Stunning Azalea Garden with 15 varieties and 22,000 plants: Brighton Dam Azalea Garden (Brookeville, MD)

In April, one of my long term friends told me about this place, I didn’t even know about it, despite living in the area since 2017, how embarrassing! Although, to my defense, it seems like a gem that many are unaware of. It’s a beautiful place with parking across the way. It has a gazebo looking over a large lake and many pathways separating different azaleas.

I was actually quite surprised with how empty it was when I arrived, perhaps a gem that, like me- not many people know about.

There were lots of people just taking a stroll down the serene paths, some were using it for photoshoots and others (like me) were just using it as a time away from an otherwise boring weekend. It was pretty quiet, but the songs of birds could be heard throughout the park.

Now the garden actually began in 1949, where Raymond W. Bellamy, Sr. started to get cuttings from the Norfolk Azalea Garden in Virginia.

In 1958, Paul H. Hancock, (a WSSC watershed supervisor) took over the majority of the plantings with the help of Andrew N. Adams, Jr., from Ten Oaks Nursery. Together, they expanded the program significantly until 1961.

Mostly it was stable from then on, except for in 1988, Robin Hill azaleas, which was a new variety at the time was introduced by Emile Deckert of Azalea Hortico Nursery.

I often wonder how a mass number of plants just appear in a certain location, similar to the Cherry Blossoms we see down in DC, which is a story for another time. And while plants do germinate on their own, who says they can’t have some help.

I was actually surprised on how many different colors there were. Honestly, while I do consider myself a plant guru, I have my flowers which I like- but generally am not that well informed with the amount of varieties each has. Without using google, how many azalea varieties do you think there are? (Answer below the photos)

You may be surprised to know that according to the Azalea Society of America, there are “Over 10,000 different azalea plants have been registered or named” Which is crazy to me! You really do learn something new each day.

Do I recommend the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden?

I do! I think it’s a great place to spend to relax and rewind. It’s family friendly and offers picnic tables, a grill and restrooms. Please do note that drones and pets are not allowed at this location, however. If you are someone who is just wanting to walk around, however, I would probably suggest finding something else to do in the area, especially if it’s not local. The garden itself is 5 acres so it’s not something you could be at for hours just walking around the paths.