City: Charleston, SC

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (843) 571-1266, (800) 367-3517

Address: 3550 Ashley River Rd.

Description: This is where Thomas Drayton Jr., father of Drayton Hall’s John Drayton, settled when he came to Charles Towne in 1679. Early on, the home that Drayton, a successful English planter from the island of Barbados, built for himself and his family was destroyed by fire. The house built to replace it was subsequently burned by Union troops in 1865. The present structure is said to have been a Drayton family hunting lodge that was moved down the Ashley River in 1873 and placed atop the foundations of the old plantation house. Magnolia Plantation is the original (and continuing) home of the Drayton family, now owned and managed by a ninth-generation descendant. It is famous for its expansive, informal, English-style gardens, which are the legacy of the Reverend John Grimke-Drayton, the plantation’s owner during the Civil War, whose parish was nearby at Saint Andrews. In 1843, Grimke-Drayton imported numerous specimens of Camellia japonica, and in 1848, Azalea indica. Due to a bout with tuberculosis in the late 1840s, he left his parish for a time and devoted himself entirely to his garden. By 1870, despite the tragedy of the war and the burning of the main house, the gardens at Magnolia Plantation had grown in size and reputation. That year, the property was first opened to the public. Paddle-wheeled steamboats from Charleston made regularly scheduled excursions to Magnolia, where tourists relaxed, took picnics, and strolled along the blossom-laden paths. But for all its lacy bridges arching gracefully over mirrorlike cypress ponds, one little-known, smaller area is well worth finding. Look for the garden called Flowerdale. This is where it all began. Here is Magnolia’s earliest garden area (planted in the late 1680s), and it was possibly the inspiration for Grimke-Drayton’s larger, more ambitious plan a century and a half later. Surely the reverend sat here in the 1850s, pondering the moral issues facing his plantation world as the political storm clouds gathered over the South. Perhaps it was amid the beauty of Flowerdale that Grimke-Drayton first thought of expanding the garden plan to create an oasis of beauty so large and lasting it might someday sustain his family home. Today, the gardens boast 250 varieties of azaleas and 900 varieties of camellias. These, plus many other flowers added through the years, keep Magnolia Gardens in colorful bloom all year long. Its most spectacular season, however, is spring, when the dazzling, vibrant azalea colors seem to vibrate on the landscape as far as the eye can see. Visitors can get an overview of the property in a 12-minute video on the plantation’s history shown at regular intervals in the orientation theater. Magnolia Plantation offers additional activities for nature lovers. Canoes can be rented to glide through the eerie beauty of its 125-acre waterfowl refuge. There are walking and bicycle trails, plus a wildlife observation tower that’s very popular with bird-watchers. There’s an herb garden, a horticultural maze, newly-opened antebellum slave cabins, a typical Ashley River rice barge, and even a petting zoo for children (as well as adults). You’ll find picnic areas, a snack shop, and a gift shop there, too. The property is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov through Feb). Group rates are available. A basic admission is charged, with additional fees added for the Plantation House, Nature Train/Boat, Slavery to Freedom tour, and Audubon Swamp. Note that children under 6 cannot tour the house.