Where I live in coastal Georgia, March is the month when our azaleas and some flowering trees show off their brilliant colors. Some of the beds in my yard are filled with azaleas I planted about 30 years ago. Every spring they still delight me with their beautiful blooms.
Spring Georgia Peach Blossoms
Pink azaleas
30+ year old azaleas
Pink and white on the same azalea
Many of the blooms are gone now and after our first April shower this morning, a lot of the remaining flowers now lay on the ground. I’ll have to wait another year for the pink blooms to return.
When a friend of mine asked me if I’d like to join the Tybee Island Garden Club on an outing to Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia to learn about camellias I didn’t have to think twice about saying yes. They couldn’t have picked a more perfect day to go. It was cool but not too cold on the sunny Saturday morning in January we spent going through the cemetery.
Bonaventure Cemetery is located on a beautiful bluff above the Wilmington River. Once a plantation, the land became a private cemetery in 1846. In 1907 the cemetery was made public. The cemetery covers about 100 acres of land with many interesting gravestones, monuments and tombs in a gorgeous setting with stately live oak trees, dogwoods, azaleas, camellias and other beautifully maintained vegetation. Today many visitors to Savannah make Bonaventure a must see stop during their stay.
Our guide was Doug Webb of the Bonaventure Historical Society. We learned that many of the camellias in the cemetery are historic, older varieties that are not easily found in nurseries these days. Doug is very knowledgeable about the camellias and spends one day a week at the cemetery with other volunteers planting, fertilizing, watering, and propagating the camellias.
As we went through the cemetery he pointed out the different varieties of camellias, talked about how they air layer the plants, and kept us entertained us with stories about the history of the property. We are very grateful to Doug for sharing his expertise with us.
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellia at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
Camellias in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA
One of the most visited graves in Bonaventure Cemetery is that of little Gracie Watson. Gracie was born in New England in 1883. Her family moved to Savannah when her father became manager of the Pulaski Hotel in downtown Savannah. Sadly, in 1889, when she was six years old, Gracie developed pneumonia and died. Her parents hired sculptor John Walz to carve a monument of their daughter. Her parents moved back to New England and are both buried there. Little Gracie is all alone in Bonaventure.
There are stories that Gracie’s spirit is still around. There have even been sightings of Gracie’s ghost.
Gracie Watson in Bonaventure CemeteryGracie Watson at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GALittle Gracie Watson Grave at Bonaventure CemeteryLittle Gracie Watson
There is so much to see in Bonaventure it’s hard to capture it all. We went there to learn about camellias but we saw so much more.
One of the many ancient live oaks in Bonaventure CemeteryAn angel in Bonaventure Cemetery
More information about the cemetery can be found at Bonaventure Cemetery. There are tour companies that offer guided tours or you can pick up a map at the visitor’s center and explore on your own. A good time of year to visit is in the spring when the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming.
Most of the flower beds around our house are planted with drought tolerant plants that can survive the summer heat here in coastal Georgia. On the summers we take off on an RV trip I don’t have to worry too much about these established plants back home.
When we are home for the summer, I like to plant a butterfly garden. This year I added new milkweed, a butterfly bush, zinnias, black eyed susans, purple coneflower, and Mexican Sunflower to attract the hummingbirds and butterflies. With all these blooms I enjoy having cut flowers from the garden.
Black Eyed SusansCut Flowers from the garden
In addition to my flowers I had a small crop of basil, jalapeño peppers and cherry tomatoes. The peppers are still producing but the tomatoes and basil are gone.
Bounty from my little garden
Earlier in the summer we weren’t getting very many butterflies but lately the Gulf Fritillarys and Swallowtails have been visiting the garden regularly.
I’ve been digging in the dirt a lot lately trying to get my butterfly garden in shape after flooding from Hurricane Irma killed most of the plants last fall.
A few of the new plants are starting to bloom. The zinnias I planted from seed this winter are bursting with color.
ZinniaZinnias
The new milkweed plants attracted their first Monarch of the season this week.
First Monarch sighting of 2018
The hummingbirds and Painted Buntings have been stopping by the feeders.
Painted Bunting
This lizard was trying to drink the hummingbird nectar.
Lizard looking for a snack on one of my hummingbird feeders
