~ Georgia

I have just completed the 4th in the Victoria Sampler’s Hearts of America which is the State of Georgia. 
Georgia was the 4th colonial state to ratify the federal Constitution on December 7, 1787.  The design features the Cherokee Rose or the White Chinese Rose, approved in 1916 as the official state flower.  The plants are prolific and were originally brought to Georgia from China and sold to large homesteads and plantations in the 1800’s 

The Georgia Peach symbolizes Georgia’s major agricultural industry:  Peach growing as well as the State Nickname: The Peach State.  The State Bird is the Brown Thrasher and the State Tree is the Live Oak.  Under the peach you will find stitched in green Partial Rhodes Stitch which symbolizes the State’s many beautiful State parks, 77,500 acres of natural beauty from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Colonial Coast.   The state motto is Wisdom, Justice and Moderation. 
The featured stitch for this piece is the “Ribbed Spider Web” in the band of Azaleas, Georgia’s State wild flower.  The Georgia butterfly, a Tiger Swallowtail, is represented by the Rhodes Butterfly at the bottom of the heart.