Festival of Flowers in Greenwood, SC

It’s a blooming good time.

The charming town of Greenwood, South Carolina comes alive with lush gardens full of color and brilliant Topiaries scattered throughout the town every June and into mid-July for the South Carolina’s Festival of Flowers. It is no wonder there are so many beautiful and unusual flowers and plants to see and enjoy since Park Seed Company’s home base is located right here in Greenwood. This beloved mail order seed and plant business has been serving flower lovers since 1868. Over 150 years, can you imagine? This company made it through even the Great Depression without having to shut down.

                                                                                       

The Festival of Flowers, which includes many events was scheduled for June 5 – 7, 2020, was canceled for this year as of COVID 19. The town agreed to still put on this wonderful display amazing works of art that the horticulturists have created and worked so hard on through the year. There are 44 some odd Topiaries scattered around the town square, county library, and the farmers market to check out.

We first learned of this event last year. We ended up going and so enjoyed it, we put it on our calendar to come back this year. I believe we will make this trek yearly as these are amazing horticultural creations that are whimsical and fun to see. These Topiaries are designed, maintained, cared for, and moved by the city of Greenwood and City Public Works Department. They care for them throughout the year in the city’s greenhouses. They place them around town, and do maintenance on them after they are set up for the enjoyment of all. What a fabulous job they do and they should be commended for all the work they do to make this event so special not just now but year round. Each topiary has also been adopted by an organization and is sponsored by a separate organization.

Greenwood is located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina and is the County Seat of Greenwood County. This town was named around 1824 for the plantation of an early resident named after the Hon. John Charles McGehee who was born in 1802 and lived till 1882. His plantation was called Greenwood Plantation. This town is also the home to Lander University and is a very friendly, hospitable, and beautiful town as well as college campus. Greenwood had been the called the Emerald City, I’m guessing from all the greenery and gardens but could have easily been called the Garden City.

The Signature Topiaries are a magical sight to see with so glorious colors and details. They were the same designs as last year but the variety of plants, patterns, colors, and plants were all changed. For me to pick a favorite is very hard. Dino the Dinosaur is amazing, Jibari the Lion is stunning, King Kong is well done and amusing, Reeves, the Mermaid is lovely, and the Jeep fully covered with plants is amazing to see. The rest are all done well and walking around there are also beautiful hanging baskets, gardens with ponds, birdhouses, fountains, and so much more to see. This is an event you really need to check out.

Along with all the amazing Topiary friends to see, there are also great places to eat all along the square and down near the Uptown Market. We once again ate at The Mill House on Maxwell Avenue which is a lovely eclectic restaurant with great food. They opened up in 2009 and they serve wonderful pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. We were glad to see they were open for dining in so we headed in. We were lucky to be able to get a table in their outside patio. Today was a gorgeous day and a perfect day for eating out on their patio. We just ordered chicken wings to snack on today and Joe had a couple of the specialty beers. They have an amazing craft beer menu to choose from as well as a large selection of wines. Last year we had their pizza which was terrific and their Parmesan Chicken Salad. Yummy.

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Across the street from the restaurant is the Uptown Market where they have a farmers market on Wednesdays and weekends. What a gorgeous brick building designed by Furman Architects and built to be reminiscent of the old Seaboard Train Station, to be used for these special events. You can rent it for events. There is also a splash park that was built in 2016 with picnic tables nearby where we watched children running around and enjoying the water. They even had a life guard. What a great facility.

The town itself has some beautiful old homes and lovely churches to see. I love the architecture of the Main Street United Methodist Church. It reminds me of a church that was in my hometown of Woodbury, New Jersey and is one of the oldest United Methodist churches in the Shenandoah Valley. It was founded in 1824 and the congregation at that time met in a small log cabin. When they outgrew this church, they moved to the current location in 1874. The current church was built in 1918. This church has been serving Greenwood, South Carolina for 162 years.

We had a lovely day in this quaint town and will be back. If you get a chance to go and see the Topiaries, please do. We highly recommend it. You will love it and your children will enjoy them as well.

Take care. Till next time. Bye for now.