The wonderful Sweetgrass baskets you can find sale in downtown Charleston have been around for centuries (the skill was imported with the enslaved Africans). Originally they were made from bulrush or needle rush, but in the 1900’s the materials being used changed and Sweetgrass became the plant of choice — due to its greater flexibility, pretty color and wonderful smell. While still utilitarian, they have come to be treated as the works of art that they are.
A local's eye view
