HARTSVILLE, S.C. – A combination of formal gardens and natural forest preserve, Kalmia Gardens in Hartsville is a relaxing and enjoyable destination for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

Each season brings a new set of delights as you walk the paved paths that pass through beds of herbs, perennials and camellias surrounding the old plantation house. The expansive boardwalk, which descends to and follows the Black Creek behind the main house, winds thorough patches of mountain laurel, cypress and bountiful native flora.

Posted in the kiosk at the entrance to the gardens is a list of “Beautiful Plants of September” to notice right now. The common and botanical names of flowering, foliage and berried plants give you an idea of what you might expect to see on your walk. In the formal gardens and at the pond, you’ll find butterfly bush, chives, Rose-of-Sharon, tansy, water lilies and lantana – to name just a few. Step into the natural wooded area and look for native ginger, black gum, cypress, partridge berry and much more.

Pick up a self-guided map and follow the paths surrounding the home to the Cecil Garden and Rose Garden, the formal garden, herb garden, outdoor classroom, pond and camellia trail. If you feel like exploring even further, use your map to wind your way down the bluff stairs that lead to the floodplain boardwalk and trail, Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve, creek-side canoe dock, sourwood trail, rhododendron trail, artesian well and bridge over Black Creek.

Fall is also a wonderful time to enjoy the many bird species that live in or migrate through the gardens and surrounding natural areas. Sit quietly on one of the many benches throughout the area and you may see pine warblers, pine siskins, brown-headed nuthatches, Acadian flycathers, prothonotary warblers, yellow-billed cuckoos, wood ducks, kingfishers, herons and killdeer.

The 60-foot drop in elevation from the formal gardens to the Black Creek below makes for a wide diversity of flora and fauna. Descending to the creek bed, you are transported into a world of lush foliage and tall trees, where native ferns and ginger plants carpet the forest floor.

Kalmia Gardens is a part of Coker College and was officially named for the many mountain laurels, the Kalmia latifolia, that cover the bottom lands of the 56-acre garden. The 700-acre Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve borders the gardens, providing a buffer. The entrance to Kalmia Gardens is located at 1624 West Carolina Ave., Hartsville, and is open from dawn to dusk.

For more information about visiting Kalmia Gardens, call 843-383-8145. Staff members are available to visitors for tours or to answer questions. For group tours or educational field trips, call ahead.

T&D Garden Columnist Minnie Miller can be reached by writing to her at 138 Nature’s Trail, Bamberg, SC 29003.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 4:09 pm and was written by Minnie Miller. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.