Brighton Azalea Garden 2022

Last Spring, I went to Brighton Azalea Garden for the first time and loved it. However, by the time to got there, the azaleas were just about finished for the season. So, this past Sunday, my husband and I decided to drive over to check it out. Unfortunately, it looks like we were maybe a week too early for some of the azaleas to have opened up, but it still was gorgeous!

I hope you get a chance to drive out and see this garden in the next few weeks. It is a peaceful walk with many benches you can sit and relax. I loved watching the children race each other up and down the pathways while their parents took photographs. If you take your time while walking around, you might just see some of the wildlife that makes this park their home. At one corner of the park, you can sit and look out over the Triadelphia Reservoir (Brighton Dam).

Triadelphia Reservoir is an 800-acre reservoir behind Brighton Dam on the Patuxent River in Howard and Montgomery Counties. With a total of over 240 bird species reported at its various access points – just on the Howard County side – Triadelphia is the #1 eBird Hotspot within Howard County.

Established in 1959, Brighton Dam’s Azalea Garden is home to over 22,000 azalea bushes over 5 acres in a hardwood forest. Kousa dogwood trees were added in the 1990s, and the garden is also home to Montgomery County’s champion fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus).

The idea for the garden was from WSSC Water Commissioner Raymond Bellamy. WSSC Water Watershed Manager Paul Hancock led the work as the garden was planted in the late 1950s and 1960s

Parking is across the street at the WSSC Visitor Center, along with a beautiful playground.

2 Brighton Dam Road, Brookville, Maryland 20833

Opened 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (March 15-Nov. 30, including weekends)

The WSSC Vistor Center Website has a list of specific varieties of the azaleas in the garden.