I loved talking walks or going for a jog in the beautiful surrounding residential neighborhoods of Charleston.  The homes were stunning…charming, historical, well preserved – but what I couldn’t stop obsessing over were the beautiful private gardens – most of which seemed to be for the viewing pleasure of the home owners only, as they were tucked away from the street or hidden behind [beautiful!] gates…

Here were some of the secret little oasis’s that caught my [wandering] eye:

Loved the gates, arched doorways and walkways that prevented snoops [who, me?!] from getting a closer look…

Fountains frequented many of the verdant settings.

And if there wasn’t enough open land for a proper garden, people added plantings where they could…I particularly LOVED the ground cover used in between the steps! 

While others, still, had to rely on the existing trees lining the streets and modest window boxes to get their flora fill.

But…don’t be fooled – there were plenty of Charlestonians that had ample space for one heck of a garden spread!

I loved the use of rich, hardy and sculptural boxwood, paired with the brighter, airier maiden hair ferns.

Come on, with the sculpted perfection of these yards!  Who has time to maintain!?  [Hired gardeners, no doubt…]

While historic Charleston and the nearby residential neighborhoods only fill up about a mile by mile area and one can easily explore it all in a day or two…I loved that I had multiple days [perfect opportunity to take advantage of The Man playing golf] to roam the darling streets over and over, looking for these perfect little hidden gems.