Muskogee Azalea Festival begins but blooms running slow

Muskogee Azalea Festival
Muskogee, Oklahoma

The 2014 Muskogee Azalea Festival is underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The annual festival begins on April 1 of each year.

The severe winter, however, is likely to have an impact on the blooms this year. Record-breaking cold and ice in Oklahoma over the winter has stunted the azaleas and slowed the blooming season. Officials with the Muskogee Parks Department report that the buds are just beginning to show and the blooms are running well behind this year.

There are still plenty of reasons to go!  Honor Heights Park is beautiful every spring, even more so with the recent addition of its new Butterfly Papilion & Gardens. Parks officials indicate that the tulips will be especially beautiful this year. Other plants and trees will be in bloom as well and the azaleas will be later this month.

The main day of this year's Azalea Festival will be April 12. The annual parade will step off at 11 a.m. in downtown Muskogee, followed by a day of events at Honor Heights Park.

For more information on the 2014 Muskogee Azalea Festival, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Muskogee Azalea Festival is officially underway!

Muskogee Azalea Festival

The 2012 edition of the annual Muskogee Azalea Festival, one of the finest events of its kind in the nation, is now underway in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The festival runs from today, April 1st, through April 30th and will feature numerous events including a parade, chili cook-off, Rotary in the Park and more. The festival centers around Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, which is known for its tens of thousands of flowering azaleas, dogwoods, redbuds and other plants. Other events take place around the city.

Muskogee Azalea Festival

Members of the Friends of Honor Heights Park report that the early spring brought out the azaleas much earlier than normal this year and that they could be gone by the main weekend of the festival in two weeks. So, if you want to see the azaleas, you need to get to Muskogee in a hurry!  That doesn't mean, of course, that there won't be plenty of blooms to see from other trees and shrubs as the month goes along, but the azaleas themselves definitely are early.

The main day of the festival is set for April 14th. The day will begin with the Muskogee Run at 8 a.m. followed by the 2012 Azalea Festival Parade through downtown Muskogee at 11 a.m. The Chili Cook-off kicks off at noon at Okmulgee and 4th Streets and will continue until 5 p.m. Tens of thousands of people, of course, will make their way up the hill to Honor Heights Park to enjoy the activities and sights there.

Honor Heights Park is open to the public daily and the festival is free to visit.  To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Azaleas are early in Muskogee, Oklahoma!

Muskogee Azalea Festival

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival is one of the finest events of its kind in the world. It runs from April 1st - April 30th, but this year the blooms have arrived early!

According to the Friends of Honor Heights Park, the azaleas are now in bloom and my well be gone by the time of the annual Azalea Festival Parade on April 14th!

Carriage in Honor Heights Park

The warm spring and lack of a late freeze has the thousands of blooming plants, trees and shrubs at Honor Heights Park out early and now through the weekend of April 7th & 8th is probably going to be the best time to go and see them. That according to a statement provided today by those who help care for the park.

Predicting the timing of the blooms always involves a bit of watch and wait, but they normally come out in the first week of April and peak in the second or third. This year, however, the flowers are all coming in early and so if you hope to see them, you should make plans to go immediately!

For more information on this year's festival, please visit: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Muskogee Azalea Festival Big Weekend is Here

The coming weekend (April 10th and 11th) will be the main weekend for this year's edition of the famed Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

The warm weather is bringing the blooms out and they should be out nicely by the weekend, so if you are planning to visit the festival this year, the time is here! Because of the cold winter, the gardners are not sure how long the azaleas will stay in bloom, but they should be quite pretty by this weekend and will stay that way for at least the coming week.

The Muskogee Azalea Festival is one of the finest free spring events in the South, possibly even the nation. Last year it attracted around 150,000 people. While many think of wind sweeping down the plain when they think of Oklahoma, the eastern part of the state is really quite Southern. Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, for example, offers some of the most beautiful azalea and dogwood gardens in the South.

The main day of the festival this year will be Saturday, April 10th, and will include a parade and a variety of other activities. Honor Heights Park will be alive with activity all day, including carriage rides, food, activities for children and, of course, the beautiful flowers.

To learn more and see a full schedule of event, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Schedule for 2010 Muskogee Azalea Festival now available

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is one of the premier Spring events in the South.

