The city of Charleston was the first stop on my Summer Study Tour.  It is a beautiful city filled with elegant homes and lots of history.  Since the city is on the tip of a peninsula, the geography dictates that even the grandest of homes are on relatively small lots. 

In spite of the urban coziness, many of the neighborhoods lend the feeling of strolling in a garden.  A combination of street trees, enticingly lush alleys, and glimpses into private gardens all contribute to this feeling.  But the detail I was most enamored by were the window boxes.  Each one adds loads of character to the home and the identity of the entire street, the way that a great pair of shoes can complete an outfit.  

 

Whether a home was modest or grand in scale, the attention to the window boxes extends a message of hospitality and pride in one’s home.  It’s a small garden element, but makes a big impact. 

 

As a gardening enthusiast, I was enchanted by all of the different combinations of leaf shapes and sizes, flowers, and color.  And of course, bonus points go to the gardeners who coordinate their plant selections with the color scheme of the home!

 

Most of these photos were taken in the French Quarter of the City.  If you go, and share my enthusiasm for gardening, please stop by Mrs. Whaley’s Garden on Church Street, and report back to me!  It is one of the few private gardens that is open to visitors, but only sporadically.  Sadly, it was closed both times I tried to go.