Farrell: Bluffton residents mourn loss of Fripp-Lowden garden in candlelight vigil

If your bucket list includes "attend a candlelight vigil for some flowers," you might have missed your one and only chance to do so Friday night in Old Town Bluffton.

Me? I have a pencil in my hand and am about to cross off some words.

As the sun set and the mosquitoes arrived for their night shift, a group of about 15 -- including two out-of-town visitors -- gathered outside the Fripp-Lowden House at the corner of Bridge and Calhoun streets to mourn the loss of the property's garden, which was cleared out two weeks ago by the historic home's new owner.

A man ... from Charlotte.

You know what they say, out with the old and in with the newcomer who now gets to clean up some stray bits of candle wax and an accidentally burned magnolia bloom that vigil attendees left in the spot where the old trellis used to be.

The sight of the now-bald property -- which used to be romantic, shaggy and wild in that way Old Town can be romantic, shaggy and wild -- was shocking.

Once laden with greenery, the 106-year-old house looked exposed and naked and like any other home waiting for the sod truck to arrive.

If houses had eyes, this one's would almost certainly bear the nervous, beseeching look of an old friend who made the mistake of going to a new hairdresser. "Do you like it? Did she take off too much? You'd tell me, right?"

The act seemed to bear the marks of a lack of reverence to and an ignorance to the home's history. More than that, though, it appeared to be an affront to the community, even though this is private property; even though Stephen Thomas, the new owner, broke no ordinance and filed all the right paperwork with the Town of Bluffton.

Even though he's allowed to make this his home now.

Just as Cindy Mix began to read from a prepared speech Friday night, the strains of "Stand By Me" rang out from just up the street, where Savannah Edwards and Chris Broome of Beauty and the Beard were performing at Old Town Dispensary. It was a reminder of how much change Calhoun Street has seen over the past 10 years.

This is not just about Old Bluffton vs. New Bluffton, though. It's not just about development and losing the town's eccentricity, though these elements do factor in. They have to. There's no way around it.

The candlelight vigil was about moving forward and asking the town to recognize the importance of historic gardens in the future. A petition was passed around asking council members to consider the idea.

"The explanation we are hearing is that (the garden) will be replaced on a timeline and be better than it was. We do not accept that line of thinking," Mix read. "'Historical' is preserved, not bulldozed and replaced. If that thinking is applied going forward, we will lose the heart and soul of Bluffton and all that we hold dear."

Laura Floyd, a longtime Bluffton resident, was out of town when the garden was cleared. A friend took her on a drive-by after picking her up from the airport and surprised her with the sight.

"It was like an ax to the heart," Floyd said.

Before there were big-box stores, before there were nurseries, Bluffton residents relied on each other for variety in their gardens. They traded clippings, and whenever somebody got something new, people knew about it. Where we might see a bush or a flower, longtime Bluffton residents see a tribute to the person whose yard the plant originally came from. To them it's not a question of "if gardens could talk" because theirs do. They carry the voices of those long gone.

"We shared from each other's yards," Floyd said. "It brings love into your garden."

Miss Sallie, whose husband Alfred built the home in 1909, produced a new variety of camellias that became among the most well-known and widely shared. Several homes in the area have their own camellia bushes created from a splice they took from her garden.

Sallie and Alfred's daughter, Imogene Lowden, and her husband, Ollie, moved into the home after Alfred died. Miss Imogene was also known for her gardening skills.

Donna Huffman, president of Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, told me Saturday that Thomas' landscaper came to her restaurant, Bluffton BBQ at the Calhoun Street Promenade, to talk to her before the camellias were torn up.

"He was distraught," she said. "He did everything he could."

The camellias had been improperly trimmed, he told her. He knew the significance of them -- as did the homeowner -- and he saved what he could.

Thomas plans to create a new camellia garden on the property using Miss Sallie's variety, said Town Councilman Ted Huffman.

"Hey look," he said about people's frustrations. "I get it, but it's a slippery slope."

The slippery slope he refers to is whether the town should consider plants and flowers when approving changes to a "contributing structure," which is what Fripp-Lowden House is considered to be.

On Friday night, the group was led in prayer by Nathaniel Pringle, who asked that we "protect what God gave us."

Then it came time for a song, but it was unclear who was to sing.

Frank Gadson was chosen.

"What do you want me to sing? I don't know ... " he said.

"'Amazing Grace,'" someone called out.

"OK. I'll just sing a little of it."

Follow columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell at twitter.com/elizfarrell and facebook.com/elizfarrell.

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This story was originally published June 13, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Farrell: Bluffton residents mourn loss of Fripp-Lowden garden in candlelight vigil."