GARDENS
Mixing Old and New
Transforming a Historic Garden
Blair Farris
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Thien La and Terrance Antonio
WRITTEN BY
J
James Cothran, author of Gardens of
Historic Charleston, writes: “Charleston
has a rich garden heritage dating from
colonial times. In 1682, only two years
after the city was established, English
settlers were already securing plants
from the old world for both practical
and ornamental use.” Charleston’s
gardens have evolved in the last 300
years but the attention to detail and
design has continued. Charlestonians
are proud of their beautiful gardens and
it is a treat to walk up and down the
historic streets to peek into them. Most
are small courtyard gardens, but they
are well designed into garden rooms
to maximize the space. Original hand
wrought iron gates, antique urns and
ornamentation are prevalent.
When the owners of the William Elliott
House, built in the 1730s, wanted to
refurbish their garden they called on
Sheila Wertimer Landscape Architects.
They collaborated to respect the original design of the garden while making
it more functional and beautiful.
The front of the garden maintained its
original state the original but improvements were made that included resetting some of the paving and reworking
the parterres In the back of the garden,
the paving was completely redone and
a new fountain was added next to the
dining terrace. The owners wanted a
traditional Charleston garden in form
and in planting palette. In keeping
with this palette, all of the paving areas
are old tumbled brick and bluestone.
JUNE JULY 2014
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