garden ideas: add charleston charm with a rustic garden shed

4 days ago
2 min read

Happy Spring from your friends at Meeting Green! We're celebrating the new season by looking back at one of our favorite projects from last spring. This space in West Ashely was full of potential and featured a rustic garden shed and mature trees that needed to be incorporated into the design. Here are three things we did to add some Charleston charm to this space. Use these gardening tips in your yard this spring!

Charleston, SC backyard landscape with turf, a paver patio, concrete bed with ledge lighting, japanese maples, azaleas, camellias, and other lush evergreen perennials.

Highlight the rustic shed

Nothing increases cottage vibes and adds a bit of storybook charm like a rustic shed in your garden. A space immediately feels more cozy when the elements are appear 'lived in' or like they've been on the property for years. This garden shed is the perfect level of distressed, provides storage for tools and toys, plus it supplies necessary contrast against the new, modern hardscaping. Add some patio furniture and string lights and you're done!

Add blooming shrubs

Charleston is truly a city defined by its blooms, so of course we had to incorporate some classic Lowcountry flowers! The property already had two beautiful, large camellias so we added azaleas for another pop of color. This pair works well because camellias bloom in the fall and winter while azaleas bloom in the spring and summer! Plus, this garden is shaded by a mature oak tree and both camellias and azaleas thrive in part sun.

A blooming camellia in Charleston, SC. The plant has dark green, glossy leaves and very light pink flowers with a fluffy yellow center.

Focus on texture

Many gardeners prioritize flowers, but we're here to tell you a full and interesting garden is all about texture! This charming Charleston landscape features very little blooms and instead focuses on mixing different foliage shapes and varying plant textures. The farfugium (aka tractor seat) offer large round, glossy leaves that contrast wonderfully with the thin, needle like mahonia. Foxtail ferns and iris are introduced in the sunny front yard, adding additional texture to the design. Don't worry, the containers by the front porch and blooming shrubs in the back provide lots of color!