Happy Friday! I’m taking you with me to Charleston, South Carolina, a favorite weekend destination for us! No matter how many times I visit, I always enjoy taking a stroll in the early morning hours with my camera, to see the churches, stately homes, Palmetto Trees, Spanish Moss, courtyard gardens, window boxes and wrought iron gates.
We spent a long weekend in Charleston the end of June.
There were lots of flags flying in anticipation of the Fourth of July.
If you have a ‘notion’ to visit Charleston and prefer to stay dry ;) I recommend that you go when the both the temps and the humidity are not in the 90s . . . to say it was ‘pore-cleansing’ is an understatement! Early spring, late fall and even December are great times to visit.
Despite the summer heat, I’m always amazed at the flowers thriving in the window boxes. . .especially since I look like a wilted flower within 30 minutes of my arrival :)
I took this photo for inspiration for my containers next year. I love the combination of cleome in the center with the lime greens, reds and purples of with the coleus, angelonia and lobelia.
If you enjoy history, gardens, antebellum homes, and great food, you’ll be charmed by the hospitality and Southern flavor of Charleston!
This is a photo heavy post so I’ll keep the words to a minimum. Enjoy your virtual tour and scroll!
See more beautiful and blooming window boxes of Charleston, here.
We’re back in the mid 90s here this week and the humidity is back the sweltering category. Hope you’re finding a way to stay cool and beat the heat!
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Metamorphosis Monday
Just beautiful Mary! I haven’t been to Charleston in years…I think I’ll wait until October. Stay cool!
Oh those window boxes…and gates…and homes! I’m ready to plan a trip and book my hotel room! Thanks for sharing your fabulous photography skills! Happy Weekend ;)
Your pictures of Charleston always make me want to travel there. That and Biltmore Estates! I might have to talk my sister into a trip to the Carolinas. Thanks so much for sharing and have a great weekend!
Pat,
We have been to the Biltmore 5 times!! you would not be disappointed !! and staying at the Inn is a must !!
Just do It !!
Love your pictures.They are beautiful and I love Charleston!
Oh Charleston…always dressed and ready for company. Makes me feel special to be able to take this stroll around via your beautiful photos. I appreciate the fact that you did this while enduring the heat and humidity. Many thanks for another share of your talent…:)
Good morning Mary, what a delightful stroll as I drink my coffee. It has been a few years since I have been to Charleston. It is such a Southern gem along with Savannah. It oozes charm with its history and architecture. The last time I was there happened to be in July. I said never again, the heat and humidity were stifling. Wrought iron, hidden gardens, and window boxes are some of my favorite views to photograph! Stay cool and happy weekend.
beautiful thank you! enjoy your weekend :)
Just plain beautiful!! There is so much eye candy that it’s hard to pick a fav! As I was looking, I wondered how they keep the trees from buckling the sidewalks and the closeness to their homes’ foundation would be of concern to me!! But, I would still love the beauty!! Everything seems to flourish in that humidity!! ❤️🌼🌹🌸🌺🌷🌻💐🌿🌴
Charleston is a gorgeous city and your photos really tell its story all the more beautifully! What a lovely weekend jaunt!
I go every fall — one year we went for New Year’s and they still had window boxes blooming!
Charleston is one of my very favorite cities too Mary, it’s so full of architectural eye candy! Love all the blooming window boxes and gates you’ve captured! Yes, it’s definitely a pore cleanser!
Jenna
What beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing your trip. I have never been to Charleston, but hope to visit someday.
Good morning Mary-What beautiful pictures! The tourism dept. should use these to promote Charleston as they make you long to visit the historic city! Thanks for taking us along & we get to see the beauty in the comfort of A/C in July. Definitely on our list to visit again in the fall or spring as it has been many years since we’ve been there as it is a road trip for us. It will be well worth it after seeing these gorgeous pictures. Have a great weekend! Clara 💐
Next time you come to Charleston, please get in touch with me and I’ll take you to Middleton Place plantation. It’s beauty will amaze you! I moved here from the Atlanta area 3 years ago I and now I volunteer as a Garden Guide at Middleton.
It’s just too hot to enjoy Charleston at this time of year. We are all wilting!!!
Judith Carr, judithhcarr@gmail.com
Thank you so much for the beautiful tour 💕. I have never been to Charleston, but after seeing all of your photos, I realized that this influence is all over my gardens and my home in little accents. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m happy that it did 😊.
What a beautiful place! I can’t wait to visit Charleston!
So impressive, so well maintained. What a beauty that Charleston is! Thanks for sharing your trip, Mary. It makes me want to go there again.
I was just in Charleston. You my friend captured the essence of the southern charm that Charleston provides.
Gorgeous captures!
I love Charleston! Your pics are fantabulous! My favorite is the one with the sprinklers. At first glance it appears to be early morning mist. So pretty.
Beautiful pictures. Charleston is one of my favorite places. My husband proposed to me in Charleston. We went there on our honeymoon (December, so it was delightful) and went back on our 1st anniversary. We always stayed at Two Meeting Street Inn. A charming and special place for us.
Thanks for the tour Mary. I always enjoy when you go traveling and take me along. Charleston is such a beautiful place. It’s on my bucket list.
Beautiful iron work, flowers, and homes! Thanks for sharing. I have been there but seeing it all again is refreshing!
Loved your tour! Where do you stay when you are visiting Charleston? Can you recommend places to eat? I’ve never been there, but would love to go in October. Thanks! 💐
Hi Linda, There are so many great restaurants! Some of our favorites are FIG, The Ordinary, The Macintosh, Slightly North of Broad, Magnolias, The Grocery, Cru Cafe for lunch. They keep building hotels! We like to park once we arrive and walk everywhere (parking is problematic). Charleston Place is centrally located. We’ve stayed at The Vendue Inn, Meeting Street Inn, Planter’s Inn, Elliot House Inn and Indigo Inn. The Bohemian opened a hotel a couple of years ago and would love to stay there. We’ve stayed at the one in Savannah and Asheville but not Charleston.
