Carolina Fence Garden at Andrew Jackson State Park

On March 25, 2017, SCWF was invited to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birthday of President Andrew Jackson at the Lancaster County South Carolina State Park honoring the seventh President of the United States of America.  Andrew Jackson State Park combines history, art and community activities into a setting that details the boyhood of the former president in the South Carolina backcountry. 

Fittingly, the Leaf & Petal Garden Club Garden Club and York County Master Gardeners created a Carolina Fence Garden on the grounds of an 18th-century replica schoolhouse.  The Carolina Fence incorporates both natural and cultural elements, which have been designated as symbols of our state. The split rail fence represents a commonly used device by South Carolinians in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The Fence can function as a valuable habitat element while showcasing the state symbols of natural and cultural history. SC's State Flower, Yellow Jessamine, can easily be trained across the split rail fence to form a dense and attractive year-round foliage cover. Blue Granite, the SC State Stone, adds another aesthetic and official state symbol to the CFG.  A Carolina Wren House, mounted on the fence or on a post nearby, creates a home for our state bird. Wrens are one of the most common visitors to backyards and readily adapt to man-made nest boxes.  Additional SC state symbols such as the state grass, wildflower, and plants for the state butterfly may also be added to the CFG.

At the Anniversary Party, Laura Blake-Orr, Wildlife Habitat Manager with the SCWF, helped showcase the Fence which functions as a valuable habitat element and educated park visitors about the benefits of Gardening for Wildlife and the Certified Wildlife habitat programs.