Middleton Place Gardens offer the perfect retreat to an intimate world of wonder and beauty that is especially inviting in Spring

This past Thursday on a cool late March, early Spring  afternoon, I wandered transfixed by the beauty of azaleas in bloom at Middle Place Gardens, one of the most beautiful and historic public gardens in the country, dating back to 1740.

The timing was perfect for peak bloom, and I took many pictures, never seeming g to run out of photo opportunities in all the beauty around me.  I’ve been coming here off and on for almost 50 years, but this year I have visited three times already since I have an annual pass, as I do for nearby Magnolia Gardens, which is the public garden I most often visit.

Middleton is more elegant and formal, Magnolia is more natural and not as obviously laid out with such a conscious design and plan as Middleton.  Both have their unique qualities and are peaceful places to walk and get away for awhile from life’s busy pursuits. And, both have so many ancient azaleas and camellias that this time of year the gardens offer transcendent experiences of wonder and beauty.  As I mentioned before, I never cease to be greatly affected by the entire experience.  It takes me a while afterward to come back down to earth.

These are two albums of my pictures of the garden from Thursday’s visit.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/676ym1S8s5

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/r6A0518i1p