When many Americans think of Oklahoma, they think of "wind sweeping down the plain." What many do not realize, however, is that the eastern part of the state is a beautiful region of mountains, lakes, forests and farms. Very much a part of the South, it is an area with historic sites that range from Civil War battlefields to historic forts and even plantations.

In fact, one of the finest annual displays of azaleas, dogwoods and other flowering plants in the South can be found each April at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee. A free event that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, the Muskogee Azalea Festival focuses on the scenic beauty, culture and history of the unique Oklahoma city.

The main day of this year's festival will be April 10th. That's the day of the parade and many other major events, although the festival continues daily for the entire month of April.

More specific information, including a link to a complete schedule of events for this year's Muskogee Azalea Festival, is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea.

Historic Southern Gardens Approach Blooming Season!

Some of the most beautiful and historic gardens in the South will be moving into full bloom over the next 4-5 weeks. Depending on the location, azaleas, dogwoods and a wide variety of other blooming plants provide explosions of color beginning in mid-March and continuing until nearly the end of April.

Here are links to some of my favorites:

Muskogee Azalea Festival - Muskogee, Oklahoma

One of the premier spring events in the South, the annual Muskogee Azalea Festival attracts thousands of visitors each year. Although they have been hampered by winter ice storms that have damaged trees and shrubs for two years in a row now, the hardworking folks in Muskogee will be ready for the crowds beginning on April 1st. The main day of festivities is scheduled for April 18th this year and will feature a parade and numerous other events. The Festival takes place at historic Honor Heights Park in Muskogee and features thousands of blooms covering 40 acres of grounds.

Maclay Gardens State Park - Tallahassee, Florida

Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, Maclay Gardens began as a private winter home and has evolved into one of the most beautiful places in the South. Planted by Alfred B. and Louise Maclay beginning in 1923, the gardens have been called a "masterpiece of floral architecture." Absolutely breathtaking by the last week of March each year, the gardens feature winding pathways, beautiful water features and stunning cascades of azaleas, dogwoods and a wide variety of other flowering plants, even including mountain laurel. I have visited many locations over the years, but this very well may be the prettiest in the South at full bloom.

Blue Spring Heritage Center - Eureka Springs, Arkansas
This magnificent historic site and preserve is located just six miles northwest of downtown Eureka Springs, one of the finest destinations in the South. Once called Eureka Gardens, the beautifully landscaped gardens and natural settings surround Blue Spring, one of the deepest springs in Arkansas. Once a campsite on the Cherokee Trail of Tears and the location of the oldest known human habitation site in Arkansas, the heritage center is absolutely stunning in the spring. The blooms usually reach their peak during the first two weeks of April. With its beautiful blue water, natural rock formations and beautiful array of planted gardens, Blue Spring is one of the prettiest places in the nation.

Eden Gardens State Park - Point Washington, Florida

An easy drive from the sparkling white sand beaches of Panama City, Destin and Fort Walton Beach in Northwest Florida, Eden Gardens State Park is the location of magnificent gardens that move into full bloom even as Spring Break books along the Emerald Coast. Surrounding the historic Wesley or Eden Mansion, the gardens were created by Lois Genevieve Maxon during the 1960s and donated by her to the people of Florida in memory of her parents. Beautiful year-round, Eden Gardens turns into a dramatic display of azaleas and other blooming plants during the last two weeks of March each year.

There are many other locations around the South that are stunning this time of year and I will be taking a look at some of the others over coming weeks, but these are some of my favorites to get you started.

2009 Muskogee Azalea Festival Info now online...

The annual Muskogee Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is one of the premier spring events in the South.

Held each year at Honor Heights Park, a beautiful setting high on a hill overlook the historic city of Muskogee, the festival draws thousands of visitors from around the world and features a stunning array of blooming trees, shrubs and plants. More than varieties of azaleas are planted across 40 acres of the park and by mid-April they are usually quite spectacular.

I have updated the Azalea Festival pages information on this year's festival, including planned dates, etc. I will continue to add more information as it becomes available. To check out the latest, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okmuskogeeazalea. The pages also include current weather information for Muskogee and an easy way to get directions to the festival from your location.

A heading for the festival will also remain up through April on the home page at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/.