Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Next to Charleston, this was my favorite part of our entire trip. The house began as a little hunting cabin in the the 1670s. It has been transformed over more than three hundred years into this beautiful home with sprawling gardens. Resplendent with Cherokee roses, magnolia trees, camellias, azaleas and giant gators. It couldn't be more picturesque-ly located on a fork of the Ashley river. And we couldn't have picked a more beautiful day to go visit.

Lily enjoyed running around the vast grounds. But her favorite part of the Plantation was the petting zoo.

My favorite part was the house. It has been built and rebuilt three times. Like many of the lowcountry plantations, the weather wasn't ideal for cotton or tobacco. As a result it was originally a rice plantation. The slaves brought the knowledge with them from Sierra Leone. But after the war the owner felt that the risks of malaria, plus the labor-intensive process, didn't warrant the effort to maintain the rice production. So after the War, during which the main house was burned down, the Draytons sold off 1,500 acres of their property (leaving a measly 500 acres) in order to rebuild the house and fix up the gardens. After a few years of intensive work they opened the gardens to the public. So Magnolia became one of the first American tourist attractions.

From the gardens to the swamps to the fallow rice patties, it is little wonder this is one of the most popular wedding locations in South Carolina.

The live oaks are the most unusual trees I've ever seen. Like gnarled old women reaching toward each other in a perpetual embrace. They are so intertwined that it gets difficult to see where one ends and the other begins. The Spanish moss that is draped over them like antique lace gives them an ethereal appearance. As if ghostly apparitions or wood sprites will appear at any moment. The rambling limbs grow out so long that, over hundreds of years, they begin to grow back into the ground and out again. Lovely doesn't begin to describe them.

And of course, I can't tell you about the plantation without mentioning the gators. During our tour we were told that most of them had yet to come up from the bottom of the swamps. The ones we did see were usually sunbathing alongside the turtles in the swamps.

What was that, you ask? You want to know why they were sleeping alongside the tasty turtles rather than eating them? Well, funny you should ask. I had the exact same question. Apparently, alligators don't eat during the winter. I did not know that. But it did make me feel much better about wandering around the gardens with giant gators everywhere.

And a prize to the first person who can find the hidden alligator in this picture. Look close now.

The slave cabins were recently restored. They were occupied during slavery, the War, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. During the time when slaves occupied them, they weren't nearly as beautiful. No trees or grass of any kind. They were all brushed clean of any beauty. Fun place to live, right?

And after seeing this beautiful spinning wheel in one of the cabins, I've decided I am in desperate need of one. Not that I have pressing weaving needs, but I still need one.

And now to Lily's favorite aspect. The petting zoo. She ran after this little guy for quite some time calling "Come". Every time he let her get close she would crouch down and say "Hi" in a very sweet voice. After a few minutes of this, though, he had enough and charged her. I snatched her up, but every time I put her down she was on him again.

Her next favorite animals were these pigs. Can you blame her? They are so ugly they're cute.

Now you have seen Magnolia Plantation. Beautiful colors, long history and giant alligators. What's not to love? By the way, in case you are wondering why there are no pictures of the house let me tell you. I forgot the camera on the tour. Yes, I am still kicking myself over it.