Located at 6617 Maybank Highway on Wadmalaw Island, the plantation comprises fields and fields of dense hedge-like tea plants, the progeny of bushes brought to the U.S. more than 100 years ago. Once the state's first permanent settlement and the original site of Charleston, Charles Towne Landing , located on Highway 171 west of the Ashley River, is now a nature preserve and living museum. There are 80 acres of landscaped gardens replete with freshwater lagoons, towering oak trees and more than 50 species of plants. Bicycle rentals and tram rides are available. Owned and operated by the City of Charleston, Cypress Gardens , located about 24 miles north of Charleston off Highway 52, offers a spectacle of nature year-round.
Visitors can walk the grounds or take a boat trip through the natural wonder.
They were planted in 1743 by Captain Thomas Boone, the son of the plantation's owner, Major John Boone. Built on the Ashley River between 1738 and 1742, Drayton Hall is a marvelous example of Georgian Palladian architecture, highlighted by a two-story portico believed to be the first of its kind in America. In addition to daily tours, Drayton Hall hosts special events including an arts and crafts festival, a concert of African-American spirituals and a spring candlelight concert. Just one mile north of Drayton Hall on Highway 61, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens has the distinction of being America's oldest man-made attraction. Home to the Drayton family since the late 1600s, it began as an estate garden in the 1680s.