Palmetto Oaks Sculpture Garden

From Old Town Bluffton Inn

By Car	4 Minutes
By Walk	36 Minutes

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Details

Address	11 Palmetto Beach Ln, Bluffton, SC 29910, United States
Phone	+1 843-263-6940
Website	palmettooaks.com
Hours	Hours vary; call ahead or check the website. Closed Sundays.

Photo by @badseedbakes

An acre of live oaks behind a private house, hung and planted with hundreds of bright metal sculptures, all of them made by the man who will probably come out to say hello. It is the most surprising thing in Bluffton and almost nobody knows it is there. Five minutes from our front door, and it costs nothing.

You turn off Alljoy Road onto a quiet residential lane, second-guess the address, and then see the color through the trees. Palmetto Oaks is the home, studio, and open-air gallery of Stephen Kishel, and the sculpture garden is simply his backyard, about an acre of it, shaded by mature oaks and threaded with curving paths. What is in it is aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and weathered steel, powder-coated in reds and blues and yellows, some of it taller than you are, some of it hanging and turning in the breeze. Guests reach for the same words afterward. Whimsical. Magical. Dr. Seuss. It is abstract work, but it is warm rather than austere, and the mobiles moving overhead in a Lowcountry breeze do something a gallery wall cannot. Kishel made his first metal sculpture at seven, taught to weld by his father, and has been at it more or less ever since. His work stands in libraries, hospitals, and on university campuses across twenty states and in thirteen countries, and here it is in a garden off a side street in Bluffton.

Photo by @palmettooaks

Give it half an hour, or give it two. The pace is entirely yours, because the pieces carry hand-written cards with the artist's own notes, sometimes a line of philosophy, sometimes a joke about how a non-representational form turned into a rabbit the moment he welded on the last ear. Some visitors read every card. Some walk the loop and go. Nearly everything is for sale, priced on the card, and Kishel ships anywhere and takes commissions, so a small mobile can go home in a suitcase. Nobody will push you toward any of it. Admission is free and a donation is welcome, which is the arrangement you would hope for at a working artist's home. Two practical things. This is a private residence, so the entrance is easy to drive past and parking is limited to a couple of cars, and the hours are a one-man operation and have shifted more than once, so our advice is to call ahead or check palmettooaks.com the morning you plan to go. We are happy to ring for you from the front desk.

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Old Town Bluffton Inn

Amenities

High Speed Wifi
L'Occitane en Provence
Hair Dryers
Steamer/Iron Combo
Bath Robes and Slippers*
In-Room Safe
55in Standard TV
Alarm Clock with Outlets
White Noise Machine

*Upon Request

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Photo by @palmettooaks

Why Visit

This is our favorite Inn-sider recommendation, the one guests come back talking about precisely because they had never heard of it. Free to visit, open year-round, and close enough to fit into an afternoon rather than taking one.

Hundreds of original metal sculptures in one place, from tabletop pieces to installations several feet tall, every one of them made by hand by Stephen Kishel
Art you walk through rather than past, set under mature live oaks on about an acre, with mobiles turning overhead and paths that curve rather than march
The artist is usually on site and genuinely glad to talk, which turns a twenty-minute stop into the story you tell when you get home
Free to enter with donations welcome, and almost everything is for sale and priced, so you can browse, buy, or commission something and have it shipped
Small enough for children to enjoy without anyone losing patience, and quiet enough to be a real break from a busy day
Five minutes from our front door, which means you can fold it into a morning in Old Town, add a stop at Wright Family Park or Oyster Factory Park on the same short loop, and be back on foot for dinner

Message from the Harrisons

This is another example of Bluffton's eclectic style and what visitors can expect from a coastal town as funky and quirky as Bluffton. If someone is looking for run-of-the-mill, Bluffton marches to the beat of its own drum.

