Weather

Springtime color paints 2018 WRAL Azalea Gardens

Every April I feel like I'm working in a fairytale. I look out the window and see a magical splash of colors.

Posted Updated

By
Bill Leslie
, WRAL anchor/reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Every April I feel like I’m working in a fairytale — I look out the window and see a magical splash of colors.

The WRAL-TV Azalea Gardens take on a dreamy look with a dazzling array of flowers in bloom. Every April, I always hear from photographer Bob Ayers who reminds me it is time for our annual azalea shoot. This year, Bob, armed with a pair of Nikon cameras, remarked: “These are the fullest blooms I’ve ever seen here.”  I agree with Bob. This is a special year. Plus, the WRAL Gardens have expanded, pushing their petals out to Centennial Parkway.

Every April I feel like I'm working in a fairytale. I look out the window and see a magical splash of colors.

It’s always a struggle to fit all of the vibrant new images into one photo-music essay. I take the best of Bob’s pictures and my photos and weave together a collage. This year’s effort is bittersweet because of my retirement coming this summer. WRAL is a great place to work. Everyone works very hard here; it’s part of our culture. But I doubt any other television station in the country has a setting as gorgeous as this. For that I am extremely grateful.

I hope you enjoy this photo essay put to the music of “Flowers of Edinburgh” from my album “Grace of the Wild.”

Every April I feel like I'm working in a fairytale. I look out the window and see a magical splash of colors.
Every April I feel like I'm working in a fairytale. I look out the window and see a magical splash of colors.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.