Palmetto Garden Club of Beaufort

Secession Street Pollinator Garden Project
A Garden Club of South Carolina Garden FOR Life Initiative

Palmetto Garden Club of Beaufort, SC, was organized in August 1971, receiving a charter with the National Garden Club in 1972. The group of 26 women gathers to promote the love and practice of gardening, conservation of natural resources, and civic beauty.

In the fall 2019, members of Palmetto Garden Club noticed an overgrown and essentially ignored small public park on a corner of Bay Street in downtown Beaufort, directly across from the historic and pristine Beaufort waterfront. Feeling that this little “pocket” named Secession Park was so underutilized yet had so much potential, the Club suggested a partnership with the City of Beaufort to create a perennial pollinator planting project. Located on the corners of Bay, Church, and Craven streets, thousands of residents and tourists walk and drive by this prime location every day, most taking little notice. We could fix that.

The Club felt they could use their gardening and design talents to enhance the park’s beauty and increase utilization, by creating a pollinator habitat garden while participating in a community improvement project. They drew a design plan and submitted it for approval to the Downtown Operations and Community Services Department under the direction of Linda Roper. Initially, our Club would replace the hedge and plant-pollinator plants, flowers, and herbs in the existing bed along Church Street, creating an attractive and functional garden habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies. This new garden plan was designed to be visually appealing year-round. We received city approval and funding from a grant awarded by the PLANT AMERICA Community Project to Palmetto Garden Club in December 2020.

In late January and February 2021, garden club members began the site preparation work by removing the existing hedge along Church Street with the generous help of two club members whose family has access to a backhoe. Members dug out remaining roots, prepared the beds, and added soil amendments. They also removed excess Spanish Moss from the three Crepe Myrtle trees that blocked the sunlight.

Planting began in late March 2021 with the new hedge of Dwarf Podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus ‘Pringles’) plants. They planted two Salvia varieties, ‘Black and Blue’ and ‘Hot Lips,’ with their delicate red and white bicolor blooms and Firecracker (Russelia equisetiformis) plants. In April and May, a variety of plants became available, so Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Bush Daisy (Euryops pectinatus), and herbs (fennel, flat leaf parsley, and blue spires basil) were planted. They completed the garden in mid-June with the planting of Lantana (‘Lucky Sunrise Rose’) and PowWow Wild Berry Coneflower plants.

Throughout the summer and early fall, garden club members took turns watering and weeding the garden. For the members, it was rewarding to work with the cool southerly sea breeze off the water, keeping cool as they enjoyed many wonderful compliments on the beauty of the garden from residents and travelers alike. The Club encourages people to sit, stay awhile, and enjoy their cup of coffee in this quiet setting filled with color, bees, and butterflies.

As winter approached, the Palmetto Garden Club members continued to care for the garden, although not as intensively. “It has a different beauty during the winter months, but still equally welcoming, interesting, and restful for all of Beaufort to enjoy,” said Garden Club Co-Chair Ann Widener.

Lastly, a special thanks to the Palmetto Garden Club members, the City of Beaufort and Linda Roper, the Garden Club of South Carolina, and the National Garden Clubs PLANT AMERICA Community Project Grant Program.