Magnolia Plantation and Its Gardens is on Ashley River Rd. (SR 61), 10 mi. n.w. of junction US 17. This 500-acre estate was acquired in 1676 by the Drayton family, whose heirs still own and manage it. The 60-acre garden, one of America's oldest, dates from around 1680 and contains 900 varieties of camellias, 250 types of azaleas and hundreds of other flowering species providing year-round color.Grounds include a petting zoo, antebellum cabins, a pasture with sheep and miniature horses, a horticultural maze, and biblical, topiary, herb and tropical gardens. Also offered are an orientation theater and bicycle, canoe and nature trails. Picnicking and leashed pets are permitted. Allow 2 hours minimum.

About the Gardens
The gardens at Magnolia Plantation are of such beauty and variety that they have brought tourists from around the world to view them since they were open to the public in the early 1870s. However, many parts of the gardens are much older, some sections more than 325 years old, making them the oldest unrestored gardens in America. As the plantation has stayed within the ownership of the same family for more than three centuries, each generation has added their own personal touch to the gardens, expanding and adding to their variety. Today there are a large variety of flowers blossoming year round, with the climax of incredible beauty building towards the spring bloom.