| Airlie Gardens | |
|---|---|
 Arches in Airlie Gardens near Gabriel's Landing | |
  Airlie Gardens | |
| 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.
