Spring Wildflowers and Native Plants

A recent trip to North Georgia and North Carolina was an opportunity to photograph native azaleas, rhododendrons and wildflowers.  Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens in Hiawassee is located at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on the shore of Lake Chatuge.  There you will find over 400 varieties of rhododendron.  Fred Hamilton, Sears Roebuck executive and Atlanta resident, started the garden in his back yard, but after years of growth, he realized he could no longer take care of all the plants.  So the plants were transplanted to their current location.  For directions and more information:  http://www.georgiamountainfairgrounds.com/rhododendronfestival.php

Robbinsville, NC, is the location of the Blue Boar Inn on Lake Santeetlah and a great place for a weekend retreat.  Nearby is the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, one of the largest contiguous tracts of old growth forest in the Eastern United States, the area is administered by the U. S. Forest Service.  The forest is abundant with wildflowers in the spring and this year they were spectacular!