Busman's Holiday

I don't have as much to do as I did last year, so am spending most of my time blowing leaves..  The rest of my time involves managing the Aquarium - opening, closing, feeding, cleaning. I"m also gathering information on local butterflies and the host plants they need. And we are having an early wet winter.  It has been cold enough for long johns.

All these factors are keeping me from experiencing new adventures and leaving me with a lot of time to be bored. So I leaped at a chance to take part in a workday at Callaway Gardens, a private garden only fourteen miles away.  While there, I was recruited to come back at times of my choosing so have spent a few more days working there.  I started by helping to pick up fallen branches, then moved on to planting pansies and bulbs. I found I can take my bike and ride, or enjoy a walk while I'm there. I also found that the fee for the annual pass has jumped to seventy-nine dollars, a price out of my range.  But this way. I can volunteer for several hours and then enjoy the rest of the day there.

The Butterfly Center - were were planting in beds around it

Some of the pansies we planted - we added several kinds of bulbs behind them

A leftover bloom from a summer plant

Ornamental grasses add fall interest

The fall colors were still magnificant - until our last two storms

I was taking these pictures on the way to work

They have lots of huge American hollies

The log cabin - they have a vegetable/herb garden in front of it in raised beds 

I think these are collard greens

The garden is in raised beds, which, while not traditional, ARE the best way to grow vegetables

The next batch of pictures are from my second visit to  Callaway Gardens. I can get there two ways, so this time, I went through Roosevelt State Park on the top of Pine Mountain. I got a bit of sunrise on a mostly cloudy day. When I got there, I couldn't find anyone at the meeting place, so took a walk while waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive.

Sunrise

This was the site of today's planting - beds on either side of the walkway.

The trail just past the entrance

What a stunning place to sit and enjoy the view

I spent a lot of time watching a pileated woodpecker work this hole

The leaves were the stars here

These were backlight, making the glow

More fall color

Even the leaves underfoot were fascinating

More beauty

I came past the chapel and then found this vantage point for a great view of it

I thought this was a native plant - but can't find it in my Georgia Wildflower app

I found the skeleton of this weeping tree striking

There are lots of streams and lakes to enjoy

This is one of their Japanese maples in stunning bloom

Camellias are blooming but many are bedraggled from rain storms

On my third visit, I took a little time to visit the Butterfly Center. There were not a lot of butterflies out and it was way to hot to be wearing long Johns and a fleece shirt, so I didn't stay long. 

I'm still blowing leaves and should be blowing now, except it has been raining all day.  I'll have to work tomorrow to make it up, provided the rain stops in time.

Azalea Time at Calloway Gardens

March 27, 2018

I'm loving having an annual pass for Calloway Gardens.  It is only 14 miles away, has great bike trails through the woods and to all the gardens, and every visit is different. As usual, most of my days off were rainy or very cloudy, but on Tuesday the sun started playing peek-a-boo with the clouds and the light got pretty.  So I grabbed my camera and water and headed to Calloway, after hearing that their azaleas were reaching peak bloom.

When I reached the Garden entrance, I had to stop to take the native azaleas blooming. I think they are the yellow and flame ones, native here.  I also took shots of other ones in the woods just past the entrance, all before reaching the pay area.

Flame and yellow azaleas at the Garden entrance

Piedmont Azalea

I knew one of the areas of the park is called the Azalea Bowl.  It is adjacent to the woods and lake where the chapel is located. So I drove to the greenhouse parking lot and hiked up the bike trail to the Bowl, with many stops for pictures.

Love the delicacy of these

I loved both the color and form of these - they felt like infant blooms

I admired this spray of dogwood

Finally, about fifteen uphill minutes later, I walked through the gate to the Azalea Bowl. From there is is all down hill back to the car.

At the beginning of the Azalea Bowl

Service Viburnum was also in bloom

I took way too many portraits of sprays of Piedmont Azaleas

Closeup of yellow azaleas

As I got down to an arm of the lake, the planting got denser

These were the colors of apple blossoms

Another bloom set too pretty to pass up

I wondered why one little bud hadn't decided to bloom yet

These felt like music

The view across the lake - the bridge leads to the chapel

This bloom mimicked an amaryllis I once received for Easter  

Just aborning 

One of a patch of rain lilies who were happy for the previous two rainy days

I walked back to the car and drove around, enjoying the natural area where the azaleas are naturalized throughout the woods. Then I arrived at the area where you can rent boats or bikes.  Up the hill is the overlook gardens. The last time I was here they were pretty boring.  But today they were packed with blooming azaleas. This was the most dramatic area. 

You have to cross a stream to reach this garden

Almost every plant was in full bloom

Every few steps, I had to take more pictures

The path was up steps through tightly packed plants

One of the most densely planted areas was at the far end of this garden where you had an overlooking deck to look down on the plant growing downhill to the lake.  

Red Japanese maples added another layer of texture and color

I couldn't resist this one little flower among its siblings still in bud 

Just another view through the pines

I spent a lot time chasing these bumblebees - there was also another smaller species I couldn't catch at all

I didn't want this path to end

I stopped to admire these ripe maple seeds.  They are just starting to helicopter away

This is one of the saucer magnolias.  It was almost the last bloom on the tree

This was one of two Lady Banksia roses - the other was trained into a tree

I came home tired and happy and ready to finish up my Island Garden.

Happy Easter.

And for my birding friends, I got FOS ruby throated hummingbird here today, and we got a green heron in on March 28. I'm hearing some warbler song I can't identify and haven't located the bird (s). Spring migration is underway