Nature Notes: Our World Tuesday

I took the first shot from the car as we cut through NCSU to get to the WRAL Azalea Garden.



The morning was overcast but the storms weren't forecast until early afternoon so we took a chance on a garden walk.



We have had a spectacular spring.



In some ways having a relatively cold winter without many intermittent warmer days like we have some winters, helped with spring.



One problem we can have is when flowers get going too early and are zapped by cold snaps.



This year most of the early flowers waited until spring to start blooming and so far April has had moderate temperatures.



We've had very few days where it has started to be hot and some nights have been chilly but it has been a while since we've had a hard freeze.



At this point we are almost past the average last frost date for central NC and I'm optimistic that we will not have any periods cold enough to damage flowers.



Capitol Broadcasting Company founder A.J. Fletcher created the WRAL Gardens as a service to the community. The WRAL Gardens opened to the public in 1959, three years after WRAL-TV went on the air as the first VHF station in Raleigh. The WRAL Gardens surround WRAL-TV’s studios on Western Boulevard in Raleigh , NC.*



“I did it because I knew it would be beautiful,” said Fletcher of his beloved gardens. “It was simply my way of paying a tribute to beauty for beauty’s sake.”*



Fletcher loved azaleas and enjoyed finding new varieties to enjoy. He decided to share that passion with the general public, personally overseeing the installation of a thousand azaleas to create the gardens.*



The 5-acre property containing WRAL-TV’s studios, the corporate offices of Capitol Broadcasting Company and the WRAL Gardens sits on the corner of Western Blvd and Avent Ferry Road , only a few miles from downtown Raleigh. The gardens now sit adjacent to the new Centennial Parkway as well.*



* The information about the azalea garden above was taken from the WRAL garden history site located here.



Last year when we visited the garden many of the azaleas were past their peak bloom period.



This year we hit it at a great time to see the blooms.



It must be nice for the people who work at the studio to be able to take breaks in the garden.



I know that I like having a garden close to where I work.



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