By Robert L. Haught

It's sad to lose a favorite plant. One Christmas a few years ago I bought a small Norfolk Island Pine. After the holidays I took off the red ribbon and it became a house plant. I nurtured it as best I knew how - keeping it watered, giving it light, not moving it where it didn't want to go. Despite my pampering, after a while it began to die, branch by branch. I cut it back and saved it, but only for a few months. Returning from a trip I found the scraggly little survivor had given it up for good.
 

Plants can be replaced. But when a community loses a favorite garden, the impact is more far-reaching. Citizens of the area around Wilmington, N.C. lost a beautiful and historic attraction when the Orton Plantation property was sold and closed to the public indefinitely while extensive renovations are being done.
 

Orton Plantation was founded in 1725 by Roger Moore, who came to the region with other influential settlers. He established a rice plantation which became one of the most famous on the lower Cape Fear River and built a brick home which still stands among the stately oaks. In 1840 a later owner, Dr. Frederick Hill, added a second story and Doric columns. The house was used by Union forces as a hospital during the Civil War. When James Sprunt and his wife Luola acquired the property in 1904, they added wings to the house and began the development of a flower garden.

From their modest beginning, expanded through efforts of successive heirs, grew a wonderland of flowers and trees spread over about 20 acres. The grounds, with a pond and the river's proximity, attracted a diverse array of birds and wildlife and many species of waterfowl. The wide variety of flowering plants made Orton a popular attaction in all seasons. An annual Fall Camellia Show drew visitors from miles around.
 

Orton's historic white mansion and the extraordinary landscape attracted the attention of movie producers Frank Capra, Jr., and Dino DeLaurentis in the early 1980's and their filming of "Firestarter" based on a Steven King novel marked the beginning of what became a thriving movie industry for Wilmington and the Cape Fear Coast.

Although the Orton House remained a private home, the gardens were open to the public for self-guided tours from March 1 to December for a modest admission. The Orton Plantation has thrived under three generations of the Sprunt family. News of the sale of around 5,000 acres of the 13,000-acre plantation by the Lawrence Sprunt family in May 2010 stunned the local citizenry. It helped to lessen the pain that the purchaser, billionaire Louis Moore Bacon, is a direct descendant of Roger Moore, the original owner.

Bacon, who was born in Raleigh, N.C., is a successful hedge fund trader operating in New York and London. A dedicated conservationist and philanthropist, Bacon plans to carry out sweeping renewal plans for both the house and grounds but will maintain the character of the property. Because of Bacon's lineage and his support of environmental efforts, the Sprunt family believes Orton will be in good hands and perhaps the gardens may reopen sometime in the future after the necessary work is finished.

An air of sadness hung over Orton on the final weekend before closing, but a note of cheer was added by a happy couple getting married in Luola's Chapel, named for James Sprunt's wife. Blue skies and sunshine brightened the flowers and provided a perfect setting for the wedding, ensuring the bridal party will have wonderful memories of this special place, as will all who have visited Orton Plantation over the years.

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