Celebrating Azaleas, Belle Mead, N. J.

 

I recently told my friend Annette about the over 500 azalea bushes that grew more or less wild in our garden in the Sourland mountain, outside Princeton, N. J. 

Instead of attaching the photos to an email, I decided to share them on my blog. 

I'm sorry they have faded with time. In real life, the flowers were brilliant.

The azaleas were there when my first husband, Mike, bought the place and they pretty much took care of themselves and thrived. Some plants were more than 6 feet tall. 

Every spring when the azaleas were in bloom, Mike and I threw a huge party. 

Friends came from far and wide, my Swedish girlfriends, my friends from work, Mike's Hungarian friends from all over the East Coast, his colleagues from the university, as well as visisting scientists from the Institute for Advanced Study, they all came to admire the flowers and have a good time. 

In those days, the mid to late 1960s, the scientists were all men who came with their wives. 

Since this was the era of cocktails and punchbowls, everyone had a smashing good time. 

I was fortunate to meet many interesting and brilliant people while being married to Mike.   

Better yet, I met some wonderful women, young women as we were while we lived in Princeton.  

A few of us have remained friends for all of our lives. Annette from Denmark is one of them, Christina in Sweden, another. 

Those lasting friendships are what I value most from the early days of my life in the United States.