2012 Azalea Festival Garden Tour

I've lived here since 1986 and even before we moved to Wilmington, my ties have always been more than strong here. My great-grandparents on my mom's side moved here when my grandmother was a small child and opened a store called Jackson's grocery down at Carolina Beach. My great-grandparents on my dad's side owned a house on Wrightsville Ave. Apparently, they lived rather comfortably then lost it all in the Great Depression. It goes on and on and I ought to write it all down one day for the girls, at least. But, I'm off on a tangent! My point is that I haven't participated much in our Azalea Festival over the years probably due somewhat to the dislike of parking, traffic, etc. But, now I see that I have been missing out. This year's garden tour was a first for me and I loved it. My mom and the girls loved it, too. Even though, the mascot, the azalea, has long since bloomed its blooms this year, all of the gardens were beautiful in their own way. They did a good job varying it up by showcasing some yards that were pruned to a tee and some that were au naturelle in the landscaping theme. Then, there's the scattered Belles all over the gardens strategically placed for perfect picture taking, the girls' favorite part. I think I took their picture with 30 different Belles. Here's one. The Belles were all well trained in Southern hospitality and not one disappointed. I think we'll be back next year.