Glimpses of Charleston

A local's eye view

Flowers/Gardens

Oleander is in full bloom all over Charleston. Just beautiful, but be careful around it... as they are also toxic.
The the oleander along the High Battery is looking beautiful this year. As pretty as it is, it is also poisonous. Legend has it that during the Civil War it was used to brew poisonous tea which was then served to Union soldiers — and drinking it could be fatal. 
These roses nicely accent the C. Bissell Jenkins House, located at the corner of Murray Boulevard and Limehouse Street. The house was the first built along Murray (the Low Battery) in 1913.
This beautiful wall of jasmine can be found on Lamboll Street. The fragrance is stupendous.
These cool window boxes are on Elliott Street, right around the corner from Rainbow Row.
This cannon was discovered under a house on Tradd Street when the house was being renovated. It's now on display in the front yard for all to see.
This driveway and garden can be found on Montagu Street in the Harleston Village neighborhood of Charleston. Beautiful. 
This incredible window box can be found on the building that in 1732 was Poinsett's Tavern on Elliot Street. Poinsett's descendant, Joel, was the ambassador to Mexico and is credited with introducing the poinsettia to the United States.
Some beautiful flowers to help celebrate Easter. Charleston has a strong link to Easter as it is believed that Charleston was founded on April 6, 1670, which was Easter Day (350 years ago!). (Thanks to all the smart people at Bulldog Tours for that juicy historical nugget!)
This pretty Charleston scene can be found on Water Street, which had been Vanderhorst Creek -- until it was filled in in 1791.
This pretty scene is on the front side of 1 East Battery (c. 1860) -- a grand three story house. The cast iron balconies were added after the Civil War in about 1888. Their view is across the High Battery to the harbor. The grand side piazzas of the house provide a spectacular view of White Point Garden.
Built in 1838-39, the Robert William Roper House is one of the most monumental Greek Revival houses in Charleston. With a prominent location on East Battery, it actually wasn't ever supposed to be there, as that land was originally intended to be part of White Point Garden.
The bottlebrush plant is one of the most eye-catching, and aptly named, plants in Charleston.
This beautiful wisteria is on the wall of 2 Water Street -- a house  built before 1818 by a merchant who sailed during the Revolutionary War with John Paul Jones on the famous Bon Homme Richard. Interestingly, the ship is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Richard was a  pseudonym used by Franklin  (think Poor Richard's Almanac).
These blooming azaleas are behind the fence at the Bowles-Legare House (c.1797) on Tradd Street. The fence, with its arrowhead pickets and crossed arrow gate, is an eye-catching handsome one.
This beautiful Charleston entryway is to a Meeting Street house built in 1789. If you turn left when walking out the door you'll quickly come to the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets -- known as the Four Corners of Law (dubbed that by Robert Ripley, of Ripley's Believe It or Not).
This beautiful spring flower box can be found on Tradd Street.
These flower boxes are on the northernmost of the "Three Sisters" houses on Meeting Street. This house, the youngest of the sisters, is different from its siblings in that they were built before the American Revolution (1770 and 1760),  and this one was built after (about 1800).
The house to which this handsome window and flower box belong is on Tradd Street and dates back to 1740. It was the home of the 5th postmaster of Charleston. And in keeping with the tradition of the time, the front room of the house was used as the post office. 
This heart-shaped vision can be found in the garden of the John Blake House, built at the very end of the 1700's, on South Battery.
With the positioning of many Charleston houses right up to the sidewalk (particularly, the sideways facing Charleston single houses), window boxes often replace having a front yard -- and they are generally treated with the same loving care.
These wonderful window boxes are on the Patrick O'Donnell House (aka O'Donnell's Folly) on King Street. The largest Italianate house in Charleston, it will always be linked to President Barack that he directly referred to the house’s amazing piazzas in his first presidential election night acceptance speech
These beautiful camellias are at the C. Bissell Jenkins House on Murray Boulevard.  Jenkins was the originator of the reclamation project that led to the completion of Murray Boulevard and the Low Battery. His house was the first built there.
This beautiful garden belongs to the 19850 house at 39 Legare Street. I wonder if Legare the Lowcountry Lizard lives there.
This c. 1839 house on Hassell Street is unusual for the neighborhood -- both because it is set so far back from the street and for its Egyptian Revival style of columns.
A beautiful wall, that allows a lovely view into the garden, can be found on Lamboll Street.
Fall in Charleston, as seen in the amazing garden at 29 Legare (Luh-gree) Street. The fountain is home to a family of turtles.
It takes a hardy plant to thrive through the long, hot Charleston summers. Plumbago, with it's pretty blue/purple flowers, thrives all over the city.
Oleander can be found all over Charleston (here on the Low Battery) and its blossoms are beautiful. It is, however a poisonous plant and you should never put it in your mouth or drink tea brewed from it!
These beautiful window boxes can be found on the house at the corner of State Street and Lodge Alley. Charleston window boxes are amazing!
The Charleston Farmer's Market is ranked as one of the best in the country. There are tons of things to buy and eat, and it's a real gathering spot every Saturday morning. Right in the middle of it is a hunk of rock surrounded by an iron fence, called the Horn Work. See and read about just what cool piece of rock it is here.
This beautiful Charleston window box features a gorgeous hydrangea. One of the cool things about hydrangeas is that they will change color depending on the pH of the soil they are in. You can actually manipulate it to have the plant display different color flowers.
A lush, color coordinated, scene along the Low Battery. Legend has it that during the Civil War oleander, the flowering plants shown here, was used to brew poisonous tea which was then served to Union soldiers -- and drinking it could be fatal.
This cool seating area is under the house's piazza -- the side porch of a Charleston single house. A piazza is a type of porch, but not all porches are piazzas! You can find this one on South Battery.