Cahaba Lily Festival - a photo essay/travel blog and an invite

Every year around the last of May and lasting into June there is a spectacular natural event that happens on the Cahaba River in Alabama and I think it must be experienced by every nature and flower lover alike at least once in their lives. 

The Cahaba River is best described as

"Part of the larger Mobile River basin, the Cahaba River is nationally recognized for its rich biological diversity and scenic beauty. Its headwaters flow across rocky shoals in the ridges and valleys of the southernmost reaches of the Appalachian Mountains; the lower portion of the Cahaba slowly winds through the coastal plain among cypress swamps creating large sandbars, eventually joining the Alabama River and the Gulf of Mexico. The Cahaba stands out as the longest, essentially free-flowing river in Alabama, and most of its course is navigable by canoe at some time of the year."

I simply call it one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the chance to see.

A few miles away from my home town every year is the Cahaba Lily Festival, which celebrates the Hymenocallis coronaria, which is the proper name for the plant (a perennial herb, actually) commonly referred to as the Cahaba Lily. There are some areas of South Carolina and Georgia that refer to the plant as the Shoals Spiderlily, but it will always be the Cahaba Lily to me. This plant only grows in a very few areas of the southeast United States, and currently are only known to grow in three - Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.   The area currently with the most plants blooming and growing is just outside a small town called West Blocton, Alabama. 

The plants bloom between mid-may and late June with the flowers opening late in the day and beginning to wither the very next day. Most of the time, only one flower on a plant will open each day, but that isn't always so, and every day will be a new surprise during these few short blooming weeks.  The plant reseeds itself by dropping the seeds in the water, which then shelters the seeds in the crevices of the rocks found in the areas where these plants grow.  These plants need swift-moving currents, and a rocky area to grow well.

The next Cahaba Lily festival will commence on Saturday, May 31, 2008, and is usually held on the last Saturday of May every year. This event has been held for 19 years now.  Here is a link which will allow you to be sent a reminder about the festival a few weeks beforehand so you don't miss it.

Every year at the festival there is always an indoor presentation and then lunch before everyone wanders down to the river side to see the lilies in all their glory. There are even canoe rentals for those that want to actually go into the river and get a closer look. But don't take anything. Don't disturb them. Even if you do take seeds home and actually get the plant to grow, it won't last long, and most likely, you'll never see it bloom. 

If you happen to live in South Carolina and can't come to West Blocton, you can also view them at Landsford Canal State Park , which is somewhere near Rock Hills.  I don't know any current information about viewing in Georgia.

So, in short, if you have nothing to do the last weekend in May and happen to be able to come to the area, you would not be disappointed by the wonderful canoe ride into the middle of these glorious flowers for some awesome picture taking.

And if you let me know you're coming, we might even be able to take a ride down the road a mile or two to a local restaurant for a great steak!

This is a great link for more information.

Directions to see the lilies.