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.