Rain in the Garden
The Hills & Dales Estate in LaGrange is Georgia's finest home + garden museum. The gardens on the site date from the early 1800s. The former family home of the Callaway family was designed by noted architect J. Neel Reid (completed 1916).
The estate welcomes guests to the visitor’s center for events and education plus tours of the gardens and house. One of the annual events is a photography contest open to novice and advanced participants.
We entered one image in the photography contest and were very fortunate to be recognized with two awards. Entrees to the contest are on view in the visitors center through the end of August.
In the image above, the visitor center features a timeline of the property, exhibits, a short film to help you appreciate the special history of the estate, gathering/dining space and a gift shop. This is the starting point for any visit to the estate.
In the image above, you can see the display of entrees for the photo contest. There are four subjects and two levels of expertise. We enjoyed seeing the many perspectives and think you will too - especially if you view the images before touring the gardens.
The image above is our entry in the 2025 photo contest. We titled it “Rain in the Garden”. This is our first entry in the photo contest.
Given the high quality of the images submitted, we were very pleased to be awarded 2nd Place for close up/macro photography by a novice and Best in Show in the novice category.
In the image above, we can see the south facade of the house from the top terrace in the gardens Nancy Ferrell started in the 1830s. There are many plants blooming through the seasons at Hills & Dales plus a green house full of fascinating and beautiful plants all waiting for you to discover them… and then try to identify them.
The estate offers memberships that are designed to keep your costs low, especially for families. The membership allows you to visit the house and gardens plus it includes scholarship from Carlton Wood, Executive Director of the estate.
Carlton researches constantly and writes articles that help us better understand various aspects of history, architecture, culture and community in the American South. Carlton is one of the many treasures of the Hills & Dales Estate.
We hope you’ll visit the Hills & Dales Estate and take photos you can enter in next year’s photo contest. We’ll likely return in the fall and in December when the estate is decorated for Christmas.
Leave a comment below to let us know if you’ve visited the Hills & Dales Estate or plan to. We’d also be grateful if you’d share any photo contests you think might be of interest!
Other Posts of Interest:
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Gift Idea: American Classicist
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