| A Rhododendron and Azalea | | 2008-05-31 06:53:39 | | A Rhododendron and AzaleaContinuing yesterday’s theme of the unknown Dahlia here are some pictures of a Rhododendron and Azalea that I can’t identify. In the past I probably wouldn’t have even taken these shots because I want to be able to identify all the plants and flowers that are posted here but after further consideration I have decided to go ahead and post them.With Rhododendron and Azalea there are several thousand cultivars to choose from, so unless it is a common variety there isn’t much hope of getting the name. Both of these were growing in public places so there was no quizzing the gardeners on the name.Today I going to try and visit all 14 gardens that we are tending to this year. I was joking the other day that there are four people and 14 gardens that is 3.5 gardens per person. It is a bit ambitious since they are all pretty far flung but it should provide some photo opportunities. I am cleaning off some memory cards and charging up the batteries. I am even going | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| 'Nova Zembla' Rhododendron Bud | | 2008-05-26 06:53:11 | | 'Nova Zembla' Rhododendron BudThe Red Rhododendrons were starting to bloom at the farm. The White Azaleas were in full bloom underneath them and it was a nice combination. I know some gardeners don’t like white and red together but it is one of my favorite color combinations. The picture I took of them together didn’t come out and the Rhodos really needed a few more days to be in full bloom.‘Nova Zembla’ was introduced in 1902 and it is considered one of the hardiest reds. There are certainly more exciting red Rhododendrons but Novas seem to be very dependable. They can get up to 10 feet tall and have nice foliage. Since this is only picture of the bud you can’t see that the flower has nice black spots when open.What are you going to say about White Azaleas? They have really been spectacular this year (like most years). I am not sure of the cultivar on these but if I had to guess it would ‘Delaware Valley White’. These planted in front of the Rhododendrons with some semi- | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| In Their Rhododendron Jungle | | 2008-05-06 06:36:00 | | Between the wall of the porchthe lawn by the drivewaya rhododendron junglethick stalks a vine, intricately wound, woveninterconnected, thicka moist shaded place under the summer sunwalking over, throughadventures in playa great place for hikingin the dense rainforestthe Amazon junglemy cousins and mein our grandparents’ yardMay 6, 2008 | | By: Poetry Where You Live | | |
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| Purple Gem - Rhododendron | | 2008-04-19 17:20:00 | | Today we started planting some plants in our flower gardens. Since we built this house we've had a hard time coming up with a landscaping "plan" that we both like. The biggest problem we have is the huge size of our yard and house. Trying to get enough landscaping done so that the place actually looks nice is a challenge. I'm sure we could hire a landscape architect or landscaper to help us out but frankly I can't see spending the money.Today we planted a couple of Purple Gem Rhododendrons in the flower gardens in front of the farmers porch. The Rhododendron that we chose was a dwarf variety that only grows to a height of two feet. These plants can survive up here in New Hampshire with a -20 degrees. The beauty of these plants is they love acidic soil. If you've been reading my blog you know that I had my soil tested last fall and the pH was 5.3 which is quite acidic. These plants also like a well drained soil and that's not a problem either considering we built our house on an old san | | By: Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement | | |
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| Summer Blooming Azalea (Rhododendron ‘Golden Showers’) | | 2007-07-09 11:50:00 | | Summer Blooming AzaleaRhododendron ‘Golden Showers’I am always surprised that more people don’t grow these wonderful plants. At least a couple always sneak into any garden I design and build, since they are a fantastic way to extend the Azalea season. Their fragrant and colorful blooms come at a time in the garden when I can use the color. Here is a link and excerpt from a page describing these plants:“Throughout his life, Ed Mezitt explored the possibilities for expanding the seasons of color in the New England landscape. In the 1940s, he began selecting and propagating the more colorful individuals from seed-grown populations of the native plants grown in his parents’ nursery. The major catalyst to his breeding of the Summer Azaleas occurred in the 1950s when he discovered plants of the brightly colored Cumberland and Plumleaf Azaleas, both of which are native to the southern U.S. Like their New England counterparts, these plants flowered in June and July. Although they lac | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| Rhododendron 