Downtown Charleston’s Colonial Lake is set to get a major makeover this year, undergoing renovations and replanting that will last until October.
The park’s revitalization began last summer, according to Darlene Heater, executive director and CEO of the Charleston Parks Conservancy (CPC). Work started with clearing out the old plant beds which had become overgrown with invasive and vulnerable species.
The primary goal of the revitalization is to make sure newly planted beds stay fresh and vibrant, said Molly Hendry, a garden designer from Birmingham. CPC hired Hendry in December to help to transform Colonial Lake’s three acres into an environmentally adaptive and resilient landscape. Hendry’s task was to choose plants that could withstand the park’s harsh weather — direct, full sunlight, extreme heat, tidal flooding and tropical storms.
“We have really focused first on the tree and shrub layer and weaving in some exciting seasonal perennials that will ebb and flow through the spring and summer and fall,” she said. “It’s very dynamic. And we really focused on plants that are really salt-tolerant, so in the event that there is storm surge … these plants will be able to withstand that. They’re tough.”
Each plant bed will offer a different, seasonally changing bloom. One area features white flowers of fringe trees that will bloom in the spring and purple coneflowers that bloom throughout the summer. In the fall, pink sweetgrass plumes will be on full display, and the black gum trees will turn bright red. The effect is a park that changes throughout the year, giving daily visitors something new to discover as time passes.
“I met a lady who lives in West Ashley and a lady who lives in Mount Pleasant, and they meet here every week to walk with each other,” Hendry said. “There are people experiencing (the park) every day, and it’s part of the fabric of their lives. I felt it was very important that there’s something dynamic here that’s changing throughout the year.”
Rethinking ‘native’
Hendry said hand-picking the species of flowers, trees, shrubs and more was challenging but rewarding. A big part of the process was broadening what she thought of as “native.”
“It’s not defined by state lines and only things that are native to coastal South Carolina but are native to these types of conditions,” she said.
Plants that will be featured at Colonial Lake could be coming from South Africa (like bulbine plants), parts of Australia (Little John bottlebrush) and some coastal Mediterranean areas as well (olive trees and creeping thyme).
Plants that are more traditionally considered native include palmetto trees, black gum, American fringetrees, fiber optics buttonbush, red buckeye, coneflowers, milkweed and of course, sweetgrass.
“It was good to come here with new eyes,” Hendry said. “The things that were existing here survived two major hurricanes. The park was under 3 feet of saltwater. So my first instinct was, ‘Let’s not reinvent the wheel.’ … I was really trying to pull from what feels of this place, of Charleston, but also gives Colonial Lake its own character and excitement.”
A grand reveal
The revitalized park will be officially unveiled in October with the inaugural Bloom Charleston Festival, a two-day event filled with speakers, demonstrations, plant sales, garden libraries and more.
“This is a project that is worthy of a true community celebration,” Heater said. “We will be celebrating with the community right here at Colonial Lake.
“It’s going to be a day for residents, a day for families and a day for anybody who’s visiting.”
The festival also will feature guided tours of the gardens where guides can explain the various “plant palettes” that the team used to design each plant bed, perfect for home-gardeners to get some inspiration. Speakers from around the world are expected to share their expertise and give hands-on demonstrations.
The festival is planned for Oct. 17 and Oct. 18.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.