Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens is the only public botanical garden in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia specializing in Rhododendrons and Native Azaleas. The protected area encompasses on land sloping to Lake Chatuge. Hamilton Gardens at Lake Chatuge, Inc. was a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that successfully restored the garden and operated it for six years. Located near the city of Hiawassee, Georgia, the gardens have the largest collection of native azalea and rhododendron in the Southeast U.S.
History
It is also known as Fred Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens, Hamilton Gardens, Fred Hamilton Gardens and Hamilton Gardens at Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds. Just don't confuse it with the famous Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand.
Fred Hamilton
Fred Russell Hamilton was born in Raleigh, North Carolina during 1913. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1936 and went to work for Sears, Roebuck and Company as an auditor. Hamilton married the former Hazel Hampton in 1940. They had one son, born in 1944. The couple loved native azaleas and rhododendrons and during Fred's frequent travels, they collected specimens from locations around the globe and propagated many varieties in their greenhouse. Mr. Hamilton was an American Rhododendron Society member for many years and developed the first domestic yellow azalea, Rhododendron flammeum, which he named after his wife. The family also enjoyed the mountains and acquired a vacation home in Towns County, Georgia.
He remained with Sears for his entire career, becoming a company executive and living in Atlanta before retiring in 1978. The Hamilton’s knew the day would come when they could no longer manage the huge gardens they had so lovingly created. In an effort to preserve the plants and save them from eventually being destroyed, their goal was to give their entire collection of rhododendrons and native azaleas to the people of Towns County, if a suitable location could be found. Fred Hamilton discovered the perfect spot at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds campus on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Chatuge. The location had recently opened after the Tennessee Valley Authority gifted the land to Towns County for a park. In 1981, the Hamiltons donated over one thousand cultivars (most of the plants from their two properties) for transplanting into Hamilton Gardens, which opened the following year.
Operation
Fred Hamilton's donation was based on an agreement that the board of the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds and the Towns County Lions Club would utilize their volunteers to maintain and improve the gardens. Unfortunately, over the years, fewer people volunteered to work and the plants were not cared for properly. Most monetary donations to the gardens were used by the cash-strapped fairgrounds for their expenses.
Renovation
In the mid-2000s, Paul Hansen was hired as garden curator and Catherine Hansen, his wife, managed the garden shop. Conditions in the garden improved and a grant was secured from the American Rhododendron Society to renovate the Garden Shop and greenhouses, originally constructed in the 1980s. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in June 2012 to celebrate the refurbished Hamilton Gardens. The local newspaper stated that profits from plant sales would fund garden projects and restoration. A few years later, a pay dispute between the fair board and Mr. Hansen ended with the departure of the gardener.
New vision
After the Hansens left, a small group of local master gardeners conceived a vision for Hamilton Gardens that included forming a 501(c)(3) organization, "Hamilton Gardens at Lake Chatuge, Inc." for that purpose. They approached the fair board and offered to take over management and operations as a non-profit. The fair board agreed.