Saturday, March 30, 2019

Orangeburg Botanical Gardens

  We packed some food and left our campsite for a drive to the Edisto Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg for lunch.  The azaleas and cherries were in full bloom and the weather spring-wonderful. 
  
Where Union and Confederate soldiers met in combat in 1865, in 1921 azaleas were planted among the majestic old cypress trees.  





I found this old vintage post card of almost the same scene I photographed, made shortly after the azaleas were planted.  You can see how they have grown since 1921.  They are now taller than me and form one continuous bush all around the park. 
  




Part of the park remains a Tupelo and cypress wetlands accessible by boardwalk trails.
  
  There are 175 acres total, with cherry trees, azaleas, dogwoods, native plant areas along the river, and a rose garden (that wasn’t in bloom yet).  

Cherries, azaleas, and yellow jessamine, the South Carolina state flower

Irises, redbuds, and every shade of green one could imagine
The scent of cherry blossoms warmed by the sun followed us everywhere. 



Bob enjoyed having lunch “out”, too.

“Look, guys!  I got my very own pine cone!”



o

11 comments:

  1. I would dearly love to walk around the Tupelo and Cypress wetland section of the park. There is not much of that kind of habitat left.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your camping trip continues. What a beautiful garden area. I expect to visit the desert botanic gardens in Phoenix when I'm there this week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. All looks set for the blooms of Augusta, Ga.
    Colin

    ReplyDelete
  4. You find some interesting history .

    ReplyDelete
  5. Azaleas are lovely, they look nice as do your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful walk you took us on and wonderful that you managed to locate a vintage postcard to compare with present times. Sounds like a great trip.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful time of the year to visit the gardens.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh so pretty! Such a beautiful place to visit! Hiya Bob! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. So nice to see nature has started blooming again!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Aw you could take Bob along too! Hey I like your campsite sketch - you always remember what you've drawn as you have concentrated on it so that it becomes etched in your mind forever.

    ReplyDelete