“For the Love of Gardening”

Each year the Cape Fear Garden Club, Inc. presents local gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. These gardens feature the best of Southern horticulture and landscape, as well as the sweetest hospitality of Antebellum Azalea Bells that greet and frame that exceptional southern garden tour experience.

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This year the Azalea Garden Tour runs from April 11-13, 2014 and is an official event of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. Azalea Garden Tour tickets go on sale February 2014 online at: www.azaleagardentour.org

Azalea Belles Ribbon Cutting
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You won’t want to miss out on all the glory and beauty of this annual garden tour. Don’t forget your to pack your best spring hat, garden party dress, comfortable shoes, seersucker suits for the gentlemen, and your favorite lens for some of the sweetest and most beautiful photography in the south.

Hot Pink Encore Azalea #loriharrisphotography

Careful – You may just fall “IN LOVE.”

Antebellum Garden Party

Pantaloons, slip, hoop skirt, dress, gloves, curls, parasol, ribbons, bows, fan and sugar…a beautiful garden and a handsome gentleman = ingredients for an Antebellum Belle’s dream afternoon!

Lori Harris Photography

Cultural traditions have remained threaded through various events that feature Antebellum Belle “lifestyle” and “fashion.” In Wilmington, North Carolina, there are the Azalea Belles. (http://www.capefeargardenclub.org/azalea-garden-tour/azalea-belles-policies/) High School girls apply to be selected to represent and adorn Antebellum attire designed locally for the various annual events and activities surrounding the Cape Fear Garden Club’s Azalea Garden Tour and the North Carolina Azalea Festival. (http://www.ncazaleafestival.org/)

Lori Harris Photography

The tradition and history of a Garden Party goes back to the 1700’s. There is a relaxed and gentle feeling, more of an aura, to a garden party. Whether a small backyard garden or the impeccable gardens like Longwood Gardens (http://www.longwoodgardens.org/TheStoryofLongwood_1_3_2_1_1.html), Airlie Gardens (http://airliegardens.org/) or Greenfield Lake Park (Home of the Dr. Heber W. Johnson Rotary Garden – Home of the World’s Largest Rotary Wheel, https://www.facebook.com/RotaryWheel). The gardens are hostess to people longing to socialize and fellowship with others amongst the natural and engineered beauty and landscapes within.

In Wilmington, North Carolina, the Antebellum style threads through its rich and abundant historical architecture, culture and gardens.

Lori Harris Photography

These photos were all taken by Stuart Benson at the Dr. Heber W. Johnson Rotary Garden.
(Dress Designer: Alma Fennel, Drapery World, Wilmington, NC)

Cape Fear Azalea Belles

Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belles 2010. Photo by Lori Harris Photography

Every year the Cape Fear Garden Club, in Wilmington, North Carolina, hosts the Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Garden Tour, featuring the Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belles. There are over 100 junior and senior high school girls selected to represent the annual Antebellum event. The vintage dresses are designed and made locally. (http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20130218/ARTICLES/130219670)

Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belle 2010. Photo by Lori Harris Photography

The Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Garden Tour features 10-12 local homes and their spectacular gardens. (http://www.capefeargardenclub.org/) Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Wilmington, North Carolina to experience the wide array of azaleas in bloom and the historic and beach flavors of the area. For a full week, the City of Wilmington is host to these individuals who enjoy the NC Azalea Festival and all its associated events, activities and nostalgia. (http://www.ncazaleafestival.org/) There are garden parties, parades, queens and her court, The Citadels, bands, teas, and so much more of the Southern Charm this event offers to its local citizens and visitors.

Airlie Garden Azalea. Photo by Lori Harris Photography

Spring in the South is quite stunning and memorable. Good manners, warm air, beautiful blooms, fine cuisines and just down home quality of life. A Southern Girl’s dream!