On Easter Sunday, Keith took me to a place called Happy Hollow Gardens on Chestnut Mountain in Roanoke County. It is actually a county park, one that is not well known, but also one that is probably the most natural in it’s setting. The park consists of 34 acres of woodland trails, and in the spring, the star of the park are the some 800 blooming azaleas.
Happy Hollow started as a family home in 1908 when the cabin was purchased by the Burgess Family. In the late 1940’s, a member of the family started raising azaleas on the property and thus, the start of what you see today when you visit. In 1985 the property was donated to the county on the condition that it remain a park for all to enjoy.
Keith and I enjoyed walking the azalea trail. It was almost in full bloom. The azaleas were taller than Keith and were humming with the activity of bumblebees. There were also many tiger swallowtail butterflies flitting about silently stealing their bounty.
Not only were the azaleas in bloom, but so were many wildflowers: wild phlox, cranesbill, violets and a couple of flowers that I don’t know the names of. There were dogwoods in bloom and ferns unfurling their fiddle-heads. We could even hear a woodpecker in the distance. In fact, other than the few visitors we encounterd here and there in the park, that was the only sound besides the babbling stream we heard.
It is a beautiful place and I am so thankful to the family that allowed all to share in it’s wonder. This looks like a new favorite place for Keith and I to visit throughout the year. A hidden gem in our own backyard.
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