Voices of Inspiration
Voices of Inspiration is a travel podcast that goes beyond the guidebook. Hosted by Amelia Old, each episode centers on the people who give a destination its soul—travelers with transformative stories, locals who call these places home, tourism professionals shaping how we experience them, and others whose work or lives are deeply connected to a place.
Through candid conversations, Amelia uncovers the moments, challenges, and personal histories that reveal what a destination is truly like. These aren't surface-level travel tips—they're stories about identity, belonging, resilience, and discovery. The kind that help you understand not just what a place is, but why it matters to the people who know it best.
At its core, this podcast is about connection: how travel brings us face-to-face with perspectives we might never encounter otherwise, and how every destination becomes richer once you've heard the voices behind it.
Voices of Inspiration
Swan Lake Iris Gardens: A Fairytale Escape in Sumter, South Carolina
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Some places feel like a hidden escape—and Swan Lake Iris Gardens is exactly that. I had the chance to walk through this beautiful spot in Sumter, South Carolina, with Chrissy Milan and Colette Daniels, learning how a simple fishing retreat turned into one of the most unique gardens in the country.
We talk about the unexpected story behind the famous Japanese irises, what makes this park so special—from all eight swan species to its peaceful, storybook feel—and how the community has come together to shape and protect it over the years. It’s a conversation about nature, history, and finding moments of calm in the middle of everyday life.
Episode Highlights
[00:38] - I arrive at Swan Lake Iris Gardens and meet Chrissy and Colette
[01:15] - The origin story of Swan Lake and how the irises unexpectedly thrived
[02:25] - How the gardens evolved from a private retreat into a public park
[03:33] - What makes Swan Lake unique, including all eight swan species
[04:14] - Reflecting on the 2015 flood and the community’s resilience
[05:41] - How the gardens create a peaceful escape and shape Sumter’s identity
[07:10] - The natural beauty and outdoor experiences that draw visitors in
[08:13] - Personal moments that make working at Swan Lake so special
[11:28] - A look ahead at the Iris Festival and upcoming events
[15:16] - Where to plan your visit and explore more
Links & Resources
- Love Sumter: https://lovesumter.com
- Iris Festival: https://irisfestival.org
Follow Amelia
Instagram: @AmeliaOldOfficial
Website: https://AmeliaOld.com
If this inspired you to explore somewhere new—or even rediscover what’s in your own backyard—be sure to follow, rate, share, and leave a review.
Everyone has a story to tell. We connect and relate to one another when we share our stories. My name is Amelia Old and I am your host of Voices of Inspiration. Join me as I share stories of friends, family and strangers in my everyday life and travels. We will laugh, possibly cry or walk away, feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
Speaker 2Welcome to Voices of Inspiration. I'm your host, amelia Old, and today we are at Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, south Carolina, and we're here with Chrissy Milan and Colette Daniels. Thank you both for being with me today. Thank you for having us. I'm so excited to hear a little bit more about the history here and to take some time to walk around too and see the beauty here.
Speaker 3Well, we're glad you came and I'm really excited for you to be able to see everything. Thank, you.
Speaker 2So let's just start off. Can you provide a brief overview of the history of Swan Lake?
Speaker 4Swan Lake was started in 1927 by a local businessman, hamilton Carbland. He was actually Sumter's first automobile dealer and he had purchased this property, which was on the very edge of town and was a swamp across the street, from a disused mill pond and he started developing it as a private pond. He just wanted something for himself and his fishing buddies, and while that was going on, he was at the same time working on a Japanese iris garden at his home. Well, the Japanese irises did nothing, they just refused to perform at all. So he had them dug up and brought here to throw them away. It just happened that he had them thrown out at the edge of the water, and the moisture level, combined with the acidity that comes from the tannic acid in the water, from the cypress trees everything just made it a perfect climate for Japanese irises. They really took off and he decided that he would just go with it, and so today we have Swan Lake Iris Gardens with about 120 species of Japanese iris.
Speaker 2Wow, what a cool story. So how has the garden's purpose evolved since its inception?
Speaker 4Well, as I said, it started out as a private pond, a retreat. It was only open to the public a few days a year. In the late 20s, early 30s, he started bringing in the swans, and the first ones that came in were the royal mute swans from Britain, the great big white ones that everybody's familiar with, and then the Australian black swans. Over the years that started to grow and he started to collect more and more different types of birds. At the same time there was another local businessman AT Heath who owned the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in town. He purchased the old mill pond and deeded it to the city of Sumter in 1938 on the condition that it be a public park. He wanted, mr Blanche, to help with the landscape design and to expand the collection of birds, flowers, trees, all sorts of things, and so it became kind of a community treasure.
