Photo Gallery
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 9
Garden 9 - Hannah and Ron Rogers - You'll need a notebook to write down all the names of the plants you will want after seeing Hannah's showplace garden. It contains an amazing assortment of unusual plants expertly grown and arranged and interspersed with whimsical sculptures and garden art. At the street you'll notice Hannah's use of pavers interspersed with squares of dwarf mondo grass to form a checkerboard pattern.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 8
Garden 8 - David Williams and Ray Cobb - This Colonial Revival style home was extensively remodeled five years ago. David says the ¾ acre garden is a "work in progress", as it too is undergoing extensive reconfiguring. From the street you'll see a low brick wall bordered in front by Vinca, Otto Luken laurel, loropetalum and day lilies.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 7
Garden 7 - Sally and Robert McElveen - The view of the house and garden from the street is impressive, made so by a circular driveway with a large urn-shaped fountain set inside the curve. Beds at the front of the house are planted with a low hedge of podocarpus and an espaliered pyracantha. A low brick wall separates the driveway and front courtyard, where a limbed-up wax myrtle shades the entryway and a Lady Banks rose frames the scene.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 6
Garden 6 - Tom McCutchen - The grounds of this house, built about fifty years ago, have four separate and interesting areas of note. The front garden is populated by a magnolia and an American holly tree, azaleas and dogwoods. The open side garden, known affectionately as "Jane's Garden", was the special domain of Jane McCutchen, who imported Lexington County red clay to properly grow her beloved roses.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 5
Garden 5 - Ethel Trapp - Breathtaking when in flower, a huge saucer magnolia (Japanese magnolia) dominates the street view of this former home of Governor James F. Byrnes. The signature Heathwood brick pillars are covered with Confederate jasmine, as is an arched entryway in the back garden. Knockout roses line the driveway. A handsome limbed-up loropetalum is tucked in the corner near the side gate.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 4
Garden 4 - Beth and Bud Kibler - As you approach this garden from the street you'll notice the curvilinear design of the lawn and shrub beds. The "relaxed-formal " style was developed by landscape architect George Betsill. English boxwoods, viburnums and hollies are planted across the front of the house; the side and front beds contain hollies, azaleas and camellias.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 3
Garden 3 - Ann Foster - A low brick wall and cast iron fence define the front garden of this Classical Revival home. Don't be fooled by the narrow front garden...it's the extensive back garden that's the in-town treasure. It is comprised of a series of plantings connected by a meandering path through the two acre site.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 2
Garden 2 - Sally Williamson - This French Country style home was extensively remodeled just eighteen months ago by its new owner. Sally's bold renovations included freshly landscaping the one and one-half acre grounds using a series of parterres with gravel pathways and a large parking court, all designed by Charleston landscape architect Sheila Wertimer. A brick wall and a row of Cathedral oaks border the Devine Street side of the garden.
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2011 Festival of Gardens - Garden 1
Garden 1 - Judy and Pat Hubbard - You will quickly see the lushness, diversity and artistry of this magical garden created by Pat, the horticulturist, and Judy, the artistic influence. The garden has a tropical feel created by a heavy tree canopy, densely planted flora and some exotic plants mixed in with standard fare. As you approach, take note of the six varieties of palm trees, the rock sculpture depicting a koi pond, and the layers of azaleas, mahonias, acubas and pitttosporum fronting the house.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 12
14 Glenlake Road - This is one of Spring Valley’s most unique homes and the landscaping showcases the architecture perfectly. The Swerlings have had three homes in Spring Valley…they are obviously leaving pockets of beauty behind each time if this house is an example of their talents!
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 11
837 Kinlock - The front yard of this home always puts on a show during azalea season, but it’s in the backyard where the creativity really shines. Bill and Carreen Frew invite you to join the friends and neighbors who often pass through their gate to pick a sprig of fresh herbs or find a fresh vegetable or two. Even the birds are welcome...the weeping yaupon holly is an avian salad bar when the berries are on the tree.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 10
311 East Springs - This area around Clark Lake is one of the prettiest in Spring Valley. The garden of Karen and Charles Potok certainly adds to the appeal. The setting of the house as you approach would be remarkable on its own, even without the lake background. There is a leafy softness everywhere in the tree shaded yard. Whatever you admire about traditional Southern landscape design can be found here in its best incarnation.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 9
18 Long Meadow Lane - We really promised you a rose garden, but Dr. Prabhu would be the first to say maybe not a rose garden like his! You are going to be standing in a space that has been designated the best rose garden in the Southeast United States by the American Rose Society. Satish and his wife Vijaya want you to understand that they grow roses for exhibition and competition events and that this makes their garden different. Semantics will be the last thing on your mind as you pass under the rose draped gate to this incredible landscape.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 8
2400 Bermuda Hills Road - This couple is working their way around Spring Valley leaving a legacy of beauty behind. The spectacular house and its landscape are only two years old yet give the impression of a thoughtfully planned and executed Southern garden that has taken much longer to evolve. Yvonne Russell wants to be able to walk through her garden and the resulting “rooms” were given the same careful attention she gave to the home’s interior.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 7
2134 Bermuda Hills Road - Linda Stern envisioned her front garden as an interplay of shades of green. What at first may sound prosaic becomes poetic as she brings her background in design to one of the prettiest landscapes with a golf course view. We strongly suspect that the hue of her thumb blends well with her choice of colors.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 6
2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 6
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 5
8 Northlake Road - The Mashburn name in synonymous with generosity and philanthropy in Columbia and many events supporting a long list of charities and other organizations take place in this impressive garden.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 4
201 Southlake Road - This couple could turn the tarmac of an airport into a place of blooming beauty. Fran would select the planters and their contents and Phil would find a way to bring her vision to life. Your first hint of their combined talents comes when you look past the screen of palms to the front porch of this Craftsman inspired house. The pots of agaves and succulents with colorful annuals have a structural quality that mirrors the clean lines of the house. The combination of architecture and landscape make the visit worthwhile.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 3
116 Southlake Road - This garden on Southlake Road radiates with color in every season with a plethora of trees, bushes and perennials. The centerpiece is a re-circulating stream that meanders through the beautifully terraced garden before flowing into Lower Spring Valley Lake. Tom loves his trees and you’ll see a Coral Bark Japanese maple, which is prettiest in the dead of winter, Forest Pansy redbud, and a flowering cherry that nicely complements the footbridge and lanterns scattered through the landscape.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 2
120 Spring Valley Court - Greg Evans maintains that a “real” gardener is willing to move a plant three times to get it right. Apparently this also applies to Greg and his wife Jane. This is their third house in Columbia. They have most recently moved from Charleston and the influence of that city is found throughout this space in the ironwork designed by Greg and executed by a craftsman on Johns Island. As you move through this seemingly compact space, you will find it hard to believe that this garden is only two years old. It is a jewel box of color, variety and whimsy.
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2010 Festival of Gardens - Garden 1
236 Spring Valley Road - Gardening in the South was a new experience for this couple transplanted from colder climates in 1993. No more going inside to stay after packing away the Halloween pumpkin, only to emerge again on Mother’s Day. Of course, that year-round feature can have a happy aspect too as Steve and Ann have discovered while building this garden from scratch. The landscape is designed as a family gathering place since the Holtschlag clan is widely scattered.
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Container Workshop - May 8, 2010
Container Workshop - May 8, 2010
Main Street Baskets and Pocket Park
Main Street is a little brighter with the addition of 30 hanging baskets and a new "pocket park" near the former Tapp's Department Store, thanks in part to a $3,000 grant from Columbia Green. Read more.