I have been through Charleston, just briefly and remember it’s beauty. This post however is fantastic and you out didi your self with this tour of this beautiful historic town. Thank you!
Good Morning Mary. Thank you for taking us to Charleston this morning with this lovely post. My first memory of Charleston was a broken arm when visiting relatives as a child but I have never let that episode keep me away. Your amazing photographs gives us the opportunity to visit one of our country’s most beautiful cities without wilting. Love the gorgeous window boxes. Thanks so much.
Oh my, Mary, you’ve shared so much beauty through your lens with all the architecture and the gorgeous window box displays. I want to go back to Charleston to enjoy it again!
I’ve only been to Charleston once and I was stuck in a hotel for a conference for all but about an hour. So thank you for showing me what I missed! LOVE that coral pink building with black ironwork!!!!
We just returned from there a couple of weeks ago. It was on my bucket list after being inspired by your previous posts. We were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and can’t wait to go back (in the fall or spring!). Loved the homes, history, flowers, food, and our charming hotel.
Tres belles photos et tres belle ville…super !!!👍💖 Bon week-end ! Bonjour de France 😊
Thank you Mary for this virtual tour of Charleston. Such great photography of this most beautiful city! Love the iron work! I have lots of iron work in my garden and have been putting more up this week…..how gracious it makes a place look! We are going back to Charleston this Fall. Stay cool in your beautiful garden.
Going for the first time in early October. Any restaurants or sights we shouldn’t miss?
There are SO many great restaurant options. Search on Eater Charleston and see what sounds good to you! Some of our favorites are FIG, The Ordinary, The Macintosh, Slightly North of Broad, Magnolias, The Grocery. You should take a carriage ride/tour since it’s your first trip! Walk along The Battery and feast your eyes and stroll down Rainbow Row. October should be a great month to visit!
Being a native Charlestonians who have been “transplanted” to Maryland, we go twice a year. Always avoiding, if possible, any time after early May. “Pore cleansing” is a great description of temp and humidity being in the 90s…love it…it’s so true and I’ve never been able to convince people, summer isn’t really a good time to visit if you’re not used to the heat…they go and then understand. I love the City in the Fall and Winter, especially around Christmas.
Love all the pictures….they make me homesick…
Thank you for sharing your beautiful travel photos!
Mary Thank You for the lovely tour of Charleston. The houses are beautiful as are the flowers. A great place to visit.
Marilyn,Joan and Marion
Charleston is one of my favorite places. Last time we were there was early spring and the Azaleas were in full bloom. Gorgeous ! This year will be going in early Dec with my two daughters to celebrate our three significant birthdays! 70 ,50 and 45. Have rented an airb&b right in the down town area. Should be a lot of fun. Am hoping the Christmas decorations will be up.
Your posts from Charleston visits are some of my favorites. You sure have an eye to capture the beauty of that city! I love Charleston, we were there a couple weeks ago and enjoyed a harbor dinner cruise. Lovely, lovely place and your photos do it justice!
What an incredibly beautiful city! You took some great photos too. It made me smile when I read what you said about the heat. My husband and I went around the same time a couple of years ago and while walking around got into an actual argument over a bottle of water. It’s HOT and HUMID there – and I live in Miami! Glad you enjoyed your little getaway despite the weather. Thanks for sharing!
Best, Maggie
Charleston is pretty high up on my list of cities that I want to visit. Thanks for such a delightful preview! :)
What a treat! I’ve never been there. There is so much beauty. Love so many things like the paint colors of the homes and all that ironwork. Of course the flowers are amazing. You captured some fabulous shots- love the shadows cast on the balcony by the ironwork and the one with the Spanish moss.
You are a wonderful tour guide and have convinced me this city goes on my bucket list of places to see. Have pinned and enjoyed ALL the pictures. Love the iron work, flowers, shutters and church picture. AWESOME!
Quelle jolie ville, si romantique !
Merci de cette charmante escapade.
Bon week-end.
I always enjoy seeing Charleston through your eyes, Mary! So many lovely detail pictures….thank you!
Mary, thank you for the inspiration to add this location to my bucket list. It is absolutely beautiful. We are planning a tour of the top 10 places to retire and I will be adding this to my list to visit!
Thank you for this tour and the many lovely photos. Charleston has been on my list of places to go for some years, but we have not made the time to actually make it happen. Your photos and suggestions are a help in giving me the push to get on it! If you were going to choose – which is your top month to visit there?
~Mary~
Thanks for sharing such wonderful pictures !! We were in Charleston years ago for a quick trip, we would love to go back ! I was thinking summer for less of a crowd , and Indiana weather is getting more like the south it seems so we would be use to the 90s!! hehe
Have a cool weekend
Paula
IN
Beautiful post! Loved all the pictures
My hometown! Haven’t been back in years but your photos are making me homesick. It is a beautiful place, full of charm. Thanks for sharing.
Love Charleston! There is actually a couple of jewelers that makes jewelry called the Charleston Gates. I have ordered from the one on Etsy. Beautiful work and he sends little cards with his jewelry that gives location and history of each design.
So very beautiful!!
I am fortunate to get to Charleston at least once a year, and you have captured all of my favorite things, the facades and the garden gates! A stroll through Charleston is such a treat, but I agree, that in cooler weather it is a bit more tolerable! Thanks for taking us along on your trip!