King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation
Our gardens are living expressions of Black resilience, where heirloom seeds, ancestral knowledge, and community care come together. Through seed saving, storytelling, art, and sustainable food practices, we’re cultivating a future rooted in history.
Summer Kitchen Garden at the King Tisdell Cottage and the Legacy Garden at the Beach institute
Horace Pippin Pepper
Roselle
Hibiscus sabdariffa
From Garden to Table
We are teaching the community to prepare traditional meals using produce from the garden, guided by our own Gullah Chef, Gina Capers Willis.
From Garden to Table
Teaching the community to grow their own food using sustainable methods.
Okra
Okra made its way to the US through the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, often braided into their hair, as a way to preserve their traditions.
Lablab Beans
It is believed these beans made their way to the US via the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The leaves can be eaten like spinach, and the beans can be prepared similarly to the way we prepare Kidney Beans. Kenyans traditionally use Lablab as a means to encourage lactation, so it is a popular food among breastfeeding mothers.
We love our garden volunteers!
🤝 Get Involved
Whether you’re a master gardener or just starting out, there’s a place for you here:
- 🧤 Volunteer days (tools provided!)
- 📚 Join a class or tour
- 💸 Donate to keep this growing
Progress
We plant crops with deep roots in Gullah Geechee traditions: okra, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, collards, and corn. This educational garden teaches visitors how enslaved Africans and their descendants sustained generations with skill, science, and stewardship.
Why does this matter?
“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
We’re building a future where everyone can grow their own food, understand the land, and reclaim cultural knowledge that colonization tried to erase. Our gardens support:
- Food security
- Youth education
- Community empowerment
- Climate resilience
- Cultural memory
Legacy in Bloom
Exhibit of art celebrating the Cultural Heritage and foodways of the African Diaspora.
Seed Swaps
We celebrated National Seed Swap Day by sharing seeds with our community, which we collected from our own gardens!
