Garden Elegance

Cultivating mother nature to create outdoor spaces that range from natural and native to rigorously ordered and neatly defined.

Garden Elegance is one of Charleston’s premier garden design, installation, and maintenance companies. We offer a full range of services from professionally drawn designs and installation, to experienced and fully supervised maintenance for residential gardens. We are experts at incorporating annuals and perennials into our gardens to provide year-round color, texture, and beauty.

• about us

  For over ten years, Garden Elegance, LLC has been operating under the tutelage of its owner, Kelly Megeath. With early roots in Virginia, Kelly has blossomed Garden Elegance into one of Charleston’s leading gardening companies. Garden Elegance has an office-based team of three designers and support staff, with over fifteen field employees who look after the hands-on construction, planting, and maintenance. Each garden is assigned a team that will gain personal and professional knowledge of its needs and maintenance requirements.

  We are dedicated to providing engaged, personalized service to all our clients. Our crews work to the highest standards in all of our gardens. We work with the industries top nurseries and suppliers to ensure that every plant and flower is the best quality. We pride ourselves on our strong horticultural background, our attention to detail, and our steadfast relationship with clients.

  No occupation is as delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the Garden

  -Thomas Jefferson

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• meet the gardeners

  Kelly Megeath

  Kelly is the owner of Garden Elegance. Born and raised on a Virginia farm, Kelly has always been keenly interested in the natural world. Mentors in her childhood, agricultural community nurtured her love of growing things. She went on to study ornamental horticulture at Virginia Tech. After graduating, Kelly’s career quickly flourished as she worked on large plantations around the area, including privately owned Oak Hill Farm, once James Monroe’s presidential estate. Kelly had the unique opportunity to work on yeast manufacturer, Charles L. Fleischmann’s organically run garden.

  In 2001, Kelly moved to Charleston and established Garden Elegance. Her business has been thriving ever since. Kelly credits the success of her company to a strong horticultural background, a high attention to detail, and a steadfast relationship with clients. She is always excited to have the opportunity to help her clients build healthy, sustainable, and beautiful gardens. Kelly insists, “A successful garden requires careful supervision and proper plant care techniques.”

  

• meet the gardeners

  Ailsa Poplin

  Ailsa, Garden Manager, joined Garden Elegance in 2009. Starting as a crew leader, Ailsa has developed, and now helps to manage crews and gardens to oversee scheduling, and to organize installations.

  Ailsa comes from a fine arts background with a BFA from Winthrop University. Her love of the outdoors and gardening then drew her to North Carolina State University from which she received her Masters of Landscape Architecture and became LEED certified.

  It is through her positive and professional attitude that Ailsa has become an important part of the Garden Elegance team. Her dedication and excitement for learning new things are what help to promote a strong and growing company.

  

• meet the gardeners

  David Dozier

  David, Garden Manager, has been with Garden Elegance since 2009. A Georgia native, he majored in Landscape Architecture with an emphasis on horticulture at The University of Georgia. David received UGA’s College of Environment and Design award for his thesis study on Loutrel Briggs, featured in Jim Cothran’s Charleston Gardens and the Landscape Legacy of Loutrel Briggs. David fostered and strengthened his gardening skills by apprenticing with Ryan Gainey and Brooks Garcia in Atlanta, Georgia.

  Today, David is a full-time Charleston resident and enjoys living downtown where he can take advantage of everything the Holy City has to offer. David is excited to be a part of the Garden Elegance team.