Camellias at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, NC

I spent a wonderful morning at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina earlier this week. I’m in Wilmington for the Garden Show. I got here a few days early to do a little photography and to escape the snow in the DC area.

Airlie Gardens is a wonderful place to visit. The gardens were established in the early 1900s by Sarah Jones, wife of Pembroke Jones, a wealthy industrialist in the Wilmington area. Eventually, part of the estate was sold to Hanover County and is currently operated as public garden.

One of the features of Airlie Gardens is their collection of camellias. The original plants were purchased from Fruitlands Nursery of Augusta Georgia shortly after the turn of the century. By the 1920’s, there were as many as 5000 specimans of camellias on the property. At one time, they had one of each known cultivator of camellia growing on the property.

Camellias are native to eastern and southern Asia. They are named after the Jesuit Priest and botanist George Kamel. The Japanese Camellias (camellia japonica) which are found at Airlie Gardens were first described by Engelbert Kaempfer during a trip to Japan. In the traditional language of flowers camellias symbolize excellence and steadfastness.

I photographed many camellias on my visit to Airlie Gardens. They were absolutely wonderful to see. They were a bit challenging to photograph since I visited on a windy day – sustained winds of 25 mph with heavier gusts. I hope you enjoy my camellia photos from Airlie Gardens.

A white camellia with hints of yellow is some of the petals

A small pink camellia

Another white camellia

And finally a couple of photographs of a bright pink camellia