Spring comes early to the Grand Strand. Daffodils begin blooming in March. The temperature climbs into the 70’s. April brings azaleas, magnolias, and the state flower — yellow jasmine. We begin to see temperatures in the lower 80’s and the water becomes warm enough to splash in.
Brookgreen Gardens
Simply put, there is no better place to experience spring in the Carolinas than Brookgreen Gardens. These gardens, located on Highway 17 South between Murrell’s Inlet and Pawley’s Island, were founded in 1931 by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington. Their love for sculpture and lowcountry nature led them to turn their original plans for a winter retreat into a showcase for the art and nature that led them to South Carolina. The park celebrates sculpture, nature, and history in a setting of extraordinary beauty.
Brookgreen was America’s first public sculpture garden. Now it boasts more than 1200 works by sculptors from all over the world. Many of the pieces, including the magnificent stallions at the parks entrance, were sculpted by the park’s founder, Anna Hyatt Huntington. IN 2002, the park extended it’s mission by founding the Center for American Sculpture, which hosts artists-in-residence and offers numerous educational programs.
The sculpture is set within one of the most breathtaking gardens in the United States. The 9,200 acres exhibits planned and cultivated flowers among the sculptures, while also showcasing much of the natural beauty of the South Carolina lowcountry. One of my personal favorites is the Live Oak Allee garden, where 250 year old live oaks draped with Spanish moss create a canopy of tranquility.
These oaks, planted when the gardens were a working rice plantation, also speak to another aspect of the Gardens — history. The gardens were founded on land that used to belong to lowcountry rice planters, who used slave labor to produce their crop. Brookgreen allows visitors to learn about this history and celebrate the Gulah-Geechee culture that arose among the slaves. Historical walks lead visitors past cemeteries and archaeological digs that seek to uncover the ruins of the working plantation. Boat trips take visitors into the old rice fields and along the creeks, where history and nature come together. Brookgreen Gardens also boasts the only accredited zoo along the coastal Carolinas, where kids of all ages can see native South Carolina wildlife up close and personal. The otters are my favorite.
Everything you need to know about Brookgreen can be found at their website: http://www.brookgreen.org/
Posted on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 by Len Lashower
I’ll be honest. This blogger never went on a real Spring Break. This was mostly due to the fact that my school operated with a strange calendar — three terms, plus summer, instead of the usual two. Our “Spring Break” fell in between Winter and Spring terms, so it usually ended up running the last week of February. Not much Spring in that Break. I always wished a group of my friends and I had been able to rent a house somewhere and spend the week hanging out and having fun. That’s why you should rent a house and come to Myrtle Beach for Spring Break — if you don’t, you’ll Regret It For The Rest of Your Life.
I am joking a little. But I am not kidding about the fact that hanging out with your friends at the Grand Strand for a week promises to be a great time. Myrtle Beach has something for everyone and we’ve got a rental that will make your Spring Break even more fun that you thought possible. Say you and your three closest friends want to get away from everyone you know, eat some good food, hit the nightspots, and relax in a jacuzzi. We can do that. Or say you really can’t decide who your three closest friends are, so ten of you want to head to the Strand, drive some race cars, grill out on the deck, and maybe play a little golf. We can do that, too. Whatever your social circle, whatever your preferred activities, and whenever your spring break happens to fall (even if it’s the end of February), Myrtle Beach is an awesome place to make some memories.
Posted on Saturday, February 06, 2010 by Len Lashower