Branford-Horry House Garden

This fine example of a three-story stuccoed brick Georgian double house was built circa 1751-54 for William Branford.  In 1801 the house was purchased by Thomas Horry, who had married Branford’s daughter.  The front piazza, built over the sidewalk, was added about 1831-34.

The garden was originally designed by Charleston landscape architect Sheila Wertimer in 2000 and subsequently enhanced by Wertimer when the current owners purchased the property in 2020.  The entrance to the garden is on Tradd Street via a small slatted wooden gate which opens onto an old brick courtyard.  The rear piazza, with its distinctive clay tile flooring, opens onto the palm court, which is used often for dining and entertainment.  Large pindo palms, sago palms, ferns, fatsias, and an overflowing urn, including a tree fern, provide a tropical feel.

A gate in a podocarpus hedge opens onto a green carpet with lounge chairs facing a refreshing pool.  The neighbor’s house provides the south wall, which is softened with a growing podocarpus hedge and hollies, while three olive trees stand guard over a striking patio of gray and white marble squares laid on the diagonal.  A small nook of seasonal plantings provides the background for a charming Charleston joggling board.

The last room is a walled kitchen garden consisting of four Harland boxwood edged quadrants containing large gray vase-shaped pots with Meyer lemon trees underplanted with herbs and annuals.  A trimmed sweet bay laurel tree occupies the center, and its leaves provide aromatic seasoning for soups and pastas.  Backing this space is an imaginative pigeonnier-style structure which houses garden tools and storage.  A bed of southern facing fatsia completes this exquisite garden.

Open Days 2023: Saturday, June 3
Hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.