Azalea Gardens & Sculpture Garden
Azalea Park & Sculpture Garden- If you are looking to get a taste of spring, there is nothing quite as spectacular as the azalea gardens of the southeast. Now don’t be shy, these extroverted flowers will make your heart sing songs of the south.
Just a few miles down the road in Charleston, South Carolina, you won’t want to miss touring Middleton Place Gardens. This plantation is America’s oldest landscaped garden created in 1741, by Henry Middleton, using the design principles of Andre’ Le Notre creator of the gardens at Vaux Le Vicomte and the Palace of Versailles in France. It sits beautifully on the Ashley River with lawn sculpted terraces that follow the contours and descend down to the water’s edge. Take a stroll along the water and be astounded by the blooming azalea gardens that cover the hillside underneath the trees, the view will take your breath away. While you’re visiting the garden visit the museum and restaurant. The property has been in the same family for over 320 years. Two of the three original buildings remain on the property. The original homestead was burned down by Union Troops two months before the end of the Civil War.