Last month, Bill and I had a chance to do some photography at the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden in Brookville, Maryland. Located on 5 acres of land on the banks of the Patuxent River, the garden contains over 20,000 azalea bushes. The garden is on land owned by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and is open to the public.

Bill and I were absolutely amazed by what we found at the Azalea Garden. 20,000 azaleas in bloom have to be seen to be believed.

Here are a few of my photos from the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden.

The azalea bushes surround the bases of some large trees near the bank of the reservoir.

Azaleas in the Woods (c) 2009 Patty Hankins

Here the azaleas surround trees on a hillside.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

One of the most interesting parts of the Azalea Garden was the variety of colors of azaleas growing there. Here are some pastel pink blossoms

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And some bright pink ones – the color of these blossoms reminded me of watermelons

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

I really liked how the branches of these two colors of azaleas came together to create the shapes of color.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

And finally, a few bright pink blossoms on a sea of white blossoms.

(c) 2009 Patty Hankins

The Brighton Dam Azalea Garden is a place we’ll definitely be returning to next spring. I’ve already got some ideas on how to photograph it a little differently next year.

The Brighton Dam Azalea Garden is located on Brighton Dam Road, just a little ways off of New Hampshire Avenue in Brookville.