Cape Fear Botanical Gardens (Again)

Fountain at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens
Since it had been a couple months since my last visit to the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens, I decided to pay a summertime visit to the gardens. Although I started my trip with low expectations (I assumed the summer heat would have killed most of the blossoms), I was pleasantly surprised by the lushness of the garden (I guess the humidity that we've suffered through has really benefited the plants!)

Flooded Cape Fear River
Although I was impressed with the garden, I was most interested in seeing the Cape Fear River. With the recent tropical storm that passed through North Carolina, I knew the river would be well above its normal level. After encountering the river trail, I was quite surprised that they didn't have it closed off for the weekend; there were numerous trees down along the trail, and the river had overtaken part of the trail. Fortunately, one of the river overlooks provided a welcome rest in the shade (I actually sat there and wrote for an hour.) Sadly, since the trail was flooded, I was forced to turn around and re-walk the path back to the garden entrance.

Daylilies in Bloom
Fortunately, once out of the forest and on higher ground, I was able to continue walking the grounds (which were relatively empty due to the heat and humidity.) Although most of the garden remained as it was two-months ago, I was surprised to find a massive collection of daylilies in bloom. I found this lily particularly nice (though I didn't spend much time exploring the lilies since the sun was quite intense! Overall, it was a very pleasant afternoon in the garden.

Cape Fear Botanical Garden

Children's Garden

I finally decided that we are far enough into spring, that the local botanical garden might actually be a good option for an afternoon of spring flowers. Although the Cape Fear Botanical Garden was nowhere near the nicest botanical garden I've ever viewed, it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I think the thing that most surprised me about this garden was how little "formal" garden area it contained. When I think of botanical gardens, I typically picture small segments devoted to different varieties of plants (roses, water lilies, cactus, etc.) The Cape Fear Botanical Garden was much more "natural" than the average botanical garden; it was almost more of a park/forest than what I normally think of as a botanical garden.

Cape Fear River

The highlight of the garden for me was the Cape Fear River Loop. The garden had a small trail that wrapped through the forest and passed along the Cape Fear River. This is actually what I had hoped for when I first walked the Cape Fear River Trail many months ago. The Cape Fear River Loop provided a secluded little walk through nature - with a symphony of birds in the background.

North Carolina Heritage Garden

After walking the garden's exterior, I returned to the more traditional gardens. While I did enjoy the Camellia garden, the others were a little lacking. The Heritage Garden did have a great collection of historic (or historic-looking) buildings. Although it was a great little "town", I wish I could have toured the interiors.

Fayetteville Camellia Show

This afternoon, I finally visited the Cape Fear Botanical Garden so that I could attend the annual Fayetteville Camellia Show. Since this was the first flower show I have ever attended, i wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Inside, the Camellia Show was primary table after table of camellia blooms in tiny glasses. It was interesting to see all the different varieties (though it got to be a little overwhelming.)

The show also had a small collection of informational booths; sadly, the displays were a little information heavy (with pages and pages of small print on each poster.) Although it was useful information, I don't think it was displayed in the best method. There were some lectures scheduled for the afternoon, but I wasn't that interested in the topics (and the start time was an hour later.) I did enjoy looking through the collection of camellias the Camellia Club had for sale, but I didn't buy any since they're probably not the best indoor plant (and I wasn't going to spend $25 to put a plant outside a rental unit!)

For a first visit to a flower show, I can't really complain. If I were to return in the future, I would probably try to attend on Saturday rather than Sunday - I think they blossoms would have been a little fresher looking, and there would have likely been a larger selection of plants for sale.