The Elizabethan Gardens, Roanoke Island

On our last full day in the Outer Banks, we visited The Elizabethan Gardens, located at Ft. Raleigh on Roanoke Island. The play, The Lost Colony, is also performed here in the National Park, but the performances did not begin until the week after we were there. There is a lot of history that took place in this area as it was settled by the English during the 1500's. The first English speaking person born in what became the United States, was born here on this island.

The gardens had a lovely gift shop where you purchased your tickets. They also had plants for sale just outside the gift shop. We had no room in the car for anything else, so I didn't even look at the plants!

Jim took the photo below, as his reach was higher....hmmm, might make a good photo for an anniversary card!

There were a couple of formal areas at the gardens such as this one.

The formal garden below was especially pretty!

I shared with you that my friend, Doreen's favorite part of the coastal areas are the marshes. If I had to choose my favorite, it would be the wind shaped trees. Farther south, the trees would be draped in Spanish Moss, but it is probably too cold here for the moss during the winter.

The tree below is about 430 years old!

There was a huge statue of Queen Elizabeth I, for whom the gardens are named.

The oak leaf hydrangeas and Rhododendron were in bloom.

Jim snapped a photo of me on the Power Shot (below). It was a very pleasant day and we enjoyed our visit. It was not a huge garden, but it was certainly worth the price of admission.

We are in a heat wave, here in Atlanta, so these shady, cool photos bring back pleasant memories. Last year, we had a severe heat spell in Atlanta, but three weeks of it, I was up in the Rockies surrounded by snow. My daughter and her husband had planned on leaving for the Rockies on Memorial Day, but that trip had to be cancelled due to her condition. It seems that two of the areas to which they were headed, Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone have areas that are impassable due to the late snows.

Hope you enjoyed this visit to this lovely garden!