A Stroll Along King Street, Charleston, SC

Behind The Garden Wall

Late fall is a favorite season for strolling here in the Deep South. The weather is cooler, often clement, and natural colors can be outstanding. Containers and beds are brimming with annuals such as pansies, snapdragons and ornamental brassicas. Camellias are in full bloom, and some azaleas are still showing off. What’s more, flowering vines can be outstanding, and there’s usually a bit of serendipity.

We enjoyed such a day just last week. I had no sooner stepped out of my car parked on South Battery when I overheard a lady in a horse-drawn carriage ask the coachwoman if she could identify a plant she saw nearby that was covered with bright red berries. The driver could not, so I politely offered my service. “That is a holly. Weeping Yaupon holly. Ilex vomitoria ‘Pendula’,” I said while pantomiming so she could get the picture.

After that brief introduction to the type of character they might meet around Charleston, we began to stroll up King Street. It wasn’t long before we stopped to photograph flowering vines spilling over a garden wall. Frankly, that is about the extent of what one might see in gardens along the way. High walls and wrought iron gates prevent visitors from getting too close and seeing too much. As long as we stay outside the gates, homeowners usually don’t mind admirers peering through the bars. In fact, most residents usually spend a great deal of money maintaining their lovely window boxes and street plantings for others to enjoy. 

Here are a few of the garden sights we enjoyed.

Caesalpinia mexicana

Mixed window box with Carex and Snapdragons

Tecoma capensis

Mixed window box planting

Use of dwarf mondo in driveway

Private garden

Mixed window box planting

Espalier with Trachelospermum jasminoides

Mixed street planting

Camellia espaliers

Window box with pansies, Lamium and brassicas

Enchanting gateway

Lamium, petunia, pansy, sweet alyssum, brassica

Alley beckoning

Container garden with camellia background

Streetside garden

Still, one can’t help wondering what grows behind the garden wall.

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