Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, located on the Ashley River near Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the world's last surviving nineteenth-century romantic gardens. It is where the largest and most ancient azalea and camellia collections were developed and where azaleas were first planted out of doors in a landscape setting.
The plantation also provides a unique experience for visitors. Its swamp garden boardwalk allows visitors to enjoy birding all year round; the nature train takes visitors on a long ride throughout the plantation; a street of slave cabins has been meticulously restored to provide an excellent history tour of African-American life; and the house tour shows the nature of post-Civil War life.
Derek Fell is widely known as one of the world's finest garden photographers. He made his first visit to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens thirty years ago and has published articles in Connoisseur, Americana, Woman's Day, Pace, Southern Accents, and other magazines. He has also authored books about the gardens of artists Monet, Renoir, Cézanne and Van Gogh, for which he has been honored with Best Book and Best Photography awards from the Garden Writers Association. Examples of his work can be found on his Web site: www.derekfell.net.