Azaleas, camellias, and roses. Oh my!
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Music by Jason Shaw at AudionautiX
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Featured image courtesy of Airlie Gardens
Transcript:
Hey there, Garden Lovers,
Today is March 1, and this is A Garden a Day with Mædunbroc Gardens. Thank you for being here.
We’re starting a new month of beautiful gardens, and I want to thank all of you out there for listening for joining us and sticking with us. Today is our sixtieth episode, and I really do appreciate your support.
If you have been listening, but you haven’t yet clicked the subscribe button, I ask that you take that next step. I really do hate to ask this, but it helps you know when another episode is ready, and it also helps us in the show rankings which helps others find the podcast, too.
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I’ve been amazed at the far reach that this podcast has and so incredibly overwhelmed and humbled at the support we’ve been getting. Thank you so much.
Today, we are exploring a garden in one of my favorite cities of all time. Today, we are visiting Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina.
This quintessential Southern garden is home to romantic ancient live oaks draped with lacy Spanish moss, genteel magnolias, wisteria, roses, azaleas, and camellias.
Spanning sixty-seven acres with ten acres of freshwater lakes, Airlie Gardens began as a private garden for Pembroke and Sarah Jones in 1886. Pembroke Jones purchased the property two years earlier in 1884 and named the estate after his ancestral home in Scotland.
The gardens were the design and dream of Sarah Jones who led the efforts and began collecting azaleas and camellias. Today, the garden is home to about 4,000 camellias and more than 75,000 azaleas. Wow!
Add to those the 60,000 spring bulbs planted every year, and you have a stunning spring garden. Peak bloom usually occurs toward the end of March or beginning of April. We’re getting close!
Sarah Jones added the lakes between 1901 and 1902 and added a lakeside pergola in 1904.
The manicured grounds and the beautiful lakes make for a birdwatchers paradise. More than 200 different bird species have been spotted in the garden.
The garden hosts monthly birding hikes through the garden and is a member of the North Carolina Birding Trail.
The lakeside pergola is not only a nice spot to enjoy the view. It’s also a popular spot for weddings.
Another great spot for a wedding is Lebanon Chapel located within the garden. The chapel was built in 1835 and is the oldest surviving church structure in New Hanover County.
Sarah Jones was known for hosting lavish garden parties, and in 1931, she decided to open the garden to the public.
After her death, the property was sold to the Corbett family in 1948. The Corbett’s added more azaleas to the garden and began hosting the ‘Queen’s Luncheon’ garden party for North Carolina’s Azalea Festival in the same year.
The Azalea Festival this year runs from April 2nd to the 6th.
In 1999, New Hanover County purchased the garden, and today, the county’s Park and Gardens Department manages the property.
Airlie Gardens is home to a North Carolina Champion tree — a live oak believed to have seeded from an acorn in 1545. The tree measures at least 128 feet tall with a trunk circumference greater than twenty-one feet.
Airlie Gardens was once home to many more trees. Hurricane Florence destroyed 300 trees in 2018.
Other highlights of the garden include a permanent butterfly house opened in 2010 that houses only native butterflies, a 150 foot rose trellis, and a bottle chapel — a unique art work made with glass bottles set in cement surrounded by a mosaic base.
The garden includes dozens of permanent art pieces including statues, sculptures, and water features.
Airlie Gardens is a social hub hosting a summer concert series, an annual oyster roast, guided tours, and art shows throughout the year.
The garden has been seen in several films and television series including Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill. and speaking of One Tree Hill, this year’s Queen Azalea for North Carolina’s Azalea Festival is none other than Hayley James Scott herself — Bethany Joy Lenz.
Airlie Gardens is located in USDA Zone 8A and is a participating member of the American Horticultural Society.
The garden is open from 9:00 to 5:00 every day of the week. The garden is usually closed on Mondays in January and February and closed on Thanksgiving Day and for the Christmas holiday from December 23 to 26.
That’s about it for today. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this episode. Join me here tomorrow to find out where we are going next.
As a reminder, I release a new episode every single day. You can find past episodes anywhere you listen to podcasts or you can find them at our website — agardenaday.com.
Thanks for listening. If all goes well, I’ll be right back here tomorrow. See you then!
To learn more about Airlie Gardens, check out these links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airlie_Gardens
https://visitwilmingtonnc.com/airlie-gardens/
https://www.nctripping.com/airlie-gardens-wilmington-nc/
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L452423
https://web.eenorthcarolina.org/net/org/info.aspx?s=44039.0.0.37430
https://thehorticult.com/inside-camellia-belt-visit-airlie-gardens-wilmington-north-carolina/
https://littleislandtakara.com/airlie-gardens/
https://tripomatic.com/en/poi/airlie-gardens-poi:19072
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