Vince and Danielle Harrison

Best Time To Visit

The garden is outdoors and open year-round, so the season shapes the visit rather than deciding it. Spring is the best, when light filters through new leaves and the whole place feels newly painted. Summer is hot and buggy under the oaks by mid-afternoon, so go on the early side of the opening window and bring repellent. Fall is our own favorite, with the humidity gone, the light long and gold, and the metal holding color beautifully against the oaks. Winter is quiet and clear, the canopy thins a little, and you may well have the garden and the artist entirely to yourself. Whatever the season, check current hours on palmettooaks.com or call before you set out, since this is a one-person operation and the schedule moves.

Best Light

Late afternoon, roughly the last two hours before the garden closes. The sun drops low enough to come in sideways under the oaks and light the powder-coated finishes from behind, which is when the color really goes.

Weather

Perfect from October through May. June through September is genuinely hot and humid, and the shade helps more than you would think, though the mosquitoes find it too. Take repellent in warm months. The garden is outdoors with no cover, so rain means another day.

Crowds

Rarely an issue. This is a quiet stop even in high season, and that is much of the charm. If you would like time with the artist rather than a busy afternoon, a weekday visit is the better bet.

For Photographers

Bright abstract metal against Spanish moss and dark oak trunks is an unusually good combination, and the hanging mobiles are worth a slow shutter. It is a private home, so please ask before photographing the studio or the house itself, and be considerate about publishing anything that identifies the residence.

Good to Know

Free to visit; donations appreciated. Hours have changed more than once, so call 843-263-6940 or check the artist's site the day you go; Sundays are closed. Parking is a couple of spaces on a residential lane; the entrance is easy to miss, and paths are grass and mulch rather than paved, so sensible shoes are a good idea. Most work is for sale with prices on the cards, and shipping and commissions are both available.

A Day Of Bluffton Art Excursion

Start in Our Lobby

9:00 AM

The Inn has its own small gallery of Lowcountry work by local painter Mickey Boisvert, so the day begins before you have put your shoes on. Coffee and breakfast first, and Danielle's Stroll, a hand-drawn map of town, from the front desk to find your way.

Calhoun Street

10:00 AM

Society of Bluffton Artists is the anchor, with rotating exhibits and local artists often minding the gallery themselves. Red Piano, Maye River, and Ben Ham Images are all within a few blocks. Free to walk into, every one of them.

Lunch in Old Town

12:00 PM

The Cottage for something light in the tea room, or Captain Woody's if the morning has made you hungry. Neither is more than a few minutes from the last gallery.

Drive to Palmetto Oaks

2:00 PM

Five minutes and you are in Stephen Kishel's garden, among hundreds of his metal sculptures under the oaks. Call ahead to confirm he is open. If he is out in the yard, do not rush off. The conversation is half the visit.

Back to Old Town

3:30 PM

Loop back through town to Wright Family Park for the dock and the May River, and on to the Bluffton Oyster Company at Oyster Factory Park if you want to see the working side of the Lowcountry rather than the framed one.

Dinner a Short Walk Away

5:30 PM

More than twenty restaurants within walking distance of your room. Nobody drives, nobody is the designated driver, and the day ends the way it started: on foot in Old Town.

FAQ

It is free to visit, and a donation is welcome rather than expected, which is the arrangement you would hope for at a working artist's home. Nearly everything in the garden is for sale and priced on the cards, but nobody will push you toward buying anything.

Hours have shifted more than once since this is a one-person operation, so call 843-263-6940 or check palmettooaks.com on the morning you plan to visit. Sundays are closed. We are happy to ring ahead for you from the front desk.

About a five-minute drive. It sits at 11 Palmetto Beach Lane, just off Alljoy Road, close enough to fold into an afternoon rather than build a day around.

This is a private residence, so the entrance is easy to drive past, and parking is limited to a couple of spaces on a quiet residential lane. Go slowly once you turn off Alljoy Road, and watch for the color coming through the trees.

Give it half an hour or give it two; the pace is entirely yours. The pieces carry handwritten cards with the artist's own notes, so some visitors read every one and linger, while others walk the loop and go. It folds easily into an afternoon rather than taking one.

Yes. Most of the work is for sale with prices on the cards, and artist Stephen Kishel ships anywhere and takes commissions, so a small mobile can travel home in a suitcase. If he is out in the yard, he is usually glad to talk it through with you.