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Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens with Nature Train Tour

 Our second day's trip and this time I was the designated driver...
After driving about half an hour, we arrived at Magnolia Plantation around 11:30 o'clock.
America's Oldest Romantic Garden
Ancestral Home of the Drayton Family
Established 1676
In its original day it was about 2,000 acres or 809 hectares, mainly with wet rice fields.
Today it is approximately 500 acres or 202 hectares as a lot of its lands had to be sold off.

Pieter's older brother Toon invented that for a formal photo shoot in the Nation's Oldest City, we were the owners of the Magnolia Plantation: {Do YOU all know Our Nations Oldest City - St. Augustine, Florida?} ←click link.
So finally we got to SEE IT...
We stood in line for purchasing our entrance tickets.
Guess due to the Tornado warning the week before and prior to that another cold spell, people postponed their visit–just as we did!
The guided 45 minute garden tour was NOT available, so we went on our own.
Might have been better for being able to do it on Pieter's pace.
In the back you see the Long White Bridge and we stand there admiring the many swamp cypress trees.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens is right along the Ashley River
Me next to the sign pointing to the Long White Bridge and we now follow the Native Azalea Garden...
Pieter near the abundantly blooming Chinese Snowball Viburnum which we have in our wood garden.
Well, not all azaleas were past their blooming period!
Live Oak trees with their Spanish moss hanging down.
Everyone not from the South might have never seen that...
Dad loved it very much: click→Bye-bye Spanish Moss and dear Friends...
Here Pieter is standing under several Chinese Parasol Trees, 
Another tree that we have in our garden: click→ {Our Firmiana simplex, Sterculia platanifolia, Chinese Parasol Tree}
This is the spot where those Chinese Parasol Trees grow...
Do you see all those knees from the Swamp Cypress?
They grow up from the roots of the trees.
We also have a few in our wood garden, they do grow in swamps and lowlands.
I'd walked a little ahead for capturing this huge water bird.
Don't know what it is, looks like a stork but guess its bill is too long for it...
Maybe one of my readers knows?
Here you can see its long bill clearly.
Yay, found some picture perfect Azaleas and they match Pieter's t–shirt.
A left over from the many t–shirts we had made in Indonesia, in different colors, for Dublin, Georgia's St. Patrick's Festival...
Here we stand actually in the back yard of Magnolia Plantation and it is being worked on...
The front is facing Ashley River and from the video link that I showed in the beginning you get a better understanding.
Shown here is the entire walk we did... 2.87 km in total.
By 13:30 o'clock we'd gotten onto the Nature Train Tour, with driver/guide Sharon.
Just had to capture these tulips and Azaleas near the parking area.
Yes, that is an ALLIGATOR swimming in the marshes...
Those trees were full with Great Blue Herons and Egrets, nesting!
Slave houses, which were used mainly for sleeping, as their cooking was done outside.
An Egret on the wooden board.
To the left another alligator...
Sharon was very knowledgeable about all things nature!
Below is a short Relive video from me driving to Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, crossing the Ashley River and also from our Nature Train Tour; ENJOY!

25 comments:

  1. Absolutely gorgeous! It has been a nice spring. Not too hot. Nice to go around and see things before it gets crazy!

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    1. Dearest Kelleyn,
      You are absolutely right and we were surprised for finding such a long queue already at the entrance for the tickets! But for the rest it was very pleasant and went smoothly.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  2. Molto bello questo parco.Complimenti per le foto.Buon mercoledì.

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    1. Cara Olga,
      Oh era un sogno per essere lì.
      Abbracci,
      Mariette

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  3. All the places are beautiful. They look perfect place to trip. Mariette and Pieter, you are very healthy and active. I am smiling to you. Have a great day.

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    1. Dearest Tomoko,
      Oh this was a dream for being there during spring time.
      We are both not healthy but active as we try hard to extend our life...
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  4. Looks like it was another beautiful day for enjoying the outdoors and gorgeous surroundings of the gardens. Nice capture of the water fowl. Since it has a curved beak, might be a type of ibis. Pieter's shirt and the azaleas do match perfectly.

