Garden at McLoughlin House

This  house, recently built (a rare occurrence in the Charleston Historic District) is attentive to Charleston single house architecture while at the same time incorporating contemporary features. The owners hired Charleston landscape architect Glen Gardner to create an elegant garden that reflects the horticulture heritage of Charleston and at the same time reflects the sense of place of new construction. 

One sees a small half-moon planting of foxgloves and a doorway encircled with ‘New Dawn’ roses from the street. With its zoysia grass ribbon, the entrance drive has verdant beds on either side of farfugiums, fatsias, holly ferns, camellias, mahonias, gardenias, and variegated pittosporum. Overarching redbuds and large hollies punctuate the area. One then passes a fruit and vegetable terrace with two large terra cotta pots with lemon trees and seasonal color and a horizontal planter of tomatoes. 

An interior gate opens onto fig trees on the south side of the drive and ‘Little Gem’ magnolias espaliered against the house. Three garden rooms can be seen from the rear piazza—the first is a formal fountain terrace with two blueberry trees standing guard over the fountain and accompanying perennial and annual beds. The adjoining grass platform provides a green palette between the fountain terrace and the pool. The latter is enclosed by a podocarpus hedge and brick wall, with pots and urns overflowing with seasonal plantings and a Charleston joggling board. From the center grass carpet, one sees an elegant basketball backboard surrounded by confederate jasmine to the south. 

There are manicured beds of native plantings, hollies, and Japanese maples throughout the property. The combination of Charleston horticulture and traditional landscape design in a contemporary setting has created garden beauty.

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.