Vacationers love basking in the South Carolina sun almost as much as our gardens. This June, the aptly named Greenwood celebrates flowers, gardens and all things green with the month-long South Carolina Festival of Flowers.

The festival kicked off with a “Topiary Safari” and wine tasting, but the fun is just beginning. The weeks ahead are full of concerts, tours and special events.

On June 25-26, there will be free tours of some spectacular gardens in private homes. If you’re like me and find yourself peeping through the cracks in your neighbors’ fences to get a glimpse of their backyard wonderlands, you won’t want to miss this chance to tour the gardens as an invited guest! It’s a great way to get ideas and inspiration for your own private oasis.

Celebrate edible gardening with a Farm to Fork dinner at the family-owned Wyatt Farms. The meal will feature food from local farmers, and entertainment will be provided by The Vespers, a “Southern Folk Pop Family Band.” Tickets to the dinner on June 17 are $50 per person and include wine, hors d’oeuvres and dinner.

There also are a number of events sure to please music lovers. On Saturday, June 18, head to the Benjamin Mays Historic Site for an evening of Blues for the whole family with Drink Small, “The Blues Doctor.” Then, on June 25, there will be a free concert featuring J.D. Crowe and The New South, Don Rigsby and Midnight Call, and Volume Five. Greenwood’s Live After 5 series will also present a “Rock n’ Roll Cruise-In” with Elvis Impersonator Damon Hendrix on June 18.

Finally, June 25 is Flower Day at Park Seed Company. If you’ve never visited this mecca of all things flora, this is a great day to do so. The mail-order gardening company has been in business since 1868 and on Flower Day they will be offering tours of their 9-acre trial garden, where you can see more than 2,000 varieties of flowers at their peak bloom.

Click here for more information on the South Carolina Festival of Flowers and a full schedule of events.