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    1. Dearest Tammy,
      Oh it was a picture perfect day.
      Hard to believe that a week before tornados were raging trough our areas.
      Guess it must be a sort of ibis indeed.
      When I saw those azaleas I had to make him stand next to them!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  5. Ohhh, what a beautiful spot, Mariette. I happily could spend a day or two roaming around, taking photos. Is it buggy, because of the swamp? (That is, insects buzzing around, bothering you.) I don't know what the bird is, though -- he's amazing! I hope someone knows!

    Thanks for sharing. Send some warmth to us; we had wet snow yesterday, until the afternoon when it finally turned to rain. Ugh. So your post was timely; at least I can live vicariously through your pics. :-)

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    1. Dearest Kim,
      When we were walking there and indeed it is a swamp area, we wondered how many alligators, snapping turtles and snakes were in our immediate surroundings. Guess we were very lucky as no insects did bother us! Some funny encounter, which you will read and see in my next post...
      Hoping that tonight we will live through our final cold spell of 'only' 5°C but I've surely turned the heat back on!
      We too had rain before that and yesterday I drove back and forth to Atlanta through sunny weather, not warm but perfect for the ride.
      Glad you enjoyed seeing some nature here!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  6. Is that bird an ibis? Native of Australia and Africa. Maybe there on vacation? Were the alligators roaming free? How did they keep them apart from visitors?

    It's a lovely place, and you had a wonderful time. Weather looked good too.

    God bless.

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    1. Dearest Victors,
      All our Ibis and such are permanently residing here in the South and they are not on vacation.
      Well, we too wondered about those alligators and I guess they don't want to scare the public away with too much information. But many live on that property and we saw them later on while riding that Nature Train. I had to look at our shorts and bare legs and grin!
      But we enjoyed it, not knowing yet while walking first how many of those prehistoric looking critters actually live there.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  7. Hi Mariette,
    You are bringing back happy memories of our visits to Charleston and the Magnolia Plantation.
    I hope we can go back some day. I hope you enjoy your travels.
    Thank you for all your lovely comments on my blog.
    Carolyn

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    1. Dearest Carolyn,
      It sure took us a long time for finally getting there.
      Most years we were the tour guide of some friends or family from Europe, staying at our home. So glad we got this done as there might not be much time left.
      Love visiting your blog as your gardens are exceptional due to your climate and rich soil and you are an excellent photographer and stylist!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  8. Buen lugar, para contemplar la Naturaleza y descubrir esas bellas flores.

    Besos

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    1. Querida Antónia,
      Oh, seguro que era un pedazo de paraíso lejos de la vida agitada y a menudo ruidosa de hoy con tráfico por todas partes. Esto fue perfecto.
      Abrazos,
      Mariette

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    1. Dearest Anne,
      Yes, it sure was a wonderful place to visit and wander around.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  10. What a wonderful place to visit Mariette. I have seen the Spanish moss on the trees on our couple of visits to the South - it looks to me quite mysterious. The swamps, the birds, the azaleas, everything is fascinating. And the old slave quarters, amazing they are still there. We saw some in Alabama twenty years ago and I was quite astonished!

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    1. Dearest Patricia,
      Glad you have been to the South as well!
      It was such a worthwhile place to visit and you could stay there a couple of days.
      We did skip the Plantation House Tour and a Nature Boat Tour. Guess we got a good sampling the way we did it.
      As for the slave houses, you can aso partake in The Magnolia Cabin Project Tour.
      All tours last 45 minutes, so did our Nature Train Tour.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  11. Lovely post and photos. I visited there many years ago on the way to Charleston and recall it vividly after seeing these great shots. Glad you had good weather and not too many visitors blocking the views!!
    You two are amazing - we so admire you so much still getting out and about and seeing this wonderful world.
    Hugs, Mary (and Bob)

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    1. Dearest Mary,
      Thank you and glad that you also know this wonderful place.
      One of the South's gems and a must visit for many.
      We both try to achieve as much as we still can as we know that time is running out.
      Grateful to God for keeping us the way we are!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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  12. This park looks wonderful. The contact with nature is so good.
    xoxo
    Coisas de Feltro

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    1. Dearest Christina,
      Yes, it was a wonderful experience and we also could have made the 45 minute Nature Boat Tour but our day was already well filled!
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...