callaway gardens. pine mountain, ga.

right around the end of the fall semester and final exams, i was scrambling to complete and submit two scholarship applications. one was for the garden writers association foundation. for this, i had to complete an application and submit my transcript, reference letters, two writing samples, and some photography samples. the other application was for the callaway gardens spring gardening symposium. the prize that the applicant could win was a trip to georgia to visit callaway gardens and attend their spring gardening symposium. i thought both of these looked like great opportunities, so i got my junk together and put everything in the mail.

the week before christmas, i found out that i had won both of the scholarships. it felt AWESOME.

the callaway gardens spring gardening symposium took place during the last weekend of january. included in the scholarship was the cost of a room and registration for the symposium for myself, and also for a teacher/mentor. i was lucky to have as my guest diane mays, a research technician in the fox greenhouses at nc state, and we had a super good weekend. we flew into atlanta on friday, rented a car, and drove about an hour to pine mountain. pine mountain looked like a completely adorable town. my only regret of the trip was not being able to explore it more.

the speakers at the symposium were fantastic, including dr. michael dirr, erin weston (of weston farms), and joe lamp'l (growing a greener world). there was also a marketplace of local vendors with tons of plants, books, tools, and garden art. if it weren't for the fact that we flew down, it could have potentially been a dangerous area. diane thoughtfully bought me a fuzzy succulent that i was stalking throughout the weekend, (Echeveria setosa) and i gently carried it home on the airplane in a paper starbucks bag.

in addition to lots of inspiration and a plant, i brought away from the experience some great photos of perhaps some of the lesser known parts of the gardens. as it was in the middle of winter, callaway gardens' famous azaleas were not yet in bloom. this allowed guests to visit some equally amazing plants in the conservatories. the mediterranean house was my favorite: the succulent collection was SO COOL. i took lots of pictures, but i've tried to narrow it down a little. needless to say, i've acquired a small addiction to cactus and succulents since the trip. i'll share some photos of my personal collection soon.

the mediterranean house, callaway gardens.

Sedum morganianum. "donkey's tail."

i want a succulent wall in my house.

a waterfall in my house might be cool too?

inside the tropical conservatory.

the butterfly house.