Ben Morrison and His Azaleas Talk

Wednesday, April 17, Ben Morrison and His Azaleas Talk, 7:30 - 9:00pm, Historic Takoma, 7328 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD This meeting is jointly sponsored by the Takoma Horticultural Club and Historic Takoma Inc.   It will feature the ardent azalea aficionado William (Bill) Miller III, speaking on “Ben Morrison and his Azaleas.”  The Glenn Dale azaleas, which are a feature of city parks and gardens in Takoma Park, were developed by the first director of the National Arboretum, Benjamin Y. Morrison.    Beginning in the late ‘20s, he worked more than twenty-five years to achieve a group of winter-hardy azaleas with large, colorful flowers, suitable for the Washington, DC region.  Eventually the program included 454 hybrids.  They are probably the best known and most popular feature of the Arboretum today.   Morrison lived nearby on Piney Branch Road and shared his hybrids with many Takoma Park friends.  FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 7, talk starts at 7:30 p.m. Please bring a snack to share. As usual, the Club will provide beverages. Wear a recycled name tag and save a tree.More details at: www.takomahort.org.