Mepkin Abbey Leaning Tree

There are many, many beautiful trees on the grounds here, but this one was the most unique. It leans heavily out from it’s roots, nearly 45 degrees from the ground, toward the river. Its base is covered in vines, and it was so striking to catch that shock of green before the tree had fully leafed out.

Mepkin Abbey Grounds Camellias

The camellias at Mepkin Abbey are exceptionally beautiful. This one particular bush boasts both red and white flowers, with some petals divided between the two colors.

Mepkin Abbey Grounds

The gardens have some brick stairs and brick-lined grassy terraces that lead to the Cooper River. These weathered man-made elements complement the grown-in shrubs and bushes and are all nestled beneath towering oaks.

Mepkin Abbey Wisteria

I really wanted to share with you all one of my favorite places in the world. Mepkin Abbey is a acutal, functioning abbey, near my hometown of Moncks Corner that is located on the historic site of Mepkin Plantation. You drive through an incredible oak alley to reach the public part of the grounds, known as the Luce Garden. The gardens were commissioned by the Luce family in 1937. They had planned to build a home here but never did. Now volunteers cut the grass and tend the garden, which consists of live oaks draped in moss, crepe myrtles, camellias and azaelas. Normally you can tour the abbey but because of Covid, that is no longer an option. But, happily, their website says that none of the monks have contracted the disease.

This may be the only wisteria plant that is included intentionally in the gardens, but you can see more of it climbing over the trees along the edges of the grounds. I specifically was looking to photograph wisteria and was hoping I would find some here, and I lucked out.

Spring Has Sprung

Hello everyone,

Thanks for joining me here on my new blog. 

April marked ten years since I began my photography blog.  Technically, I had kept one before that, for about a year, because my friends and family were so curious about my life after moving to Wyoming.  It might as well have been a different country, it seemed so foreign.  But the challenge of adapting to a new location was one of the greatest things I could have experienced.  Through adversity, we learn more about ourselves.  I had left a great job at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review when we moved, and though I found a part-time job as my church secretary, and spent many hours watching the Food Network and cooking up a storm, there was an emptiness in me.  I think this could cause crisis for a lot of folks, but I was lucky that I had a hobby - photography - to fill the void.  I began to take more and more photos, first with my Olympus OM-1 (yes, folks, that was a film camera) and later with my Nikon D-80.  Soon, it was something more than a hobby.  It was the thing I spent most my waking hours thinking about (you know, besides my husband and my doggies).  I have a little less time these days, now that our family has grown and now that we are back in the hustle and bustle of city life, but my passion remains the same.  Having a lot of time alone when I lived out west, free of distractions, was just the thing my creative spirit needed to blossom.  It was an intense period of self-growth and learning, though I did not necessarily think of it that way at the time.  I have been blessed since with the freedom to make the art I want to make - to show you the world as I see it - and I hope you'll stop by now and then to check it out.

If you need a more regular art fix, I post six days a week on Instagram under the handle victoriabennettbeyer.