Speaker 2Wow, that's really neat. What makes the gardens other than the swans and the irises? What do you both think makes the gardens unique compared to other gardens? There's lots of gardens all over right, so what do you think makes it super special?
Speaker 4Well, one thing I'd like to mention is that we are the only public park in the United States that is home to all eight of the known swan species. I mentioned that the first ones came over in the late 20s, early 30s. In the late 20s, early 30s, in 1997, there was a Japanese corporation in town that donated a matched pair of Bewick swans, which completed our collection. So it took about 50 years, but now we have all of the swan species in the world. Wow.
Speaker 3We're also a level two arboretum and there's only three in South Carolina, so it's us and Darla Moore Business School and Brook Greens.
Speaker 2Gardens. Are there any milestones here that stand out to you both personally, since you've been working here?
Swan Lake Irish Gardens
Speaker 3Well, I started back in 2019, but one big milestone that we've talked about a lot within Sumter is during the 2015 flood. A lot when we walking you'll see the recovery sculpture. And that recovery sculpture half of it was underwater, which, when we see it, you'll see that it stands way above us. So it was quite the astonishing amount of water and that, to me, is a huge milestone because of the way the park and the community came together to rebuild and refocus on Swan Lake and opening it back up as quickly as we could for the community, same with 2020 of making sure everything was safe and being able to open up the park after quarantine for our community.
Speaker 2What happens to the swans in a situation like that?
Speaker 3Well, when it's a much more dire situation, such as the 2015 flood, that's when park staff will step in and make sure that they're cared for, that they're taken to a very safe place. However, in things like storms, hurricanes, things like that, that kind of happen fairly regularly here in. South Carolina. The swans are very well equipped for it. They all have a very safe nest. They all have very safe homes. If the winds do get real high, the park staff is very trained to handle those situations.
Speaker 2How do the gardens contribute to Sumter's identity?
Speaker 3Sumter's identity. One of the things that plays into Sumter's identity, for me at least, is the uniqueness of a small town feel in a big city setting. And Swan Lake Irish Gardens really plays into that, because when you walk into the gardens you are just completely encapsulated by this hidden gem within a big city. You lose all sense of traffic and the hectic nature of city life, of life just in general, and you're able to take in the calm, the tranquility of nature and just enjoy yourself and take a step back and calm down and it's really nice.
Speaker 2That's a nice little getaway from the hectic daily life. Yes, how do the gardens attract visitors and what can a visitor expect during their experience?
Speaker 3here. Well, like Colette said, we are the only public park in the country with all eight species of swans, plus being a level two arboretum. That really helps draw people in. And also it's all the things of Sumter together that make it unique the boutiques, the mom and pop shops, the small businesses, things like that that really help people come in and enjoy day trips, weekend trips, things like that.
Speaker 4I think a lot of our attraction has to do with Mother Nature. We have some very beautiful areas here and more and more people want to get out and enjoy that. We really saw a huge uptick in that after the quarantine ended, that people were ready to get out to parks and in addition to Swan Lake we have Poinsett State Park, woods Bay State Park, 26 other city parks. There's a lot to do outdoors. Here we are on the South Carolina Palmetto Trail, so there is just a lot here in Sumter and also our location Geographically. We are smack in the middle of the state. There's a lot of history here, so many things and all of those things kind of come together at Swan Lake.
Speaker 2Is there a particular moment for each of you that really stands out, that just really makes you love working here and spending your days here?
Speaker 4Wow, I've been here for a long time.
Speaker 3For me.
Speaker 3I came from a background of retail management and pharmaceuticals and a lot of hectic, fast-paced, high-energy 50-, 60-hour work weeks.
Speaker 3So for me the really I don't know head-hitting moment, the moment of clarity I guess for me was being able to one take a 15-minute break, which was just great. But I was able to take a break and walk out my office into a park. That was calm and happy, which seems like a very strange adjective for a park, but the people in it, after dealing with retail customers for so long, the people are happy to be here and they're happy to see all the different things and how unique the park is. It has talking tree trails and it's got a park with a 1927 fire truck in it that was used by the city. And so to have the uniqueness of being able to enjoy your job which I feel is just a very individualized feeling anymore, of being able to just walk out your office into a park and enjoy yourself, is just such a monumental thing and walking through a fairy tale yeah, it's very disney-esque, especially in spring when everything's blooming.
