Azalea Park

Today I went in search of Azalea Park, right here in Brookings. With the Azalea Festival coming up this weekend, I wanted to see if they were in bloom -- and I'm sorry to say I seem to have missed the peak of bloom but still, I found the park to be utterly impressive. While it doesn't rival Hendricks Park in Eugene, for example, it is really quite large, quite beautiful and filled with the Azaleas that are native to this stretch of coast complemented by a fair share of Rhodies, which actually were more impressive overall right at this moment. The salmon beauty above, however, is an Azalea. As a southern girl, I really appreciate these.

This is only one of many nooks and open areas through out the park, which covers about 30 acres and offers picnic tables, a large kids playground plus an ampitheater that is home to the American Music Festival held each summer.

Some of the many Rhodies that are in riotous bloom right now.

Not everything here is Azalea or Rhodie -- lots of bulbs and other small flowering flora plus some big evergreens.

I love these huge, richly-colored Rhodies! Because they're bigger and come in a wider variety of colors, they almost outshadow the smaller, paler and finer Azaleas.

The Azaleas still have their own charm....

I'm looking forward to the Music Festival and other happenings here. Stay tuned!