Thursday, May 9, 2013

Rhododendron Season!

Loose buds
Rhodies, (pronounced 'roadie') as we call them, are a highly used landscaping ornamental in gardens of the Pacific Northwest--also growing in the wild too.   What's a rhody, you ask?   It's an evergreen shrub---can reach small tree size, a member of the heath family.  It has rounded clusters of showy, pink, purple or white flowers and large, smooth oval oblong leaves on it's woody frame.

Our Spring can be very showy with all the rhodies! This particular one starts out with pink buds and opens nearly white!   Enjoy!


opening . . .

full bloom!
What blooms in your area of the world? 

10 comments:

Erika Lee @ A Tiny Rocket said...

I love rhodies! I also love it when the magnolias bloom in my neck of the woods :)

BeadedTail said...

Our rhodies are blooming! I love seeing them every year!

Unknown said...

beautiful....
I love the wild day lilies that bloom down the road...such a bright orange.
Debbi
-yankeeburrowcreations

Rose Clearfield said...

Just beautiful!

Splendid Little Stars said...

so beautiful! Rhodies are not yet blooming here.

Laurie said...

Nothing blooms here! LOL! Seriously, my bulbs all died from the assault of snow/sun/snow/sun every other day...I have one single daffodil that raised its head and the hyacinths are all stunted. No sign of a tulip anywhere. That will be it until the Columbines start (they are weeds, technically!)

pasqueflower said...

Gorgeous! Were those pics taken with your new camera?

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

We don't have rhododendrons in Texas, so it's wonderful seeing your beautiful ones. Thanks for sharing their beauty.

Eyelah said...

Those look beautiful. I'm so excited to see some life. I feel like this winter took forever.

Lisabella Russo said...

Gorgeous flowers! I love how you showed them in various stages. Right now in our garden, our roses are blooming.