HOME IS WHERE THE TRUCK IS: Brookgreen Gardens

When the boys were younger and we used to come to Myrtle Beach for vacation I always wanted to visit Brookgreen Gardens (Brookgreen Gardens). However, I knew my boys and I knew they would NEVER have been interested in it so we never went.

This trip, I FINALLY got to go! It was worth the wait, and I was right, my preteen/teen boys would have been bored senseless and made me miserable. Ha!

Brookgreen Gardens is a 9,127 acre treasure trove of stunning sculpture, fabulous florals and compelling history. We saw Live Oak trees that are over 250 years old. We saw just some of the over 2000 sculptures/works of art on display. I have learned that while I don't really "get" paintings, I LOVE sculptural art. I think my favorite piece I saw was " The Spacewalker". There was just something about her that I found so mesmerizing. She was very large, more than twice my size.

The Spacewalker, Richard McDermott Miller, 1978

When you buy an admittance for BG you can use it for seven consecutive days. I understand why. We were there from the time the gates opened until about 45 minutes before close and did not come close to seeing even half of the place. There was a small zoo we didn't even get near. Sigh. That was a bummer for me because they have goats. Oh well.

We took two excursions while on property. The first was a Trekker. This trip took us into the backcountry to a plantation cemetary, a rice mill chimney, a Civil War earth bunker and a really beautiful view of the Waccamaw River from a bluff. We learned all about the rice production from the late 1700's-mid 1800's from multiple plantations that were on the acreage that now is known as Brookgreen Gardens. We saw several enslaved people cemetaries, some were very old and some were newer and were in active cemetary areas were decendents of the enslaved individuals can be buried should they desire. Many graves were just marked with a stone jutting up from the ground. There was also a rice mill chimney that was a remnant to one of the rice mills that was used by the enslaved people in the 1700-1800's.

Stones mark enslaved peoples graves

The second excursion we took was the creek excursion. This was a relaxing pontoon cruise learning more about the rice trade, understanding the role of the enslaved people and the history of the lowcountry. We were on the lookout for alligators but sadly there was nary a one to be seen. We did see an egret and some jumping fish, but that was it. It was really gorgeous out on the Waccamaw River and we totally enjoying relaxing and listening to our really great tour guide, Don.

We had a really great day. I wish I had remembered to take a photo of every sign of all the scuptures, but I didn't. I'm really terrible about that. My bad. I'd say I was sorry about the amount of photos that are following this, but I'd be lying. This place was amazing. I took over 300 photos. It was hard to limit myself to these.

Thanks for reading.

Love you all!

From the Trekker Excursion