Callaway Gardens Azaleas are nearing full bloom!

Azaleas in bloom at Callaway Gardens

I just received notice this morning from the staff at Callaway Gardens that the azaleas and other spring flowers are nearing full bloom and that NOW is the time to go see them!
The Gardens team reports that the azaleas will be in full bloom from now over the next two weeks. The Overlook Azalea Garden and Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl both look incredible and spring has definitely arrived at Pine Mountain!

The Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl covers 40 acres and features more than 3,400 hybrid azaleas along with 2,000 other blooming plants and shrubs. The setting is stunning, with a pavilion, gazebo, flowing stream, walking paths and arched bridge. The garden was gunded by Ely Callaway, Jr., who funded it with a donation of $3 million and named it in honor of his ancestors, Ely Reeves Callaway and Fuller Earle Callaway.

Woods in bloom at Callaway Gardens

The Overlook Azalea Garden, meanwhile, features 700 varieties of cultivated azaleas and has been called "one of the most beautiful places on Earth."

The blooms only last about two weeks so from now through the end of March is the time to go.

In addition to the azaleas, the staff reports that dogwoods, native azaleas, silverbells, sweetshrub, red buckeye and early spring wildflowers are in bloom throughout the gardens.

Callaway Gardens are located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, not far from Warm Springs and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House. The gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Special event admission from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. is $25 per adult; $12.50 per child age 6 to 12; children 5 and younger are admitted for free. Callaway Gardens Annual Passholders are admitted for free. Military (active and retired with valid ID) are admitted for half-price during Celebrate Spring! From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the facilities will close but the Gardens will remain accessible for half-price admission.

You can learn more at www.callawaygardens.com and see additional photos from a couple of years ago at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/callawaygardens1.html.

Here are some other great points of interest in area:

• Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park
• Dowdell's Knob on Pine Mountain
• Warm Springs, Georgia
• FDR's Little White House

Summer Escapes #3 - FDR State Park, Georgia

From the time my parents carried me there when I was around four years old, Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park at Pine Mountain, Georgia, has been one of my favorite summer destinations.

From its beautiful views, waterfalls, rock formations, Liberty Bell shaped swimming pool, cabins, campground, picnic areas and hiking trails to its proximity to such other destinations as Callaway Gardens, Warm Springs and FDR's Little White House, the park is a magnificent place to escape for an afternoon, a few days or even a week during the summer.

FDR State Park is steeped in America's Presidential history. Future President Franklin D. Roosevelt fell in love with the sweeping vistas and natural beauty of Pine Mountain when he first arrived in nearby Warm Springs in 1924 to try the pools of natural warm water as a possible treatment for his disabling polio. Over the years that followed, he purchased a farm at the mountain and his Little White House became the only home he ever owned.

Roosevelt often drove the then rocky and rough roads atop the mountain in his famous hand-controlled car, stopping to talk to neighbors and viewing the scenery. Dowdell's Knob, within today's state park, was the President's favorite picnic area during the difficult days of the Great Depression and World War II. A statue of Roosevelt can be seen there today and visitors can still picnic near the President's stone barbeque grill.

Today's state park was a favorite Depression era works project of the President. He told sometimes skeptical neighbors that he could envision a day when Pine Mountain would become a great destination for residents of the coastal plains. His prediction was prophetic. More than 750,000 people visit the mountain and other area attractions each year.

To learn more about Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park and other points of interest in the area, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fdrstatepark.

Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park - Pine Mountain, Georgia

President Franklin D. Roosevelt once predicted to a neighbor that Georgia's Pine Mountain would become a great resort for residents of the Deep South. It offered them, the President said, the opportunity to explore beautiful mountain scenery that was remarkably close to the Gulf Coastal Plain.

Roosevelt's prediction, made more than 70 years ago, has come true. Pine Mountain is now the setting for the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park and hundreds of thousands of people come each year to enjoy the mountain and such attractions as the Little White House, Warm Springs and Callaway Gardens.

Some of the most spectaculat scenery on the mountain can now be seen at Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. Established as a W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) project during the Great Depression, the park features dramatic views, waterfalls, hiking trails, cottages, campsites, picnic areas, a Liberty Bell shaped swimming pool, scenic Lake Delano and historic Dowdell's Knob. The latter place was a favorite picnic spot of President Roosevelt and his original grill can still be seen there. Visitors can also absorb the spectacular view he often enjoyed and see the beautiful statue of the former President.

To learn more about the park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fdrstatepark.

Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Georgia

One of the most beautiful, historic and popular spring destinations in the South can be found at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

The spectacular gardens were conceived more than 70 years ago when Cason J. Callaway, the son of a hard-working and successful Georgia merchant and industrialist, discovered rare native azaleas growing at the site. He and his wife, Virginia, decided to convert the over-worked cotton fields to a beautiful playground and soon began acquiring property at the site. Callaway Gardens have been open to the public for more than 50 years and now encompass 14,000 acres of some of the most beautiful land in the United States.

The gardens themselves are a major historic landmark and are the centerpiece of a recreational complex that features 13 lakes, biking and walking trails, a golf course, restaurants, accommodations and a wide array of other amenities. Several unique historic landmarks can also be found scattered across the grounds. A charming pioneer log cabin dating from 1830 is beautifully preserved and in Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden can be found benches made from stone slabs that were once part of a cotton mill that escaped destruction during the Civil War because of the Masonic symbols found on them.

The azaleas and other spring plants are in full bloom at Callaway Gardens, although this week's freeze did impact the blooming season a bit. To learn more about Callaway Gardens, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/callawaygardens1.