While away in the south the last two weeks, I was able to visit Brookgreen Gardens, just south of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, SC. Founded in 1931 by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington on what was a slave-worked rice plantation in the 1800s, it’s primarily a sculpture garden, in fact the first public sculpture garden in America, with a collection of “more than 1,400 works by over 350 sculptors,” Anna Huntington’s work being prominent. But it’s not only a sculpture garden: it also offers two walk-through aviaries, several ponds, pools, and lakes, a small zoo of native animals (many wounded rescues, as are the raptors in one aviary), a lowlands rice plantation audio history trail, and it’s sited alongside the Waccamaw River, on which the garden’s excursion boats travel. There are miles of walking trails, well defined on the trail map.
I liked it so much the first time I visited that I came back again the next day (all tickets are good for 7 consecutive days).
Hope you enjoy it, too. Click all photos to enlarge.
purple and lime green near welcome center‘Fighting Stallions’ by Anna Hyatt Huntington“St James Triad” by Richard McDermott Miller“Bella and the Bug” by Louise Petersonfemale torso sculpture and viewwhite magnolia bloommagnolia going bymagnolia treesSouthern fox squirrel … so cute!another of the Southern fox squirrelrice fields slave statuecosmos and others near Spanish goatspassion flower by concession standhazards sign!alligator in pondfront view of alligator in pondalligator on lawn from across small pondfront view: alligator on lawnside view: alligator on lawnsign: don’t feed alligatorsmarshy areaobedient plant and pickerel along Waccamaw RiverWaccamaw River from the ‘Beyond the Gardens’ trailfiddler crabpileated woodpecker along traillabyrinthpink waterlilyblue and green dragonfly on pink waterlilypink waterlilies and green foliagelavender waterlily with dragonfly‘Diana’ sculpture (by Anna Huntington)the lions and ‘Diana’ sculpturefloral ponyblue and pink hydrangeas and view to sculpturecattle egret in aviarycattle egret grooming (aviary)young black-crowned night heron (aviary)black-crowned night heron on its sign in aviary (with cattle egret)ibis in aviaryheron landing in aviaryturtle in water (aviary)boat dock areaexcursion boat heading outbarred owl (injured)two eagles (injured)Paul Manship’s ‘Time and the Fates of Man’ sundial sculpturepond and sculpturehot otters in dirtlive oaks and Spanish mosslive oak trunklive oak alleered dragonflylight blue and green dragonflyyellow and brown dragonflyblack dragonflygreen and black dragonflypurple lacecap hydrangeablue & white hydrangea‘Evening’ by Paul Manship, with lantana‘Dionysius’ by Edward McCartan in Gretchen’s Gardenentrance to sculpture gardenmore sculptures5-lined skink in sculpture gardensculpture garden with jasmine vinesgecko in sculpture garden‘Raphell’ memorial sculpture by Bruno Lucchesitropical plants
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