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Watch a two-minute video introduction of the gardens.

 

Daily Schedule Tuesday, January 3 - Friday, March 2, 2012

Brookgreen offers a variety of daily programs, exhibitions, excursions and special events that change seasonally. Please check back if you are planning your visit later in the year. (Schedule is subject to change.)

Gray Oaks of Mystery - This captivating 10-minute film presents an overview of the gardens from its historical beginning until the present. Free with garden admission.

New for our health conscious guests, a copy of our Walking Program is available at the Welcome Center. It includes a map and guide with a menu of four walks that range from a 15-minute Zoo Strut to the 2.7 mile Beyond the Garden Stroll! The guide is free with garden admission.

 

"Vanishing Acts: Trees Under Threat"

This new outdoor exhibit, from the Morton Arboretum outside Chicago, opens to the public from September through February. The exhibit consists of fifteen interpretive panels that follow a path through the arboretum at Brookgreen. It shows how trees enrich our lives, describes the forces that threaten them, and gives information on how you can help these endangered trees. This exhibit will close on February 26. Free with garden admission.

 

Labyrinth - Located along the north end of the Trail Beyond the Garden Wall, the new labyrinth blends with its natural surroundings. It is a medieval, seven circuit Chartres style labyrinth of shell and natural grass overlooking the natural beauty of a tributary creek of the Waccamaw River. Interpretive panels describe its history and purpose and benches are placed nearby for quiet contemplation. Free with garden admission.

The Huntington Sculpture Garden: Sculpture, Horticulture and History Tour - 11 a.m., 12 noon, and 2 p.m. This docent-led tour of the sculpture gardens combines information on the sculpture, horticulture and history. Tour is limited to 20 and lasts approximately one hour. Free with garden admission.

Mother Nature's Cafe – 1 p.m. Observe the animals in the Native Animal Habitats with an interpreter as the animals are fed a snack, and witness the mystery of their natural behaviors in this informative 50-minute tour. Meet at the Plantation Barn along the Lowcountry Trail. Free with garden admission.

Meet the Animals – 2:30 p.m.
Explore the world of animals native to the southeast as an interpreter introduces you to live animals in an interactive setting in this 45-minute program at the Lowcountry Center Program Shed at 2:30 p.m. Free with garden admission. (January – offered Saturday and Sunday only. February – March 2 offered daily)

What's Blooming - Look for this unique table display by the entrance of the Welcome Center. You will be introduced to the name, look and fragrance of the flowers and plants that bring splendor to the gardens. Free with garden admission.

Lowcountry: Change and Continuity Exhibit - As an introduction to Brookgreen Gardens' Lowcountry History and Wildlife Preserve, this long-term exhibit chronicles the history from the time of the early Native American occupants of this land to the culture of today. Located in the Wall Lowcountry Center. Free with garden admission.

 

The Lowcountry Trail - Self-guided tour of four archaeological sites with interpretive panels that describe the life on a rice plantation in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Lowcountry Trail Audio Tour is a new public education program that emphasizes historic preservation. The tour winds along the Ricefield Overlook and adjacent rice field and is free with garden admission. A 30-minute fictional story about life on Brookgreen Plantation unwinds progressively as listeners move from Listening Stations 1 through 11. Free with garden admission.

 

“Silent Cities”- Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.
Ride on the new Trekker down back roads and explore cemeteries, the “Silent Cities” at Brookgreen. Walk through former slave and plantation owner’s graveyards and hear about the historical burial customs of European and African origin. Tickets are $15 in addition to garden admission for this two-hour excursion and must be purchased at Keepsakes at least 10 minutes prior to departure time. Reservations are suggested; please call (843) 235-6042. Visitors who purchase tickets for this excursion will receive a discount coupon for same-day purchases at Keepsakes.


The Oaks Plantation History and Nature Trail- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
Through interpretive panels along this walking trail learn about the history of The Oaks Plantation and see archaeological sites that include the footprints of the plantation owner’s house, kitchen the overseer’s house, and the enslaved African village. Transportation to The Oaks Plantation History and Nature Trail is only by mini-bus which departs on the hour from 12 noon until 3 p.m. Tickets are $3 per person and must be purchased at Keepsakes at least 10 minutes prior to departure time. Visitors who purchase tickets for this excursion will receive a discount coupon for same-day purchases at Keepsakes.

 

New History Exhibit – Wall Lowcountry Center - January 9 - March 2
Etched In the Eyes, The Spirit of a People Called Gullah Geechee will be housed in Learning Lab I of the Wall Lowcountry Center from Noon – 4:30 p.m. daily and is free with garden admission.. The exhibit documents the African Diaspora of the low country and Sea Islands along the eastern coastline or North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida through captivating wall prints with text panels. According to photographer and visual sociologist David Herman, Jr., “This ever-expanding collection of narratives provides an intimate experience with the culture that ebbs and flows along the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. It will allow you to cross a bridge that will never be destroyed, a bridge that although burdened by the trades of time has stood because of deep roots in the spirit.”

"Birds in Art" Exhibition - Rainey Sculpture Pavilion - January 28 - April 22
The highly acclaimed traveling exhibition of paintings and sculpture mounted by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum of Wausau, Wisconsin, comes to Brookgreen. Including works by internationally renowned artists, Birds in Art features the avian world as subject matter. Since 1976, the annual juried exhibit has showcased the remarkable talents of more than 875 international artists, who have presented their very best work interpreting birds and related subjects. The exhibit is open daily from 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. and is free with garden admission. A comprehensive catalogue of the exhibition will be for sale in Keepsakes.