American Gardens for Seamon Whiteside

Have you visited the new American Gardens in the heart of downtown Charleston yet? If you haven’t, I highly recommend it. Check out their website for upcoming events, and plan your visit accordingly: https://americangardenschs.com/

American Gardens was created as a living reflection of Charleston’s role in shaping the American story. Honoring the city’s past and embracing its evolving spirit, the gardens offer an urban retreat where all are welcome. Here, residents and visitors can pause, gather, and connect in a space designed to celebrate shared humanity.

American Gardens is a 1-acre, publicly accessible park, adjacent to the Gibbs Museum, that opened in November 2025. It completely transforming a former asphalt parking lot into a curated green space. Developed by Ben Navarro’s Beemok Hospitality Collection, it is designed as a community gathering space honoring the American Dream, featuring fountains, live oaks, colorful perennials, and beautiful magnolias.

I had the pleasure of photographing the gardens for the engineering team of Seamon Whiteside, using a Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 24-120 f4, and DJI Mavic 3 Pro.

Seamon Whiteside Projects in Mt. Pleasant

I had to dodge a couple rain showers. But in between the drops of “liquid sunshine”, I had beautiful skies and gorgeous light for photographing several new projects for Seamon Whiteside!

I started out at the new Carolina Park Recreation Complex with their pickleball, baseball, soccer, and other sports fields. I then made my way over to the Lucy Beckham High School where SW had expanded and remodeled their baseball field. Next was the new Legacy Patriots Point Apartments, which is already 30% sold out! What a great location, with stunning views of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Finally I zipped out to Isle of Palms to photograph the pool area and surrounding landscaping at the Sweetgrass Inn at Wild Dunes Resort.

Many thanks to Lia for organizing and coordinating with the various locations to ensure access. Seamon Whiteside truly does an amazing job on all the assignments they tackle. It’s an honor to be able to photograph these projects for their portfolio!