COLUMBIA, S.C. - Adorned with white magnolias, red poinsettias and green palmetto fronds, the historic Gov.'s Mansion and Lace House prepared to celebrate their 150th Christmas holiday.

The greenery gracing the two buildings is native to South Carolina. Much of it comes from mansion grounds. Other pieces come from the gardens of the volunteers who decorated the homes this week.

Anna Blythe, a member of the Charleston Garden Club, created a natural display accented with gold candles on top of a piano in the Lace House. She used magnolias, palmetto fronds, Spanish moss, hydrangea and pomegranates from the yard of her own Charleston home, as well as her son's and daughter's yards.

The Charleston Garden Club decorated the 1854 Lace House, which recently has undergone interior renovations and is available for rent. Work also has wrapped up on mold removal at the Lace House and the mansion. Similar work soon will be complete on another building in the mansion complex, the Caldwell-Boylston House, said first lady Jenny Sanford.

Volunteers decorated the Lace House with touches of the Lowcountry - sand dollars, sweet grass, moss. Splashes of red from roses, poinsettias and ribbons brighten the Civil War-era home.

Across the brick pathway, the Gov.'s Mansion was decorated with greens and whites. The Columbia Garden Club used magnolias, boxwood, ivy and orchids throughout the 1855 home. Hanging from the branches of a large pine downstairs are ornaments of Palmetto trees, sand dollars, and paintings of beach scenes - each the unique creation of a South Carolina artist.

"We just consider ourselves so blessed to have these beautiful homes," Sanford said. The holiday decorations give people "a reason to want to come and tour them, to see them all dressed up."

The front hall of the mansion also will feature sugar sculptures by mansion chef Andy Marchant. He still was working on the pieces Wednesday, including a Santa sitting near presents and green trees and an angel standing in front of gold windows. The pieces - which look like stained glass - are made from boiled sugar and food coloring, cut into molds and take hours to complete.

Christmas trees displayed in the mansion and the Lace House were donated by the South Carolina Tree Growers Association. The poinsettias at the Lace House were donated by the Future Farmers of America.

The first lady and Gov. Mark Sanford will hold a holiday open house of the two buildings free of charge to the public from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. The mansion will be open for tours by appointment through the holidays.

---

On the Web: www.scgovernor.com