Arboretum garden dedicated to Bronze Star recipient

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A new garden in the New Hanover County Arboretum was dedicated earlier today to a retired major who served in the US Army and Reserves.

The Durwood Baggett Contemplation Garden will honor all five branches of the United States armed forces. Baggett is a Bronze Star recipient and veteran of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

“We’ve gathered on this Veterans Day to celebrate the fruits of a year long effort,” Al Hight, the director said during the ceremony. “To create a unique space of solitude and reflection honoring those who chose service above self in our five military branches. And it was an easy choice to place our longtime friend and colleague Durwood Baggett’s name on this garden.”

After service, Baggett returned to North Carolina where he became the New Hanover County extension agent in 1950. Hight says Baggett laid the foundation for the county’s master gardener program and the plant clinic hotline.