Happy Vistas No More

Kingstree was once known for its colorful gardens surrounding well-kept homes. In the April 27, 1952, issue of The News & Courier, Carrie Sparks Douglass wrote about three of these gardens, under the headline, "Kingstree Gardens Show Happy Vistas." Until the last few weeks, all of the houses were still standing, although the gardens that once attracted many out-of-town and out-of state visitors had either been destroyed or neglected for one reason or another. But within the last few weeks, one of the homes mentioned in this article fell to the wrecking ball (or in this case, track hoe). Here is Mrs. Douglass' article:

The home built in 19389 by LeRoy and Lizzie Epps on Longstreet, called The Pasture,

has been torn down after years of no occupants and a fire last August.

"Adding their share of color and harmony to the Carolina Lowcountry during the "azalea season" are many lovely gardens of Kingstree home owners.

"Three active garden clubs with full memberships serve to create and sustain lasting interest in the beautification of home grounds and community plots. Vari-hued azaleas and camellias and purple wisteria offset by delicate white spirea and the spreading branches of redbud and white dogwood make every street in the town a vista of unexplored beauty.

"While numbers of Kingstree gardens merit especial mention for outstanding plots and arrangements of color harmony in landscaping and planting, space permits only a glimpse into a few, open to the public throughout the season.

The Hinson house on West Academy Street as it looks today.

"When Mrs. L.L. Hinson built her duplex home 15 years ago, the site she selected was a dense pine thicket on the Academy Street Extension, measuring a frontage of 85 feet, with a depth of more than three times that. Workmen cut out only those pines that were necessary in order to make space for the attractive cream, stucco-type home, and Mrs. Hinson began laying out a garden spot that affords delight to her family and friends and the public.

"'A duplex house with two front entrances,' said Mrs. Hinson on a recent visit to her garden, 'made it difficult to plan a formal lay-out.'

"She seems to have found an excellent solution to her problem by using a semi-circular border across the front, landscaping each side for a perfect balance of plant arrangement and seasonal color.

"For the wide beds that border the entire garden, Mrs. Hinson followed a plan of ligustrum, spirea, pink and white dogwoods, interspersed with other evergreen and blooming shrubs for the background and hundreds of azaleas. 

"Edging plants for her colorful borders are white candytuft, blue thrift, and baby blue eyes, and elsewhere in the borders are narcissus, day lilies and tulips, along with Japanese magnolias, nandinas, flowering quince and others that furnish their share of color and charm in their respective blooming seasons. Mrs. Hinson has clumps of foxglove and Sweet Williams in her borders and finds that both do well in the excellent shade provided by the tall pines and high evergreens.

"Several years ago, when her garden was young, Mrs. Hinson planted a climbing Talisman rose in her front yard, just beyond the steps, close to a young pine tree. She was amazed to find one day that the rose had far out-distanced the young pine, and was reaching wildly above it. The climbing Talisman on the young pine caused many a passerby to halt and take a second look. 

"At present, Mrs. Hinson is extending the back of her garden to include an additional area which she plans to have follow the same general landscaping of the present outline. An arch of trailing clematis will join the new garden to the one already developed, and the same verdant lawn of centipede and winter grasses will extend into the newly-developed part.

"In Mrs. Hinson's solarium are window boxes of begonias, coleus, and geraniums which she enjoys indoors in the winter and moves into the yard for the summer.

"At Springbank Plantation, the home of Mrs. Howard S. Hadden, a most striking picture at this season is the swamp garden with many rustic bridges overhung with blooming wisteria and Cherokee roses.

"The swamp garden is at the foot of a driveway that winds through 20 acres in the home lot surrounding the massive Colonial home. Six acres are given to the water garden, which the late Howard S. Hadden began to develop almost as soon as he acquired possession of the property in 1931. Six additional acres under water provide a lake of good proportions.

"The six acres devoted to the water garden were drained and cleared of rubbish. Small islands were thrown up here and there and connected by rustic bridges, and paths were laid out, bordered in season by blooming azaleas, spider lilies, and every species of bulb and swamp plant. Tall, wisteria-covered black gum rise majestically from the bed of the lake.

