About Elizabethan Gardens:

Elizabethan Gardens At A Glance

• Website: www.elizabethangardens.org
• Address: 1411 National Park Drive Roanoke Island 27954 Click for map
• Phone: (252) 473-3234
• Latitude: 35.935356
• Longitude: -75.708750
• Hours: Dec. - Feb. 10am - 4 pm, daily; Mar. 9am-5 pm, daily; Apr. - May 9am-6pm, daily
• Payment:
  
• Entry Fee: Adult, $8; Youth (Ages 6-17), $5; Children 5 and under are free.
• Age Requirements: Something for everyone.
• Season: Open Year-round.
• Handicap Accessible? Yes
• Helpful Hints: Dress appropriately for the weather. Bug spray recommended.

The Elizabethan Gardens hosts numerous special programs and events throughout the year, including historical celebrations, theater and musical performances, family events and educational workshops.

History, mystery and fantasy are combined in these special gardens, which are a memorial to the first English colonists who came to North America in 1584-1587 and “walked away through the dark forest into history” as memorialized in Paul Green’s symphonic drama, “The Lost Colony”. For here and nowhere else, Sir Walter Raleigh made initial attempts to colonize the New World under Queen Elizabeth I. Truly this hallowed site is the birthplace of America.

The Elizabethan Gardens, located on this same site which the colonists first landed, is full of history and beauty in this tranquil setting on the shores of Roanoke Island. Founded and supported by the Garden Club of North Carolina, Inc. and featured in many landscape books and calendars, The Elizabethan Gardens is one of the finest examples of gardens of this period. Truly, it stands out as the crown jewel of Roanoke Island.

Each season brings a fresh and exciting array of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Masses of blooming azaleas, dogwoods, rhododendrons, herbs and bulbs can be experienced in the spring. Sweet scented roses, magnolias, crape myrtle, hydrangeas and bedding plants bring stunning color to the summer garden. Annuals, impatiens and chrysanthemums are abundant in the autumn and spectacular camellias and daphne bloom in late fall and winter. Also enjoy exquisite antique statuary, the world’s largest bronze likeness of HRH Queen Elizabeth I and period buildings.

Garden highlights include:

  * The thatched roof, 16th century-style gazebo that overlooks Roanoke Sound
  * A marble statue of Virginia Dare carved in Italy by Maria Louisa Lander
  * The ancient live oak thought to be more than 400 years old
  * The Sunken Garden with an antique Italian fountain as its central focal point
  * The Shakespearean Herb Garden
  * The Queen’s Rose Garden featuring pierced brick walls and The Queen Elizabeth Rose which was given to The Elizabethan Gardens by Queen Elizabeth II
  * The world’s largest bronze statue of HRH Queen Elizabeth I

Must Dos:

Third Wednesday Guided Tour

Third Wednesday Guided Tours Free with paid admission, call ahead at 252-473-3234 to get a spot on the tour. When is the last time you visited The Elizabethan Gardens? If you haven’t experienced The Gardens before, you are in for a treat! Every third Wednesday of the month at 1:30 p.m., we offer a free guided tour with regular paid admission. Come learn about our 16th century Italian Renaissance statuary, get an inside peek at our nursery and greenhouse areas, and ask our experts all of your gardening questions! Each season brings a fresh and exciting array of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. No matter when you visit The Gardens, there is always something new to explore. Guided Tours are also available by appointment only to groups of 20 or more and are free with the groups’ paid admission. Please contact us at 252-473-3234. Free with paid admission

Third Wednesday Guided Tour

Wednesday, March 17th. Third Wednesday Guided Tours Free with paid admission, call ahead at 252-473-3234 to get a spot on the tour. When is the last time you visited The Elizabethan Gardens? If you haven’t experienced The Gardens before, you are in for a treat! Every third Wednesday of the month at 1:30 p.m., we offer a free guided tour with regular paid admission. Come learn about our 16th century Italian Renaissance statuary, get an inside peek at our nursery and greenhouse areas, and ask our experts all of your gardening questions! Each season brings a fresh and exciting array of flowering plants, shrubs and trees. No matter when you visit The Gardens, there is always something new to explore. Guided Tours are also available by appointment only to groups of 20 or more and are free with the groups’ paid admission. Please contact us at 252-473-3234. More Info...

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