Thank you Pat for that awesome account. Sometime I need to meet up with you
and take a winded hike with you there.............I would love to find a
little nursery that carries those flame azaleas, as they would LOVE my dry
woods. And they're so fragrant!! Miz Virginia whom I got my daylilies from
has one at the back of her house and I was unaware they were so fragrant.
And hers was up to her gutters in height! Flame azalea's are much more
hardy and I adore the orange!! again ((((((((((huge hug)))))))))))) for the
report. I'm sure the little Pisgah Forest fairies had quite a hand in the
display GBSEG. .... madgardener overwhelmed by the JUNGLE of her own ridge
at the moment further westward in Eastern Tennessee, up on the ridge facing
English Mountain in zone SEVEN, Sunset zone 36 (could it be warmer since
they've upped our growin' zone too??)

"loonyhiker" wrote in message
...
I went on a hike yesterday from Pisgah Inn (on the Blue Ridge Parkway)
down
to Pink Beds (Pisgah Forest) in NC. It was an overcast day with rain
expected in the afternoon. The flowers were full splendor. As we walked
through tunnels of mountain laurel in full bloom, flowers on both sides of
the trail welcomed us. These flowers were also blooming: gazillions of
flame
azaleas, galax, fly poison, fire pink, yellow primrose, jack in the
pulpit,
spiderwort, blackberries, and squaw root. The trillium was done but the
leaves were still there. Also the showy orchis must have finished but the
leaves were still green. It was a magical time, especially coming into
huge
patches of ferns all around. I kept expecting to see Mad's fairies to
appear. Since there was so much rain, there were many little waterfalls,
which are not normally there. Finally at lunch time, we found a camping
spot
and ate lunch in this opening that was surrounded totally by mountain
laurel
that was in full bloom. The sun broke through the clouds and celebrated
our
lunch with us. When we arrived in Pink Beds, there were fields of daisies
that surrounded us. Even when it finally started to rain, the happy
feelings
didn't go away. What a joyous, exciting day!

loony