The signature profile of North Carolina's Grandfather Mountain rises above Catawba rhododendron on Roan Mountain's Grassy Ridge near the North Carolina/Tennessee border. The Catawba are among the showiest of our mountain rhododendron and Roan Mountain has the largest natural garden of these rhodies in the world. Visit around mid-to-late June for the best display, and sometimes earlier for the blooms at the Carver Gap road access to the Roan. May/June 2015 35