7.21 includes a story about a great STEAM camp in Charleston; a commentary by Andy Brack on the HPV vaccine; good news, a mystery picture and more.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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