Brookgreen Gardens

About Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden, historic site and nature preserve just south of Murrells Inlet, in Georgetown County, South Carolina, on the Waccamaw Neck between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic Ocean. Wikipedia gives the property's size as 9,100 acres. The Lowcountry Zoo, a small zoo of native wildlife, is one part of the grounds, alongside the Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington Sculpture Garden, the Lowcountry Trail boardwalk with interpretive panels, a labyrinth and other gardens.

The Lowcountry Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and local coverage has described it as the Grand Strand's only AZA-accredited facility. According to a Grand Strand Magazine feature, the zoo is inspected regularly by both the AZA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The zoo focuses on animals native to the Southeast, and a public television feature describes it as a sanctuary designed to mimic its residents' natural habitats.

History

Wikipedia reports that Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington first visited the property in 1929. Archer Huntington was a stepson of the railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, and Anna Hyatt Huntington was a sculptor; both were from Redding, Connecticut. Brookgreen Gardens officially opened to the public in 1932.

The land had previously been four rice plantations: The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield and Laurel Hill. Wikipedia says the Brookgreen plantation was owned by Joshua John Ward, who held more than 1,000 enslaved African Americans before his death in 1853, and whose estate was the largest slaveholder in the United States in 1860. The Alston, or Allston, cemetery survives at The Oaks, and a rice mill is all that stands of Laurel Hill. Archaeological work has uncovered building foundations at The Oaks, and four structures on the Lowcountry Trail hillside have been identified as an overseer's residence, a kitchen, a smokehouse and a dependency.

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 15, 1978. Wikipedia says the sculpture garden portion was included in the 1984 National Historic Landmark designation of Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens. The article lists recognitions including a Top 10 Public Gardens placement from Coastal Living magazine, the American Public Gardens Association Award for Garden Excellence in 2019 and a ninth-place ranking among botanical gardens in the USA Today 10Best poll in 2018.

Wikipedia says about 1,445 works of American figurative sculpture are displayed in the Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington Sculpture Garden, and describes Brookgreen as the country's first public sculpture garden.

Exhibits and habitats

Local press coverage describes the Lowcountry Zoo as a wildlife sanctuary for native species, with many animals that came to the zoo after injury or other trouble with people. A January 2020 feature in the Pawleys Island publication quotes a zookeeper saying most of the animals are there directly or indirectly because of humans, whether from being hit by a car or a hunting accident. Among the animals that feature described were Precious, a white-tailed deer brought in as a newborn fawn separated from her mother, Eddie, a river otter found near death in Conway, a 12-foot alligator named Cowboy, and Cooper, a red-tailed hawk with a broken wing. It also described red foxes, snakes and turtles, plus eagles, owls and hawks recovering in individual enclosures. A 2023 public television feature mentions red and gray foxes.

The Cypress Aviary is the zoo's signature structure. The 2020 article describes it as a large net enclosure over swampland crossed by a raised boardwalk, quotes the zookeeper calling it the first aviary built on a swamp, and lists black-billed herons, white ibis and snowy egrets among its birds. The June 2023 Grand Strand Magazine feature says the aviary holds around 100 birds, about half of the zoo's population, and says the zoo holds roughly 200 animals overall.

The river otter exhibit has a 6,000-gallon tank with an outdoor tidal creek area, according to the Grand Strand feature. In April 2024, local television reported that otter pups born in January had made their public debut in the river basin exhibit, with the zoo's Vice President and Curator of Zoo Collections, Andrea DeMuth, describing the mother, named John, as training them to swim.

The zoo also keeps a Plantation Farm that recreates a colonial-era barnyard. The 2020 feature lists Carolina Marsh Tacky horses, American mules, Red Devon cattle, Dominique chickens and Spanish goats there, and the Grand Strand feature describes the zoo's two Marsh Tackies as descended from Colonial Spanish horses of the 16th century. The 2020 feature also describes the Whispering Wings Butterfly Experience, with zebra longwing, giant swallowtail and painted lady butterflies.

Conservation and programs

Rehabilitation and education are the zoo's stated focus in the Grand Strand Magazine feature, which describes a barn owl and a blind screech owl in the zoo's care and a zoo kitchen where daily meals are prepared. It also says veterinarians visit at least twice a month under AZA requirements.

Red Wolf Ridge, a four-acre habitat for red wolves, opened on July 29, 2023, according to the Hammock Coast tourism office. It opened with three male red wolves and is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and AZA Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program, which manages breeding and population management for red wolf recovery. The habitat was funded through Brookgreen's Campaign for the Next Generation, with support from Conservation Centers for Species Survival and other donors.

The zoo also uses animal ambassadors. The Grand Strand feature names Angus, a Scottish deerhound who spends days at the zoo, and describes Precious the white-tailed deer as hand-fed by zookeepers.

Planning your visit

Ticket details, hours and seasonal schedules for the gardens and the zoo are on Brookgreen's website.

The grounds are large, and the sculpture garden, Lowcountry Trail and zoo are separate areas within the property. Wikipedia also lists an annual event called Nights of a Thousand Candles, with more than 2,700 candles.