NCDOT
Thursday, May 24, 2018 8:48 am

The wildflowers blooming along North Carolina's highways are a beautiful sight for travelers; they're also award-winning. Each year, the NC Department of Transportation honors the state's best-looking wildflower beds at an award ceremony.

The 2017 NCDOT Wildflower Awards were presented by NC Transportation Secretary James Trogdon and The Garden Club of North Carolina at the monthly Board of Transportation meeting today in Raleigh.

The Wildflower Awards were given for beds that bloomed in 2017. The winners are:

Best Overall Division Wildflower Program:

• First Place- Division 13, which includes Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Mitchell, Yancey, Madison, and Buncombe counties. Second Place- Division 9, which includes Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Rowan, and Stokes counties

The awards, sponsored by The Garden Club of North Carolina, recognize the efforts of NCDOT staff who carry out North Carolina's wildflower program and enhance the overall appearance and environmental quality of the state's highways. Awards are given to the best-looking flower beds in each region of the state, as well as the best overall highway division wildflower program.

The program has more than 1,500 acres of flower beds across the state.