Spanning more than 60 acres of the Upper Peninsula, storied Hampton Park is a dream recreation spot for bloom-seekers. City of Charleston horticulturists keep the promenade around the pond filled with flowering trees, shrubs, and perennials that they infuse with thousands of vibrant annuals each season. Miles of pathways curve through the park’s more natural and wild eastern side, and bike and pedestrian lanes trace a centuries-old horse-racing track around this massive garden.
The Latest:
Look for lots of activity at the Rose Pavilion this spring. It’s been a popular gathering spot since 2019, when the Charleston Parks Conservancy (CPC) renovated the one-time “snack shack” and surrounded it with 200-some fragrant roses.
Five years later, it was time for a bit of editing, notes CPC director of horticulture Kate White. Over the winter, the team removed some plantings to open up views from the pavilion to the lagoon. “We put in a new perennial border in an English cottage garden style,” she says. Hundreds of daffodil and tulip bulbs will open the show each February, with delphiniums, salvias, butterfly bushes, and (of course) roses carrying it on through November.
The CPC is working with blacksmithing students at the American College of the Building Arts to create new trellises for the ‘Peggy Martin’ roses. “And we’ll be continuing to add more plants over the next year,” White notes. “We want to increase the rose palette, highlighting some more really wonderful varieties that thrive in the Deep South.”
New educational programming is happening at the pavilion, too. This year, the CPC began hosting a quarterly Design From Your Parks Series—“meant to give homeowners a chance to design their gardens around what they can see working in the parks,” White explains—as well as Horticulture Happy Hours (see sidebar). “Our mission is to connect people to the parks, and one of the best ways to do that is to have them come out and learn from experts in the field.”
The Backstory:
An exclusive group called the South Carolina Jockey Club purchased part of Orange Grove Plantation to open a racecourse here in 1792. It was a hub for high society for nearly a century and served as a prisoner camp for Union soldiers during the Civil War.
In 1901, the 250-acre South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition brought the property back into the spotlight. There, the elaborate “Sunken Gardens” featured a landscaped island at the center of a pond traversed by arching foot bridges.
After the expo closed in 1902, the City of Charleston bought the land and hired New York firm Olmsted Brothers to design a sprawling park shaded by live oaks. The brothers—who were continuing the work of their famous father, Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted—kept the “Sunken Gardens,” which were simplified over time to today’s lagoon or “duck pond.”
Plan A Visit:
If it’s flowers that you’re after, head for the former “Sunken Gardens,” which are easily accessed from the parking lot on Mary Murray Boulevard near 10th Avenue. The historic lagoon is set within an expansive lawn, where the oak trees are an attraction in their own right, shading a couple picnic tables each.
Ringing the lawn is a garden promenade that’s irresistible every day of the year. A wide dirt-and-gravel path passes camellias, peppermint peach trees (an early-spring highlight), and impossibly lush collections of shade plants, as well as beds spilling out diverse combinations of blooming shrubs, perennials, and annuals.
Since its inception, Hampton Park has been considered the crown jewel of the City of Charleston’s park system, and the horticulture division’s greenhouses are here, tucked away at the back of the property. “In April, we plant thousands of spring annuals in the flower beds: zinnias, echinacea, rudbeckia, amaranth, cosmos, lisianthus, and more,” says horticulture program coordinator Sarah Robinson. As they settle in, “Our cool-weather flowers, like snapdragons, foxgloves, and dianthus, will continue providing plenty of color.”
From the lagoon area, pick a path to follow toward the eastern end of this immense public space. (There’s a rack of Lime bikes near the parking lot, if you’d like to pedal through.) Most every walkway is lined in azaleas and oak trees, with the central path leading to the bandstand that lives on from the 1901 exposition.
Nearby, at the park’s Cleveland Street entrance, McMahon Playground is set within a shade garden, next to a multiuse field and a rec building with restrooms (also available near the lagoon parking lot).
Upcoming Events: (All events will be held at the Rose Pavilion)
April 6
Design From Your Parks: A South Carolina Spring
In this installment of the Charleston Parks Conservancy series, learn about perennial borders and seasonal plantings. Saturday, noon-1:30 p.m. $35. charlestonparks conservancy.org
April 28
Picnic in the Parks
Celebrate the Charleston Parks Conservancy’s 17th birthday with games and activities, face painting, live music, food, and adult beverages. Sunday, 2-5 p.m. $125; $75 child; free for child under two. charleston parksconservancy.org
May 18
Hampton Park
Plant Swap
Bring potted, labeled plants to trade during the City of Charleston Garden Club’s 15th annual swap, complete with refreshments and a yard sale for tools, pots, and accessories. Saturday, 1-2 p.m. (arrive early to set up). Free. charleston-sc.gov
June 2
Hydrangea Happy Hour
Hear from Endless Summer Hydrangeas expert Ryan McEnaney, of Bailey’s Nursery, and shop exciting new plant varieties. Attendees receive a copy of McEnaney’s book, Field Guide to Outside Style (English, 2022). Sunday, 4 p.m. $50. charleston parksconservancy.org
The Details:
Hampton Park
30 Mary Murray Dr.
Open daily, sunrise to sunset; free
charlestonparksconservancy.org/park-finder/hampton-park/
Web Extra: Experience a walk through Hampton Park.
