The New Hanover County Extension Service Arboretum in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a seven-acre public garden and plant collection associated with the county extension service. Open daily without charge, it formally opened in 1989 and has continued to develop over time. Its grounds contain thirty-three gardens, including aquatic, children's, herb, Japanese, and rose gardens, and it is said to hold more than four thousand varieties of native and naturalized plants. An important part of its early collection came from gifts by North Carolina State University horticulturist J. C. Raulston, helping establish a landscape that serves both as a display garden and a horticultural resource.