A Mother's Day tradition: a walk in the azalea garden

2016 Walk (screenshot of Google Photos page)

Every year, I only have one request for Mother's Day. That my family accompany me to the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden, where we pose for family photos. It's a nice way to mark the passage of time and, of course, it's a gorgeous way to spend a Sunday afternoon. (We were lucky this year that the rain stopped in time for our walk!) The azalea garden boasts 20,000 plantings.

Last year the flowers were more spectacular since we hadn't had weeks of rain. But I got to be with my family and with thousands of flowering plants. What could be better?

Screenshot of 2015 Walk

(You can click on the pictures above to see them in a larger format.)

(N)ever-blooming azalea

Just not that impressed with the "ever-blooming" azaleas I had planted a couple of years ago. They didn't bloom this spring or this summer. But they did manage to start blooming a couple of days ago, on the edge of winter.

Since they are front and center in my front yard, I may move them next spring and put in more prominent bloomers (that the deer won't eat!).