Airlie Gardens | |
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Type | sculpture park |
Location | 300 Airlie Rd, Wilmington, NC 28403 |
Coordinates | 34°12′54.36″N 77°49′40.44″W / 34.2151000°N 77.8279000°W |
Area | 67-acre (27 ha) |
Website | https://airliegardens.org/ |
Airlie Gardens is a 67-acre (27 ha) public garden in Wilmington, North Carolina.
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. [1] It was designed as a lush, flowing, naturalistic Southern garden, with thousands of azaleas, camellias, magnolias, palms, and wisteria. German landscape architect Rudolf Topel, transformed the garden to a picturesque garden. [2] In 1999, it was purchased by New Hanover County. [3]
In 2018, more than 300 trees were felled due to Hurricane Florence. [4]
Airlie Gardens is a participating member of the American Horticultural Society and offers reciprocal admission for other gardens, arboreta, and conservatories. [5]
African-American folk artist Minnie Evans was the Airlie Gardens admissions gatekeeper for a number of years. [6] In 1954, Evans created an oil on wood painting titled Airlie Oak, which is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. [7]
Airlie Oak is a 500-year-old southern live oak ( Quercus virginiana) located on the grounds of Airlie Gardens. In 1967, Airlie Oak was registered as member number 238 in the Live Oak Society. [8] In 2007, Airlie Oak was 128 feet (39 m) tall, had a trunk circumference exceeding 21 feet (6.4 m) and a crown spread of 104 feet (32 m) when measured by North Carolina Forest Service employees. At that time, it was designated the largest live oak in North Carolina. [9]
Located on the grounds of the gardens are the Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery. [10] 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.