Azaleas to star in Mill Pond Garden open day April 14

Mill Pond Garden will open to visitors for the peak of azalea blossoms from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday, April 14, at 31401 Melloy Court, Lewes.

Tickets, available at millpondgarden.com, are $18 to admit a vehicle with up to six visitors.

Visitors may expect to see a variety of plants in full bloom including native and non-native wisterias, scores of azaleas, camellias, hellebores, species tulips, hawthorns, crab apples, native spring ephemerals like trillium and Virginia bluebells, small bulbs and early rhododendrons. There will also be lots of wildlife, like turtles basking on logs in beautiful Red Mill Pond, ospreys that have recently returned from points south, and more.

Mill Pond Garden grows mostly early-blooming azaleas like the poukhanense, whose variations were named and introduced to the market by Mill Pond Garden and Lewes resident John Feliciani, former director of horticulture at Winterthur. Azaleas that bloom later in the season are vulnerable to petal blight. Seeing these disease-free azaleas may give gardeners a better idea of what to buy for greater success in their own gardens.

A horticulturist will be on duty to answer questions. Visiting a nonprofit public garden is a way to get ideas and information, and to see what plants do well in the region. Patrons’ visits helps support the area’s only local, professional and certified public botanical garden.