“Among America’s Most Beautiful Gardens”

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens continues to be named among “America’s Most Beautiful Gardens” by travel and leisure surveys and the international press.

Oldest Garden In America

Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family, Magnolia had its first ornamental garden planted in 1685. As such it is the oldest garden in America. It has survived the centuries and witnessed the history of our nation unfold before it from the American Revolution through the Civil War and beyond. It is the oldest public tourist site in the Lowcountry, and among the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1870 to view the thousands of beautiful flowers and plants in its famous gardens. Join us here at Magnolia Plantation to experience the beauty of its gardens and its rich history today.

What Makes This Garden Unique:

America’s Oldest Garden: “Flowerdale” planted in 1685. Charleston’s first tourist attraction when it opened to the public in 1870. America’s first international garden from mention in Baedeker’s 1898 travel guide.
One of the last large-scale Romantic-style gardens in the United States. Romantic Gardens are designed to take the viewer to a place where emotion takes precedent over reason. With over 400 bridal events yearly, it is one of the South’s most iconic wedding venues.
One of the first places in the America where azaleas and camellia were planted in the ground. Recognized by the International Camellia Society as an International Garden of Excellence.
The garden owes its unique design to the horticultural skills of enslaved Africans and newly freed African Americans.
Beginning in 2019, Magnolia is host to an international Chinese lantern festival with its Lights of Magnolia: Reflections of a Cultural Exchange.