Wednesday, April 2, 2014

THE AZALEA TRAIL (ON RAINBOW CREEK PHOTO BLOG)

Hi Everybody!!
Tonight I have a treat for all who enjoy flowers! It is the beginning of the Azalea Trail on Rainbow Creek! As a child in Houston, I grew up with the big azaleas in the area. The Azalea Trail was a list of homes to drive around and look at their prized Azalea Gardens (which are still alive and thriving). However, out here in the countryside, my Bird Sanctuary is the only grounds with Azaleas. This is the week I look forward to every year: the peak of the Azalea Bloom. I have shared Wikipedia info below about Azaleas. The complete photostudies are in my G+ Photo Albums, linked below. Enjoy!

Mrs GG Gerbing (Large White Azalea)

Formosa

George Tabor (2 tone pink)

GG Gerbing

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645114459863049265/albums/5996989778624910337

Judge Soloman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azalea

Azalea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Azaleas /əˈzeɪliə/ are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron: the Tsutsuji (evergreen) and Pentanthera (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in summer, their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees.

Cultivation[edit]

Fifty-year-old Azalea

A George Taber azalea

Plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years. This human selection has produced over 10,000 differentcultivars which are propagated by cuttings.^{[citation needed]} Azalea seeds can also be collected and germinated.

Azaleas are generally slow-growing and do best in well-drained acidic soil (4.5–6.0 pH).^[1] Fertilizer needs are low; some species need regular pruning.

Azaleas are native to several continents including Asia, Europe and North America. They are planted abundantly as ornamentals in the southeastern USA, southern Asia,and parts of southwest Europe.

According to azalea historian Fred Galle, in the United States, Azalea indica (in this case, the group of plants called Southern indicas) was first introduced to the outdoor landscape in the 1830s at the rice plantation Magnolia-on-the-Ashley in Charleston, South Carolina. Magnolia's owner John Grimke Drayton imported the plants for use in his estate garden from Philadelphia, where they were grown only in greenhouses. With encouragement from Charles Sprague Sargent from Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, Magnolia Gardens was opened to the public in 1871, following the American Civil War. Magnolia is one of the oldest public gardens in America. Since the late nineteenth century, in late March and early April, thousands visit to see the azaleas bloom in their full glory.^{[citation needed]}

Cultural significance and symbolism[edit]

In Chinese culture, the azalea is known as "thinking of home bush" (sixiang shu) and is immortalized in the poetry of Du Fu and is used to rich effect in contemporary stories such as by Taiwanese author Pai, Hsien-Yung.

The azalea is also one of the symbols of the city of São Paulo, in Brazil.^[3]

In addition to being renowned for its beauty, the Azalea is also highly toxic—it contains andromedotoxins in both its leaves and nectar, including honey from the nectar.^[4] The Azalea and Rhododendron were once so infamous for their toxicity that to receive a bouquet of their flowers in a black vase was a well-known death threat.

Azalea festival

Japan[edit]

Motoyama, Kochi also has a flower festival in which the blooming of Tsutsuji is celebrated and Tatebayashi, Gunma is famous for its Azalea Hill Park, Tsutsuji-ga-oka.Nezu Shrine in Bunkyo, Tokyo, holds a Tsutsuji Matsuri from early April until early May.

Korea[edit]

Sobaeksan, one of the 12 well-known Sobaek Mountains, lying on the border betweenChungbuk Province and Gyeongbuk has a Royal Azalea (Rhododendron schlippenbachii) Festival held on May every year. Sobaeksan has an azalea colony dotted around Biro mountaintop, Gukmang and Yonwha early in May. When Royal azaleas have turned pink in the end of May, it looks like Sobaeksan wears a pinkJeogori(Korean traditional jacket). (Information from Dpt. of Culture & Tourism, Danyang-gun County Office)

Azalea in Korea(2014)

United States[edit]

Many cities in the United States have festivals in the spring celebrating the blooms of the azalea, including Hamilton, NJ; Mobile, Alabama; Jasper, Texas; Norfolk, Virginia;^[5]Wilmington, North Carolina (North Carolina Azalea Festival);^[6] Valdosta, Georgia;^[7]Palatka, Florida (Florida Azalea Festival);^[8] Pickens, South Carolina;^[9] Muskogee, Oklahoma, Stollysville, Ohio and Brookings, Oregon.

The Azalea Trail is a designated path, planted with azaleas in private gardens, throughMobile, Alabama.^[10] The Azalea Trail Run is an annual road running event held there in late March. Mobile, Alabama is also home to the Azalea Trail Maids, fifty women chosen to serve as ambassadors of the city while wearing antebellum dresses, who originally participated in a three-day festival, but now operate throughout the year.