The Charleston Tea Garden has finished its fall harvest, and Wadmalaw's autumn is only getting started. From mid-October to the Saturday before Thanksgiving, nearly every gathering on the island takes place on land that produces something: a vineyard, a farm off Leadenwah Drive, and a tea field. The food comes with the event, because Wadmalaw does not have many places to eat. This year that pattern reaches a new point on November 21, when the Tea Garden holds its first Autumn on the Island and brings the island's farmers and makers together at one market.
The harvest ends, the gates stay open
The Charleston Tea Garden says its fall harvest ends around the end of September or the start of October. The camellia plants bloom at about the same time, and the garden stays open all year. So the rows at 6617 Maybank Highway are flowering in mid-October, just as the island's event season begins.
The garden is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. It closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The factory tour is free and leaves every 15 minutes. The garden's tour page puts the trolley ride through the fields at 35 to 40 minutes, while its booking listing says 45 minutes and shows prices from $9.50 to $18. That makes it an easy outing on a weekday afternoon, or with houseguests who want to see the place everyone in Charleston has heard of.
The weekends are where the season actually happens.
Five dates between now and Thanksgiving
| Date | Where | What | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Deep Water Vineyard, 6775 Bears Bluff Road | Weekend Wine-Down with Jeff Caldwell playing and Lib's Diner serving | Not listed |
| Sunday, Oct. 25, 2–5 p.m. | Sheldon Farms, 2245 Leadenwah Drive | Opera on the Half Shell oyster roast for Charleston Opera Theater | $75 general, $30 under 16 |
| Saturday, Nov. 7, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. | Deep Water Vineyard | Meadival Festival | $10 parking per car, $15 tastings |
| Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Charleston Tea Garden | First Autumn on the Island | Free |
| Thursday, Nov. 26 | Charleston Tea Garden | Closed for Thanksgiving | — |
The October 17 Wine-Down is one of many. Deep Water Vineyard says its Saturday gatherings run all year, which makes the vineyard a standing weekend fixture between the special events. Its big summer event has already passed. Count on 2 previewed the 22nd annual Grape Stomp Festival in mid-August, with the same 9:30-to-5:30 hours at the Bears Bluff Road property. Meadival is the vineyard's fall counterpart. The events page lists mead tastings, live music, food trucks, vendors, games and inflatable jousting.
Lunch comes with the ticket
There is a practical reason each of these events brings its own food. Deep Water's visitor FAQ says the island has few restaurant options. It suggests Hum Grocery near Rockville for sandwiches and notes that Saturday visits to the vineyard include a food truck.
The rest of the fall calendar follows the same logic. Opera on the Half Shell on October 25 includes oysters, drinks and a buffet in the ticket price. It is a fundraiser for Charleston Opera Theater, held on a working property, Sheldon Farms, off Leadenwah Drive. The Wine-Down pairs live music with Lib's Diner. Meadival brings in food trucks. On an island with few restaurants, the event is often the meal, and the host is usually a farm, a vineyard or a tea field.
Autumn on the Island brings that arrangement to one property on a single Saturday.
November 21: the island's producers in one place
The Tea Garden's own page calls it "our first Autumn on the Island event." Admission is free, and the garden asks guests to RSVP through its booking page. The event page describes a Community Market of "local farmers, artist, craftsmen, and more" running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The vendor list reads like a directory of the island's rural economy, with the Charleston area's makers mixed in:
- Ambrose Family Farm, the Wadmalaw produce farm whose stand keeps year-round hours
- Pluff Mudd Farms, leading hands-on indigo dyeing of cotton bandanas and tea towels
- Black Water Acres, a sustainable Lowcountry farm
- The Goatery | Magnolias & Moss
- L.E.A.R.N. Horse Rescue, the Livestock & Equine Awareness & Rescue Network
- Conservancy of the Sea Islands
- Bread of Life SC, a Lowcountry sourdough baker
- Casera Botanicals, Pour the Tea candles in vintage teacups, Ruby & Co. by Meredith Shoger jewelry, Southern Oaks agricultural skincare, and Loaves and Dishes table styling
- This Little Piggy barbecue, Short "N" Sweet lemonades and teas, Wholly Cow Ice Cream, and Cookie Pics
The schedule turns the day into two shifts, which is useful for anyone planning around the 4-H shows:
- 10 a.m. The market opens, the first indigo session with Pluff Mudd Farms begins, and chickens check in.
- 11 a.m. The 4-H chicken show starts and rabbits check in.
- Noon The rabbit show starts and the morning indigo session ends.
- 1 to 3 p.m. The second indigo session runs.
- 4 p.m. The market closes.
The garden says the shows will bring 4-H members from across South Carolina to compete with their chickens and rabbits, with prizes sponsored by Tractor Supply and the Charleston Tea Garden. The morning half of the day leans toward livestock. The afternoon offers a second chance at indigo for anyone who missed the first session. The market falls on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the Tea Garden itself closes on Thanksgiving Day, five days later.
The weekdays in between
At least one Tea Garden vendor sells on the island the rest of the season. The Ambrose Family Farm stand at 2349 Black Pond Lane lists year-round hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Another section of the same site lists 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and says the stand closes when it rains, so it pays to check before a late-afternoon drive. The farm's fall crop rundown covers the last of the grapes, melons and peppers, along with pumpkins, winter squash, salad greens, and roots and greens coming back into season.
Some longtime fixtures have moved off the island. Rosebank Farms announced in 2024 that its farmstand had moved to the entrance of Kiawah River on Betsy Kerrison Parkway on Johns Island. The announcement does not list current hours.
For anyone whose fall weekends start on the water, the Cherry Point Boat Landing at 2741 Cherry Point Road provides access to Bohicket Creek for boating and fishing, with a courtesy dock and fishing access.
If your search includes acreage, an equestrian property, or a home near the island's working farms, Georgia Nettles can walk you through Wadmalaw's working landscape in person. Schedule a private consultation with Georgia.
