Garden of Dappled Light

About

This garden is a part of the Saturday, October 17 Sullivan's Island, SC Open Day. To purchase tickets to all participating gardens, please visit the (bundled page)

Please note: Garden Conservancy membership credits cannot be used for this event.

When Elizabeth and Bill Craver bought their property almost 30 years ago, it had very few trees: just one elm and a handful of palms, to be exact. In search of both shade and privacy, they began carefully and thoughtfully adding seven live oaks, 4 Japanese maples, a variety of different kinds of palm trees and a hand-pruned ligustrum hedge to their yard. The beautiful result is an insulating wall of shade that makes it hard to believe there’s a busy street on the other side of their green sanctuary.

Every year comes with its own set of challenges: droughts, monsoons and/or hurricanes. To battle the summer monsoons, they installed a drainage system with 100 loads of dirt to raise the level of the yard and avoid standing water and rotting vegetation. Hurricane Matthew took down a grand oak that was the centerpiece of the shade garden. In the blink of an eye, the 2026 drought browned grass and destroyed plants at an alarming rate. This highlights the life of a garden on a sand dune on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ever determined, Elizabeth and Bill completed a major overhaul of their yard in 2020, adding a swimming pool, a seating area around a fire pit framed in Chinese fan palms, bronze statues on aged brick pedestals, and brightly-colored or green garden areas designed to thrive, given the sun/shade characteristics of each area.

There is nothing static about the Craver’s garden. It is alive and active. On any given day, you will see Elizabeth spending hours planting seasonal annuals, relocating plants, pruning the rose garden she planted and nurtures for Bill, or simply deadheading. You may see the red-shouldered hawk sitting on an oak branch guarding Elizabeth; a peregrine falcon swooping through the yard; and red birds, blue birds, wrens and finches dining on the bird feeders or bathing in one of the bird baths. On a sunny day, you may even see the bronze statue Jesamine, who is holding a Carolina wren, smile at you.

2026 Open Day Date: Saturday, October 17

Open Day Hours: 10am–4pm