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Show fHTHESE UNITED STATES famed Azalea fafas Bssall Beauty and Quiet of Old South WNV features. NORFOLK, VA. It s spring again and Norfolk's azalea wardens are in bloom. Eighty acres of floral and woodland beauty bid the visitor to old Virginia welcome to a beauty spot which many lovers of nature claim is unrivaled anywhere. Within a few minutes' drive of the business section of Virginia's Vir-ginia's hustling seaport city and actually within sound of giant airliners taking off from Norfolk's airport, the azalea gardens orpa step to yesterday to the beauty and auiet of the Did cjuth where nature stages a page- ,nt that man can only admire but cannot hope to reproduce. Hore than 50,000 azalea boshes, planted so as to give continuous bloomin? from about April 1 to about June 1, are the principal attraction at the gardens but He? are only a part of the beauties there. Tall trees and quict lakes and flowers other than azaleas combine to form a silent symphony of nature at her best. Song birds in profusion add their voices to the scene. The azalea gardens, a part of Nor-lolk's Nor-lolk's pa system, are located ilong the shores of Norfolk's lakes (hich form a perfect water mirror (or the flowers. The area has been landscaped with paths and foot bridges to make all sections of the jardens available to visitors. The gardens began their spring blooms in March when camellias, Japanese quince and forsythia preceded pre-ceded an avalanche of naturalized daffodils and bluebells. ' In April five varieties of Indian azaleas and six varieties of Kurume azaleas bloom under a canopy of native dogwood, redbuds, shadbush and other plants. M Riot of Color. May sees azaleas macrantha and bexe at their best with accompanying accompany-ing plants being mountain laurel, columbines and Louisiana wild iris. In June the flowers grow near the water's edge. The colors of the rhododendron rho-dodendron catawbiensies and the lame azalea compete with those tl the Japanese iris close by the shores. Wild flowers bloom in profusion in July. Included in the wild flowers in the azalea gardens are the beautiful beau-tiful cardinal flowers which present a contrast to the rhododendron maximum. max-imum. Lovers of the crape myrtle, which Is Norfolk's adopted flower, will find that plant at its best in August when Its blooms appear in bold masses to many parts of the gardens. In the fall, thousands of berry shrubs, including four varieties of tollies, nandinas and pyracantha, supplement the autumnal tints of the woodland. The gardens as they exist today are a result of the dreams of Frederic Fred-eric Huette, director of the Norfolk bureau of parks and forestry, and Thomas P. Thompson, former city manager. Admission to the gardens is free, and when the azaleas are at their best as many as 13,000 persons have visited them in one day. Army Bows Out. The azalea gardens have been recognized rec-ognized by the army as having priority pri-ority over the pressing needs of war emergency. In 1942 the army staked j out a construction project in the area ! and planned a series of buildings which would encroach on the actu-l actu-l al garden properties. City of-' of-' flclals, garden clubs and other or- ganizations rallied to the defense of the gardens and the army, despite the pressure of war in 1942, changed its plans and erected its buildings elsewhere. At that time Huette voiced . the feelings of nature lovers the world over when he said:. "Not all the government's billions bil-lions can replace a 50-year-old oak,' a 25-year-ol4 pine or a 20-year-old guru." The azalea gardens 'are but a small part of the attractions of the Norfolk area for the tourist. The lakes on which they are located are veritable fisherman's paradise and mule 'fishing is not permitted in the gardens themselves, it is permitted close by. j Numerous Attractions. Within 20 minutes' driving time te Virginia Beach in one direction and Ocean View in the other. In lie general Tidewater area are such Points of interest as the Williams-kurg-Jamestown-Yorktown historical lection, naval establishments at Norfolk and Portsmouth, the waters of Hampton Roads and the scenic grandeur of the Great Dismal Swamp. Not far away also are the nigged. Outer Banks of the North Carolina coast. As! another lure to visitors, Norfolk Nor-folk points to its food, which is universally uni-versally acclaimed as a delight to fte visitor an$ homefolk . alike, whether it be saltwater delicacies from the deep or the famed Smith-field; Smith-field; ham and Virginia fried chicken, chick-en, ably supported by candied yams, black-eyed peas turnip greens and Peanut soup. ' ' |