Rhododendron Garden

I’m frantically trying to finish up some yard work and get my car ready for my upcoming trip to Montana before we head to Santa Rosa for Mary’s birthday-party-get-together, but it’s sunny and warm and I didn’t want to take a chance of entirely missing this year’s rhododendron display at the Pt Defiance Rhododendron Gardens so I took a couple hours out of my day to visit.

I wasn’t disappointed. Some of the late Rhodies haven’t started to bloom, but some of the early ones are already shedding blossoms and if it reaches 80 degrees this weekend as predicted, they’ll be through by the end of the weekend.

I’ve taken so many pictures there it’s getting harder and harder to top previous shots, but I liked both this Rhodie and the photo,

Pink and White Rhododendron

and this shot of the azaleas they’ve begun to add to the garden in the last few years.

Pink Azalea

I’m not sure that the rhodies in the park are as beautiful as many in my neighborhood, or even the ones in my front yard, but there’s something special about seeing them in a natural habitat, at least the natural habitat for Pacific Northwest species.

The old-growth forest provides a very special frame that can never be matched by virtual, digital frames.

2 thoughts on “Rhododendron Garden”

  1. Rhodendrons are at their best I think Loren when they are grouped together in a large area and allowed to wander and fill in. Then they can look magnificent.

  2. The native ones here in the Pacific Northwest grow amidst old-growth fir forests, so they tend to get rather leggy, but they do seek out light spots within the forest.

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