'Dexter's Spice' | | 2007-05-24 11:38:00 | | Rhododendron 'Dexter's Spice'The Rhododendron Collection is really starting to bloom. I worked most of the day sprucing up the plants and planting some of the new ones (see list below). I loved the way the light played over the flowers and new growth during the day; it was an ever-changing show. I am adding a lot of compost to the beds and fertilizing. I also made a couple of tough choices with the chain saw. Especially in the area that the treetop came down and smashed everything. Besides crushing several Rhododendrons, it sheared a 25-foot Bloodgood Japanese Maple in half. The tree is actually on the mend, it just looks a little funny. A couple of large hybrid Rhodos had been knocked flat and I decided to cut those branches and add some new plants. The existing Rhododendrons were not as bad as I thought when I made a closer inspection yesterday. There is going to be more flowers than I thought, but it isn’t going to be like a couple of years ago when I had 78 varieties bloom dur | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Pink Diamond’ | | 2007-05-22 11:44:00 | | Double Flowered PJM Rhododendron HybridRhododendron ‘Weston’s Pink Diamond’I have been cleaning off some of my Compact Flash cards so I can shoot some new pictures. Lately I have been picking the photos I want right off the card with Adobe Bridge®. It is a good program once you get used to it but every once in a while my cards get filled up. Today’s plant is from the Estate’s Rhododendron Collection and this picture was taken April 25th. The plant was purchased at Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, Mass., about 10 years ago. A lot of the plants in the garden came from Weston Nurseries. I found an interesting page on the Rhododendron breeding program Weston here: rhododendron.orgHere is an excerpt:The Weston HybridsDick BrooksConcord, MassachusettsSource: JARS V53:No.4:p195:y1999“The tendency toward petaloid or double flowers, which you will recall showed up in the early PJM Group hybrid 'Laurie', has been exploited more recently to give us a whole series of double-flowered | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| Rhododendron 'Cunningham's Blush' | | 2007-05-19 13:25:00 | | Rhododendron 'Cunningham's Blush'Another one from the Rhododendron Collection. This one is ‘Cunningham’s Blush’. It is a nice pink that blooms on a slow-growing 5 foot plant. I also have ‘Cunningham’s White’ which is an early bloomer that often blooms sporadically in the fall.Description courtesy of:monrovia.com“This plant is a cultivar of the species, R. caucasicum, which is native to the Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It was classified and introduced by Peter Simon Pallas, 1741-1811, who was a German student of Russian and Siberian flora. This species would the primary parent of a series of hybrids known as the Caucasicum Hybrid Rhododendrons. ‘Cunningham Blush’ was an early hybrid introduced around 1830.”I have a big day today. We have having a memorial service and party in remembrance of my Mother and after that I going to buy some plants. | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| Rhododendron ‘Tiana’ | | 2007-05-18 11:49:00 | | Rhododendron ‘Tiana’(roh-do-DEN-dron)Ericaceae (er-ek-AY-see-ay)I am leaving for work early this morning but thought I would post a couple of photos from yesterday. The Rhododendron collection at the Estate took a real hit last winter. Several old established shrubs bit the dust. A tree came down and sheared half of the Bloodgood Japanese Maple off and crushed about 6 or 7 rhodos. Sometimes it seems that I wasn’t destined to grow Rhododendrons but I keep trying. There are about 100 cultivars on the property and when they all bloom it can be quite a sight. I think it is going to be a rebuilding year. I am buying a few new ones this spring as replacements. I do know that right now is a bad time to judge the conditions of the plants because later when the new growth comes out they look a lot better. This one is ‘Tiana’ and it is a nice white with red blotch in the throat. The flowers fade to a light pink. Mine is about 5 feet tall and is spreading nicely. I would rate it high fo | | By: Digital Flower Pictures.com | | |
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| Local Rhododendron Flower Show | | 2007-04-20 07:00:00 | | The Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will take place April 28 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Lumbermens Garden Center, 235 River St., Santa Cruz. Featured will be Maddenii Series rhododendrons, which come from the monsoon rainforest of the Himalayan Mountains, Thailand and Vietnam, among others. Visitors will judge and the contest is open. Simply bring a branch with flowers atop it to the garden center between 8-10 a.m... | | By: The Flower Expert - Flowers Encyclopedia | | |
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