NORTH CHARLESTON — At a warehouse at the Navy Yard, a 2,500-pound crate was recently pried open to reveal a trove of colorful hand-dipped cast iron and aged French oak wood — components that will become the rarest garden planters in the world.

Also inside were handcrafted hinges and gleaming brass vanity plates — the signature elements of the square-shaped “Château de Versailles” planters first crafted by French heritage brand Jardins du Roi Soleil more than 350 years ago.

They're the same materials for the planters that exclusively adorn the Orangerie gardens at the Palace of Versailles — and were personally requested by foreign royalty for castles, palaces and the world’s most exclusive landscapes.

Now, for the first time, Jardins du Roi Soleil planters bound for U.S. customers will b

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