Airlie Gardens and the Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden Bottle House in Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC.
Airlie Gardens is over 65 acres of Southern gardens with 10 acres of freshwater lakes. Features include azaleas, camellias, statuary, estuarine shoreline, and the Historic Airlie Oak. This once privately owned garden was purchased for the public by New Hanover County in January, 1999. After celebrating more than a century of gardens by the sea, Airlie continues to amaze visitors with its breathtaking combination of formal gardens, wildlife, historic structures, walking trails, sculptures, views of Bradley Creek, lakes, and the grandeur of the 462-year-old Airlie Oak. The Airlie Gardens Bottle House was created by a local artist, Virginia Wright-Frierson in 2004. It is officially named the "Minnie Evans Sculpture Garden Bottle House" after an artist/gatekeeper that worked at Airlie for many years. This bottle house is also referred to as the "chapel." Frierson used bottles of all shapes and sizes as well as cement and chicken wire in its creation. There are references to Minnie Evans work in the designs of faces, butterflies and Buddhas. At the center of the house is a tree sculpture complete with birds and nests...Caption information from www. airliegardens.org ..© Logan Mock-Bunting.NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED OR USED WITHOUT PERMISSION..Contact LOGAN MOCK-BUNTING.logan@scott-free.com.(910) 262-4771
