Edisto Memorial Gardens, Orangeburg, SC

One of South Carolina’s treasures is Edisto Memorial Gardens in Orangeburg, SC. The City of Orangeburg maintains this impressive garden which houses nearly 80 beds of roses ranging from miniatures to Old Garden Roses.

For many years, I had noticed a billboard on an interstate advertising the gardens, but I never made it to see it for myself until last summer. It was another hot South Carolina day, so I went right to the walkway by the Edisto River. A wooden boardwalk leads you over the Tupelo-Cypress wetland and along the river. Its shade provided a refuge from the hot summer day, and I enjoyed stopping to watch waterwheel in the river that once provided freshwater for the gardens.

After my stroll on the boardwalk, I wandered the grounds, taking in the beauty of all of the roses and the surrounding nature. The roses vary in size and color, and they are all so beautiful! A garden wedding was being set up while I explored the garden.

If you are ever traveling on I-26 and just need a break to stretch your feet and stop and smell the roses, be sure to pull off on exit 145 for Orangeburg. The garden is well worth the 10 mile detour off of the exit.