Garden at George Locke House

The owners, and Charleston landscape architect Sheila Wertimer, have created a beautiful garden and dramatic entertaining areas at the George Locke House built circa 1853. One enters the first garden room through a gate that opens to a small perfectly balanced garden with a circular boxwood edged bed of lantana and a large urn overflowing with seasonal plantings. Four boxwood-edged quadrants surround the circle with three tall cypresses towering over a Lutyens bench.

Separating this area and the second garden room is a brick wall covered in fig ivy with a large wrought iron oculus. The main feature of this garden is a crape myrtle allée underplanted with dwarf mondo grass and four rectangular boxwood edged beds. Large terra cotta pots filled with boxwood, statuary, and antique urns are placed strategically throughout this garden room. Camellias, African iris, and agapanthus can be found in the garden.

Many Charleston older houses had a kitchen house on the property, and the north wall and two chimneys of this kitchen house remain. The area has been elegantly incorporated into the design and serves today as a large dining and entertaining area. In the west portion of this room is a delightful sitting area with a Japanese maple and confederate jasmine -covered walls. The garden consists of varying levels with brick and bluestone paving reflecting the influence of Loutrel Briggs, the famous landscape designer of Charleston gardens in the mid-1900s. It is a delight to linger in this garden or to view it from the double-tiered piazzas.

Open Days 2021: Saturday, June 5
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: This Open Day requires preregistration through our partners at SpoletoUSA. Visit spoletousa.org/events/behind-the-garden-gate/ for more information.