Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Elizabethan Gardens will release 70 butterflies as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday, September 27 at 1:30 p.m. at the Great Lawn. The event will be free with regular garden admission. Details and ticket information may be found at elizabethangardens.org/tribute-queen-elizabeth-ii/.

“Queen Elizabeth II recognized the historical significance of Roanoke Island in 1984 on the 400^th anniversary of the arrival of English explorers,” stated a press release from The Elizabethan Gardens. “Princess Anne represented the Queen and traveled to North Carolina to join the celebration, reflecting the Queen’s interest in the exploration and colonization of the Island.”

Princess Anne was interested in the design as well as the history of the Gardens. “She had a meeting with the head Gardener and asked him to send her seeds for some of the plants in the Garden,” explained the Gardens’ executive director Theresa Armendarez. “Later, when the Gardens established a Rose Garden, the Gardens received the gift of a Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora Rose from Her Majesty which has thrived in our formal walled garden.”

Last year, the Gardens celebrated its 70^th anniversary, paralleling the celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 70^th year on the throne. “We were pleased to have with us members of the North Carolina chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire who planted an oak at the Great Lawn in honor of the Queen’s reign,” said the Gardens’ board president Linda Davenport. “With this special tribute, we join all those in our country and beyond who celebrate her inspiration and achievements over 70 years as Queen.”

For more information on happenings at The Elizabethan Gardens, call 252-473-3234 or visit elizabethangardens.org.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS HERE.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COASTLAND TIMES TODAY!