Rhododendron blossom opening
“Whenever the going seems easy
you are on the wrong road.”
Unknown
From These Hills
Beauty & Wisdom from Appalachia
Rhododendron blossom opening
“Whenever the going seems easy
you are on the wrong road.”
Unknown
May 19, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Hmmmmm… sounds like something your best buddy would have said (in paraphrase)!
May 20, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Lovely photography. Your love of nature shines through.
Are some rhododendrons native to Appalachia? They are very popular here on the west coast of Canada but I don’t think any are native. They do very well in our climate though and people like them because they have beautiful blooms and they are evergreen.
May 20, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Yes, we have a few Rhodies around here. From the Great Smoky Mountains National Park website:
Nine species of native shrubs in the rhododendron genus live in the park: rosebay (white) rhododendron, Catawba (purple) rhododendron, flame azalea, sweet azalea, Cumberland azalea, small-leaved azalea, pinxter-bush, pink azalea, and clammy azalea. Together they cover thousands of acres in the national park.
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/blooming-shrubs.htm
May 20, 2009 at 4:41 PM
There is a lot of this in the mountains of North-Central Pennsylvania. We call it “mountain laurel”.
May 20, 2009 at 7:31 PM
Mountain Laurel is different for Rhododendron. It looks similar but is smaller with smaller leaves.
May 20, 2009 at 9:13 PM
Rhododendron and mountain laurel bloom all over the Appalachias, from Maine to Georgia. They’re also plentiful in Oregon and probably many other areas of America that have the right temperatures, soil, and rain.
See http://appalachiantreks.blogspot.com/search?q=rhododendron for more information and photos of rhododendrons in Appalachia, as well as the difference between rhododendrons and mountain laurel.
Thanks for your visit and comments!
Lee
May 20, 2009 at 9:32 PM
helllooow.. thank you for the quote! somehow u make all the troubles are not troubles anymore.. hihihihi
btw, your snapshot is really wonderful!
May 20, 2009 at 11:26 PM
Thanks everyone for your replies to my query about rhodos. Mountain laurels are also very popular in west coast gardens and native to British Columbia.
And thanks for the links. I did not know Appalachia was so beautiful.
May 26, 2009 at 6:38 AM
when does mountain laurel bloom in the red river gorge?