1. These places are enormous. Do not even think about it unless you have pretty much the entire day to devote to it. It's not just the house. The whole place is huge and is well worth looking at and perhaps stopping every once in a while to just appreciate the space, the openness…. I believe it could be called atmosphere.
2. Gardens do not have to have flowers in order to be gardens. The English formal garden with its architecture and shape is an almost monochromatic invention that deserves being admired on its own. Some of the current gardeners at these sites have indulged more current tastes and have inserted flowers into spaces in the formal patterns. I can't really criticize because a spot of color isn't a bad thing but I'm almost glad that it's still too early for there to be a lot of color out. What these gardens really need is people strolling and children playing in them. In fact, one of the gardens I saw was specifically designed for children to play in. There were thick hedges to keep small children in, benches for the grown ups and trees just outside the hedges to provide shade but not climbing. The greenest, most inviting playground I can remember.
3. Plantations are farms. They may include sheep who are helping to keep the lawns mowed, horses, cows, chickens, ducks and sometimes resident dogs who are more like official greeters.
4. Plantations are also homes. Some of them actually still have connections to the families who owned them.
5. Plantations come in rows. As you drive out Route 61 from Charleston, you become aware that there are several plantations out that route. In fact, a row of three major ones. When the penny finally drops, you realize that this is because they are located along the Ashley River. And back in the day, it was a lot easier and cheaper to travel or to transport goods by water. All of these plantations will have or have had docks along a lovely river that served as their connection to the coast and to Charleston.
6. Enjoy plantations at your own pace and don't let someone else's structure dictate. This is a lesson that applies to many things, of course. I had decided on a garden tour at one of the sites. The guide was a nice lady but could have used a bit more experience or briefing. She misidentified some of the plants ( I did a lot of botany courses many years ago and some of it still remains, especially about tropical ornamentals, which this far South also grow outside in gardens), mispronounced names and that sort of thing. I followed along dutifully for most of the length and time. Then somewhere in there I thought: Tell me again why I'm doing this? My knees are starting to complain and I'm losing patience with this presentation. Why am I using time and depleting my walking resources on this? So I did one of the smarter things. I dropped out and headed off in another direction. As a result, I came to a huge reflecting pool where I heard about the alligators who sometimes come far enough to sun themselves on the banks of the reflecting pool. Of course, the alligators have to be removed. But they are not removed because of the tourists. They are removed because of the swans who live at the pool and would otherwise be eaten by the alligators. Clearly swans score over tourists. Tourists can just take their chances.
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