Airlie Gardens

Airlie Gardens is a 67-acre (27 ha) public garden in Wilmington, North Carolina.

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.[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

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]

Mount Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery

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.

  • Airlie Oak
  • Mount Lebanon Chapel
  • Statue
  • Bottle Chapel
  • Pond
  • Christmas scene

See also
  • List of botanical gardens in the United States

References
  1. "The Story of Airlie Gardens in Wilmington". Our State Magazine. 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  2. "Airlie Flower Gardens in North Carolina". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
  3. Setzler, Heather (April 14, 2010). "Airlie Gardens fights possibility of being sold". wect.com. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  4. Staff, Hunter Ingram StarNews. "After post-Florence cleanup, Airlie Gardens to reopen Nov. 1". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  5. "2019 RAP Gardens | American Horticultural Society". www.ahsgardening.org. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  6. McGill, Douglas C. (1987-12-19). "Minnie Evans, 95, Folk Painter Noted For Visionary Work". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  7. "Airlie Oak". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  8. "Live Oak Society (Registrations beginning in 1934, 1 to 500)" (PDF). Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  9. Hotz, Amy (June 13, 2009). "Airlie Oak has watched over Wilmington for 500 years". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  10. Turberg, Edward F. (July 10, 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form|Mt. Lebanon Chapel and Cemetery" (PDF). nc.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-16.


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