Features

Tour J’adore: Spring welcomes the 55th annual Azalea Garden Tour

04/09/08 @ 01:48:35 pm by archivesadmin

By: Emily Rea

In the abundantly rich ecosystem of the Port City—with its thriving rivers and streams, waterways and beaches—inhabitants of this coastal community are delighted every year when spring rolls around, bringing with it a plethora of flourishing plant life against the sparkling backdrop of surrounding waters. It’s an equation that allows for a brilliant and breathtaking Azalea Garden Tour year in and year out, sponsored by the Cape Fear Garden Club.

The tour is one of the oldest and most popular garden tours in the South, once featured in the Carolina Living section of Southern Living. Eleven gardens were chosen for this year’s tour, encompassing the theme “Gardens From the River to the Sea.”

The official kickoff to the tour begins at 10am on Friday the 11th with the Ribbon-cutting Ceremony and Azalea Queen’s Garden Party at the Governor Dudley Mansion, overlooking the Cape Fear River in historic downtown. The mansion was built in 1825 for North Carolina’s first elected governor, Edward B. Dudley, and makes for a resplendent first stop on the tour. Festival guests and celebrities will be on hand to witness the ribbon-cutting, and visitors will be treated to hundreds of homemade cookies and punch served by members of the Cape Fear Garden Club following the ceremony.

A variety of beautiful locations and lush gardens are in store for the remaining 10 sites, dispersed throughout Wilmington like seeds in the wind. Downtown gardens play host to such historic city gardens as the Biblical garden of the First Presbyterian Church, which features a crape myrtle planted by Woodrow Wilson’s mother. The Forest Hills area is alive with the glory of the festival’s names-sake, the azalea, and the Landfall area’s exquisite displays are an annual must-see.

“In addition,” Cindy Godwin, publicity chair, says, “all types of home architecture—from federal to low country—make the tour an adventure to remember. The lovely Azalea Belles greet visitors in each of the gardens during the tour.”

This year’s tour runs April 11th-13th, and as a special bonus, tickets include admission to the uncomparable Airlie Gardens on Saturday, April 12th. Tickets may be purchased through the Cape Fear Garden Club’s Web site at www.azaleagardentour.org. The cost is $20, good for all three days, and group discounts and guided tours are available.

Tickets include a map for a self-guided tour with descriptions of each garden—open 10am-6pm daily—and free bus service to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Tickets are also available at the Azalea Festival Ticket Office, located at 5725 Oleander Drive; Belk; Sterling House; Prima Day Spa and local garden centers.

Proceeds of the tour benefit beautification and horticulture grants in New Hanover County, support scholarships at UNCW and Cape Fear Community College, and finance conservation efforts at National Audubon Society bird sanctuary Battery Island.