When you first see the rugged landscape of Providence Canyon State Park in southwest Georgia, you might find it hard to believe that such rough terrain is a haven for one of Georgia’s rarest and most beautiful native azaleas, the plumleaf.
The spectacular canyon in Stewart County, 40 miles south of Columbus, harbors more wild plumleaf azaleas than anywhere else in the world. All through the main canyon and its numerous "finger canyons," more than a thousand plumleafs thrive.
Last weekend, several of us Georgia Botanical Society members found the azaleas in glorious bloom, their bright red flowers making a dazzling sight amid the canyon's pastel colors.
“This is the showiest the plumleaf has been in a while,” said botanist Tom Patrick of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, who led us into several of the small side canyons to see the displays. Unlike most other azalea species, which bloom in the spring, the plumleaf blooms in July through mid-August.
Known as “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon,” Providence Canyon is worth seeing just for its breathtaking chasms, plateaus, cliffs, pinnacles and other formations that resemble a Western landscape. The formations, which display a range of colors from white to shades of pink, purple, red, brown, yellow and black, actually aren’t natural. They’re the result of severe erosion from poor farming practices during the 1800s.
Today, Providence Canyon’s stunning beauty makes it one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.
In addition to its geological splendor, it is a botanical treasure, home to hundreds of fascinating plant species. Sixteen species of oaks occur in the 1,100-acre park. Also abounding there is the bigleaf magnolia, whose leaves can be 12 inches wide and 30 inches long. Last weekend the bigleafs, which bloom in the spring, were sporting their massive, round, red hairy fruit resembling rose colored softballs.
Providence Canyon's botanical gem, however, is the plumleaf azalea (Rhododendron prunifolium). It exists only in a few counties along the Georgia-Alabama border in the Chattahoochee River Valley, where it's found in ravines and along steep creek banks that also harbor mixed hardwoods and pines. Because of its rarity, the plumleaf, which can grow 10 feet high, is a protected species in Georgia.
In the sky: The South Delta Aquarid meteor shower will be visible Saturday night and most of next week. It will peak at 15 meteors per hour Wednesday night, said David Dundee, astronomer with Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum. Look to the southeast from midnight until dawn.
The moon will be full Sunday night. The Cherokees called July’s full moon “the Ripe Corn Moon.” Mercury sets in the west just after dark. Venus is in the west just after sunset and sets about three hours later. Mars sets in the west before midnight. Jupiter rises out of the east about midnight and will appear near the moon Friday night. Saturn, high in the west at sunset, sets in the west before midnight.
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