The gardens at Kilgore-Lewis House offer a closer look at Greenville’s colorful past.
If you’re looking for gardening inspiration—or a downtown picnic spot, or a shady place to read—pay a visit to the Kilgore-Lewis House on Academy Street. This tucked-away gem is right downtown, with ample parking, and the public gardens and arboretum are free and open to the public during daylight hours.
The five acres of gardens at Kilgore-Lewis are maintained by the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs, with 14 clubs overseeing their own plot beneath the canopy of oak trees and magnolias.
The Kilgore-Lewis House, built in 1838, offers its own treasures and is the only historic home in Greenville that is open to the public. Tours are free, though a donation is appreciated. While the gardens are open each day, the home is only available for docent-led tours Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
As you wander the grounds, you’ll find a sensory garden, a Carolina fence garden, a garden based on 19th-century plants inspired by Thomas Jefferson, and many more. Individual club leadership decides on the type of garden they’ll create and are responsible for tending it.
“All of the clubs want to encourage native plants and wild growth,” says Roberta Casaceli, second vice president. “And we’re always planning for 12 months of color.”
A gazebo and several benches offer plenty of peaceful places to perch, while a bubbling spring offers placid sound effects and creates a pretty pond before heading under Academy Street over to McPherson Park.
Casaceli, a Master Gardener and a volunteer docent at the house, says her favorites are wildflowers, though she values the unstructured nature of the entire garden. “This is really an urban woodland,” she says. “It’s not structured like the Biltmore House. We don’t do that. We didn’t want that—we didn’t want to change the tree canopy.”
Because of that existing canopy, the site became an accredited Level 1 Arboretum in 2019, which allowed the organization to become part of an interactive community that supports tree-focused public gardens. Labels have been added to 75 trees, many of which have been on the property for decades.
The spacious green area, surrounded by lush plants and flanked by a stream, is a popular spot for weddings, Casaceli says. “People can bring a dance floor, chairs, and more; we’ve had 250 people out here on this green.”
A cypress tree dominates one side of the pond with a fascinating array of gnarled roots extending from the marshy perimeter. Casaceli points out a variety of treasures with fascinating names and stories: Oregon grape, wild iris, Harry Lauder’s walking stick, false larch. Bees cluster around a wild honeysuckle bush. She spots a Catesby’s trillium, native to the Carolinas and often tucked into thickets of rhododendron.
But don’t forget to look up as you make your way through the various gardens—Kilgore-Lewis is also home to a bluebird trail. One of the member groups, the Clarice Wilson Garden Club, purchased nesting boxes that attract eastern bluebirds, a population that has been recovering since the 1960s.
“We are here as volunteers, to impart knowledge that we have,” Casaceli says. “We’re planning more events, for members or non-members, and people are thirsty for that. I love it here, and we want people to come and enjoy the garden.”
Kilgore-Lewis House is a Labor of Love
Josiah Kilgore bought the Palladian-style home for $1,200 in 1838, when it was located near where Buncombe Street Methodist Church sits today. He deeded it to his daughter and her husband in 1855, and for 130 years, various descendants lived in the home, including the Lewis family, who were added to the name along the way.
In the 1970s, a group of women went to Mayor Max Heller and asked to use the house for the Council of Garden Clubs. He agreed, but the group had to find a way to move the home to its current site on North Academy Street. The council raised $100,000 to fund the move and restoration. In 1974, Kilgore-Lewis House became the headquarters for the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs, and hundreds of members began the work of creating the expansive gardens that flourish today.
Mark your calendar
September 29–30: The Extraordinary Ordinary Garden
This garden tour will include the Kilgore-Lewis House and Gardens as well as four to five additional homes and gardens, showcasing the passions of several garden club members.
The Kilgore-Lewis House and Gardens, 560 N. Academy St., Greenville, 864.232.3020, kilgore-lewis.org
