Airlie Gardens
Botanical Garden · Wilmington, North Carolina
Sixty-seven acres of coastal garden on Bradley Creek east of Wilmington, laid out from 1901 around a much older landscape - the Airlie Oak on the lawn is reckoned to date from the 1540s. It holds formal gardens, freshwater lakes, salt marsh and a pergola, and in spring it disappears under azaleas. The Minnie Evans Bottle Chapel, built from coloured glass in memory of the self-taught Black artist who worked the gate here for decades, is the most affecting thing in it.
300 Airlie Road, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28403, United States
Generally 9 AM to 5 PM daily in the warmer months with reduced winter hours and some closed days; closed major holidays. Ticketed. ⚠ THE AZALEA SEASON IN LATE MARCH AND APRIL IS THE PEAK and coincides with the North Carolina Azalea Festival, when the garden is at its busiest. Enchanted Airlie, the winter light display, runs on separate evening tickets that sell out.