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Garden 2

McClain Garden

Built in 1884, this clapboard home boasts a front porch lined with podocarpus hedge. Feathery Japanese maples accent the corners of the home, with cherry trees and sable palms enhancing its design. A wrapped veranda on the side of the house is paralleled by a row of dogwoods and an under-story of ferns. Old crape myrtles with their exfoliating trunks lend their shade and add to the natural beauty of the property. Overlooking the grass lawn and children’s play area, a gazebo offers inviting outdoor seating. Whimsical touches to the garden show the owners’ creativity and offer an interesting adventure for visitors.

Garden 3

Durham Garden

Twined with jasmine and framed by pruned pittosporum and yaupon hedges, the front porch of this 1897 residence offers a grand welcome. Boxwoods line the entrance path; large crape myrtles, Encore azaleas and a birdbath grace the front corner garden. A bordered stone path leads to the shaded back garden filled with Daphne odora, Japanese maples, ferns, gardenias, fatsia, and azaleas. Note the distinctive potting shed wrapped in jasmine and the peaceful outdoor dining area.  Sheared arborvitae provides vertical accents to this jewel of a garden in the Historic District.

Garden 4

The Biblical Garden

First Presbyterian Church

Visitors enter this memorial garden through a Gate House designed to reflect the Gothic architecture of the historic church.  Created as an Eagle Scout project, the middle of the garden is planted in the form of a Jerusalem cross with a crape myrtle planted by Woodrow Wilson’s mother at the center. Within the cross and the surrounding area are many plants mentioned in the Bible, along with their scriptural references.  Among the numerous plantings are mint, ivy, myrtle, palm, crown of thorns, grape vine, pomegranate and tamarisk. A tiered fountain and sitting areas complete the serenity of the garden.  The church’s detailed information sheet is available at the entrance.

Garden 5

Carter Garden

Impressive dogwoods and ancient oaks with spreading arms welcome visitors as they approach this stately home.  In the back, Formosa and Encore azaleas frame an expansive view of the golf course. Colorful beds of annuals add to the overall graciousness of this southern garden.  Yoshino cherry trees and a rim of pittosporum surround the large patio and create an enticing outdoor living space. Note the wisteria trained as a standard and the appealing pergola covered with roses and grapes.

Garden 6

Eason Garden

A garden adventure awaits visitors at this distinguished home in Forest Hills. Mature camellias and Formosa azaleas provide a colorful backdrop for this lovely terraced estate. The first tier of the garden boasts a Koi pond and a water lily pond, surrounded with hostas and aspidistra. The middle terrace provides the perfect spot for a graceful three-tiered fountain, as well as an inviting outdoor fireplace and sitting area. The lower level hosts beautiful old crape myrtles and oaks. New discoveries wait to delight visitors around every corner, all reflections of the owners’ love of gardening. 

Garden 7

Whitehurst Garden

This garden, owned by an artist and master gardener, is truly a masterpiece. Knock-Out roses, combined with boxwood, pittosporum, camellias and holly, greet the visitor. The rear of the house is bordered by Indian Hawthorne and punctuated by large gardenias. Encore azaleas provide color to the garden from spring until fall. The joy of this property is the many whimsical touches created by the artist, such as a painted wheelbarrow, birdhouses and hanging door arrangements.   Look for family headstones incorporated into the garden along the pathway next to the guesthouse.

Garden 8

Blacher Garden

Large Yoshino cherry and lacy crape myrtle trees are featured in the garden of this attractive Low country home. Beds of azaleas provide a profusion of springtime color.  The delightful back patio is decorated with interesting pots filled with a medley of plants. Created with a miniature Japanese maple at its center, a pondless waterfall is surrounded by prolific plantings. The sound of the water feature is music to the ear and relaxation for the body. Yews and azaleas adorn a private stone patio for the perfect finish to this tranquil Landfall garden.

Garden 9                                                    

Salter Garden      

Magnificent oaks greet visitors to this French Chateau-style home built on the grounds of “The Bungalow,” Pembroke Jones’s elegant hunting lodge. Established dogwoods and Japanese maples add to the welcoming allure. A hidden treasure awaits in an alcove by the kitchen window: a charming fountain surrounded by aspidistra and holly ferns. An enticing patio on the right side of the house steps down to a large stone terrace and sweeping vistas of the Intracoastal Waterway.  The lawn is banked with color from Formosa azaleas, hydrangeas, roses, crape myrtles, and camellias. The historic coquina terracing from the Jones’s era is creatively preserved and integrated into this distinctive garden.

Garden 10

The Temple Gardens

Designed by Jefferson Memorial architect John Russell Pope, the Temple of Love was once a focal point for notables who came to hunt with Pope’s father-in-law, Pembroke Jones. An example of a formal English garden, the space includes beautiful parterre areas filled with roses and guarded at the four corners with sheared hollies. Informal sweeps of azaleas, loropetalum, aspidistra, abelia, fatsia and variegated ligustrum are punctuated with sheared yaupon hedges.  Dogwood and cherry trees provide canopies of color to this beautiful garden.

Garden 11

Holding Garden

Boxwood hedge mimics the graceful curve of the front entry and balcony of this elegant Charleston style home.   A large Yoshino cherry flows over the brick wall and sheared hollies accent the steps. Visitors are guided to the lovely side gardens through restful greens of holly ferns, camellias and gardenias. The panoramic view of the Intracoastal Waterway is gracefully framed with ferns, roses, azaleas and daylilies.  Jasmine-laced porch balustrades complete this exquisite springtime picture.

Garden 12

Airlie Gardens

SATURDAY ADMISSION ONLY with ticket

Filled with over 100,000 azaleas, statuary, and camellias, this magnificent 67-acre quintessential southern garden includes the 460-year-old Airlie Oak and ten acres of fresh water lakes. This historic garden offers a valuable cultural and ecological component to the area and has delighted visitors for over 100 years.  Originally developed as a private estate under the ownership of Sarah Green Jones, the gardens have been owned and operated by New Hanover County since 1999.