"In developing the beauty of Springbank, 85,000 bulbs, 1,600 azaleas, every known variety of wild plant native to this section, and numbers of yuccas, hollies, and willows were planted. More have been added since, along with hundreds of prized camellias. Unusually large camellias border the winding driveway, which leads to the swamp garden.

The "noble live oaks" at Springbank are now beginning to show their great age.

"An off-axis effect was desired in laying out the walks and drives about the grounds, and this plan was closely followed, giving a most informal air to the beautifully-cared-for grounds. A fine resemblance to the lovely Brookgreen Gardens is noted in the many noble live oaks, covered with hanging moss, whose spreading branches form a canopy under which one catches a vista of acre upon acre of spacious lawns, with borders of thousands of azaleas, camellias, and other blooming shrubs. One particularly handsome old live oak is said by botanists to be over 600 years old. The late Mr. Haddon was proud of a magnificent holly tree which stands 45-feet high, and is said to be nearly a century old. The tree, almost perfect in symmetry, is a mass of red berries blooming in season.

"Quite a lovely spot in the Hadden gardens is the sunken garden at the left of the circular driveway, where 1,000 pansy plants in season give out a gorgeous blaze of color. The old English wall, just back of the formal garden spot, was made of brick brought from the 'Hell Hole' section of Berkeley County. Mrs. Hadden is an ardent gardener who is interested in continuing the work of beautification begun by her late husband and is delighted in having others enjoy their handiwork.

"The Pasture" as it looked in January 2020.

"Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy S. Epps chose to name their home 'The Pasture,' since several acres they have developed into one of the beauty spots of the state was formerly cattle-grazing pasture on the Florence Highway. The site proved an unusually good choice for a home and gardens, despite the fact that parts of the seven-and-a-half acre tract stood under water a good part of the time before proper drainage methods were employed.

The property still holds water after a heavy rain. This was taken on another day in January 2020.

"In planning her garden, Mrs. Epps finds the soil ideal for growing almost every kind of flower and shrub with little need for fertilizing. The native leaf mold, worked well into the rich black soil, also aids in holding moisture, and many sections of the several garden areas require little or no watering.

"In planning her garden, Mrs. Epps began with foundation planting around the house, which was built near the center of the acreage. A semi-circular graveled driveway winds around two acres of 'The Pasture,' where tall oak trees provide ideal shade for hundreds of azaleas, camellias, dogwoods, redbuds, Cherokee roses, and naturalized bulbs. Giant plants of red pyracanthas stand as sentinels on each side of the entrances.

"When Mr. and Mrs. Epps began their garden 15 years ago, uncleared portions of the grounds were set in young pines, and these have now grown more than 30 feet in height. Numbers of young azaleas have been added.

"Each year, Mr. and Mrs. Epps welcome visitors to their gardens from several states. 'The Pasture' is listed by the Garden Club of South Carolina. Mrs. Epps is membership chairman of the state garden club, and is an accredited judge of flower shows of the National Council of State Garden Clubs."

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With the exception of the first year of my life and the time I spent away at college, I have lived across the side street form "The Pasture." I well remember the colorful garden, filled with azaleas, dogwoods, and blooming bulbs. And I also remember the numbers of tourists who came, some in the winter when the camellias were in full bloom, but most in the spring and early summer. They would drive slowly through the property and some would stop on the street in front of our house to take photos of the garden.

It's a shame that these gardens and green spaces have disappeared from the area, especially as planners and scientists are discovering that green spaces, like parks and gardens, give residents a more positive outlook about their communities and also give tourists a higher opinion of the places they visit. Wouldn't it be wonderful if somehow the garden in "The Pasture" could be re-created, especially as there is currently no public green space on this side of Longstreet? It could become the centerpiece of this neighborhood, a way to tie our current town to its history as a tribute to what LeRoy and Lizzie Epps wanted for the property, and would certainly offer a lovely welcome to Kingstree for anyone coming into town along the US52 corridor.