Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...
.
History
It was created in 1886 as a private garden for the Pembroke Jones family by Mrs. Jones. The name 'Airlie' was derived from the Jones' family home in Scotland. It was designed as a lush, flowing, naturalistic Southern garden, with thousands of
azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus '' Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oct ...
s,
camellia
''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controve ...
s,
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
s,
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
s, and
wisteria
''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae), that includes ten species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and north ...
. German landscape architect Rudolf Topel, transformed the garden to a picturesque garden. In 1999, it was purchased by New Hanover County.
In 2018, more than 300 trees were felled due to
Hurricane Florence
Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third h ...
.
Airlie Gardens is a participating member of the
American Horticultural Society
The American Horticultural Society (AHS) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization that promotes excellence in American horticulture. It is headquartered at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia.
History
Established in 1922, the AHS is one of ...
and offers reciprocal admission for other gardens, arboreta, and conservatories.
African-American folk artist Minnie Evans was the Airlie Gardens admissions gatekeeper for a number of years. In 1954, Evans created an oil on wood painting titled ''Airlie Oak'', which is on display at the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...
.
Airlie Oak
Airlie Oak is a 500-year-old southern live oak (''
Quercus virginiana
''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old Sou ...
'') located on the grounds of Airlie Gardens. In 1967, Airlie Oak was registered as member number 238 in the
Live Oak Society
The Live Oak Society is a membership organization for mature live oak trees. It was founded in 1934 to advance the culture, distribution, preservation, and appreciation of the southern live oak (''Quercus virginiana'') and functions under the aus ...
. In 2007, Airlie Oak was tall, had a trunk circumference exceeding and a crown spread of when measured by North Carolina Forest Service employees. At that time, it was designated the largest live oak in North Carolina.
Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery
Located on the grounds of the gardens are the
Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery
Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery, also known as Lebanon Chapel, is a historic Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal chapel and cemetery located on the grounds of Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington, New Hanover County, ...
. The chapel, constructed by Thomas H. Wright around 1835, is the oldest surviving church structure in New Hanover County and part of the parish of St. James Church.
Gallery
File:Airlie Oak.jpg, Airlie Oak
File:Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery 01.jpg, Mount Lebanon Chapel
File:Statue at Airlie Gardens.jpg, Statue
File:Bottle House at Airlie Gardens.jpg, Bottle Chapel
File:Pond at Airlie Gardens.jpg, Pond
File:Boat Scene at Enchanted Airlie.JPG, Christmas scene