FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH

For a century, the Cape Fear Garden Club has worked diligently to meet its primary objective to beautify the City of Wilmington and vicinity. Twelve ladies, who were members of the Tuesday Book Club, decided on January 11, 1925, to organize a garden club, a movement which started in Athens, Georgia, in 1891. The next month, they held their first meeting in St. James Episcopal Church Parish House and subsequently adopted the name, Cape Fear Garden Club. The Club has led, sponsored, and funded numerous conservation, education, environmental and preservation projects. Almost every public area in the city has been touched by their endeavors. They were one of thirty-six organizers of the North Carolina Azalea Festival in 1948 and began the highly successful Azalea Garden Tour in 1953. Grants from profits of the Garden Tour are given annually to local non-profit organizations. In 1996, the Club became the first private group in North Carolina to adopt one of the National Audubon Society’s coastal island sanctuaries – Battery Island in the Cape Fear River. They began a successful campaign in 2011, to have the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly designated as North Carolina’s state butterfly. On February 11, 2025, the Cape Fear Garden Club celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
As one of the oldest and largest garden clubs in North Carolina, the Cape Fear Garden Club has made a remarkable impact on the Cape Fear area.