Speaker 3It's very like all the the petals are flowing through the air you've got sw. It's very much a surreal moment of oh, I work here, that's nice.
Speaker 4I think my ultimate moment here and I've been here for more than 20 years, so there have been quite a few I grew up in Sumter and Swan Lake was in my backyard, so I think, along with a lot of people my age, we tended to take it for granted, and when the Visitor Center opened in 2002 and the tourism staff moved out here, we started to really be able to see firsthand the delight that visitors take in the park and how really unique and special this is. But I think the moment that brought that home to me more than anything else was we were in the path of totality during the 2017 eclipse and we had about 3,000 people in the park.
Speaker 4Now the park is only 150 acres and a lot of that is water, so you can about imagine the crowds, and to be part of that moment was really special. But then one of the visitors, as she was leaving, turned to all of us who were greeting people and sending them on their way afterwards and she said I don't think I've ever been to anywhere where people are so kind, and that is something that just kind of encapsulates the feeling that you have here what Chrissy was saying about having that moment to pause and be away from everything it makes people nicer, and that was just a really cool thing to be a part of.
Speaker 2That does sound special and it gave me goosebumps. I get those a lot. Are there any upcoming events or developments that you're particularly excited about?
Speaker 3Oh yeah, we actually have the Irish Festival coming up. It's Memorial Day weekend every year. It's one of the longest running festivals in South Carolina. We have over a hundred different vendors food vendors, arts and crafts artists. We have people here painting on site. Um, we've got free games, free rides for kids, um, an old school carousel, petting zoo, axe throwing, human bowling some of the best food, oh, my goodness. Um, I think I was telling someone earlier how I look forward.
Speaker 3Like 363 days a year I sit there and I wait for some of these food vendors, because once a year I just get to sit there and gorge myself on some of the best food. And we kick it off that thursday night with, uh, taste of the gardens. And it's also a free event. You know it's free to get into both of these events. But, um, it's, there's a dj, there's food vendors from all across Sumter and it's like this year's theme is Hawaiian luau, and so we have the Charleston Polynesian Dancers. They do a lot of different dances. They're coming up, they're doing an example of Hawaiian luau. We've got the fire department coming out. They're roasting a whole pig on a spic and it's just exciting.
Speaker 3We have a lot of events. Sumter to me. I always equate it to Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls, because it's very community oriented and there's about two, three events a month anymore. It's very exciting to live here. It's very involved to live here, and to me the Irish Festival is almost like the pinnacle because it's the only three-day festival and it's we usually get about 30 to 40 thousand people a year. Oh, wow.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 4And another thing during the Irish Festival it is the only time that we put a boat on Swan Lake. In addition to the pig, the fire department also provides a pontoon boat and there are free rides across Swan Lake, through the water and you can see the irises from the pond itself and be out among the birds, and that's just something that even the locals get excited about, among the birds.
Speaker 2And that's just something that even the locals get excited about. So how?
Speaker 3does Swan Lake collaborate with others in the community? Well, we usually only have the Iris Festival as the only event within the park and that's a lot of. It's to do with protecting the birds, the arboretum level, all that good stuff. But with the tourism office being here, we do help promote a lot of different community events. We're actually part of the state's Front Porch program. We're a certified Front Porch visitor center, so we get a lot of the state pamphlets and informationals that we can get out to the community and we have a lot of. We have a lot of diversity and inclusion and that is something that's just very important to a lot of people and our community and our community sees it and it's really great.
Speaker 2What role does uh volunteerism play in the upkeep of swan Well?
Speaker 3we have the Master Gardeners and Friends of Swan Lake. They help maintain different sections of the park with a variety of gardens. So we'll go out and we'll see the Chocolate Garden, the Butterfly Garden, the Sensory Garden and they help with maintaining not only the upkeep but the variety within the gardens.
Speaker 2And if someone wanted to visit here or find you online, how could they find you?
Speaker 3Lovesumtercom is a great resource. It shows Swan Lake, but it also shows everything going on in Sumter in general. So you can also go to irisfestivalorg and check out the Iris Festival and everything going on with the gardens that weekend as well.
Speaker 2And I have one more question for each of you, and I ask everyone this Do you have a favorite quote or any words of wisdom that you would like to leave behind?
Speaker 3Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one just remembers to turn on the light.
Speaker 2I love that one. Thank you both so much for taking time to to chat with me and welcome me here today. I'm so excited to spend some time here and walk around and and return for the festival. Yes, definitely Thank you for coming. Thank you so much. Thank you.
