Thursday, May 3, 2012

Rhododendron Phacelia And Iris

The rhododendron aim towards peak bloom.




















The wild Phacelia purshii covers half an acre now and weaves its way through the cultivated.




















Iris of all sizes and colors gather in number.




















After the Bulbapaloozathon this is what you wait for.




















Rhododendron left to grow wild and in their natural form blooming in a full range of colors.



























Other wildlings like the Dame's Rocket, Hesperis matronalis join in. Yes it is a non-native, some say invasive species. We don't care. Competition in the Lush is fierce. It shows no sign of being thuggish. Compared to many it is a meek player that barely hangs on.




















A lone perfect Dutch Iris blooms by my front door. There could be more.


























More rhododendron she says. I think I will plant more rhododendrons this year. They are so much nicer than the azaleas in Florida.




















Lorelei Iris is back in favor after a bout of boredom. The reliability and profusion of bloom can't be matched by the more fussy bearded iris.




















Bonnie Brae blooms high on the low spot of a North Carolina mountain top.




















The Lush gathers momentum.

6 comments:

Lola said...

Gorgeous. Love them all. Could not choose just one.

sallysmom said...

What is the name of the rhododendron in pic 9?
Sallysmom

Christopher C. NC said...

This is a nice time of year Lola.

Sallysmom that is the light pink one. I have no earthly idea what its name is. The gardeners here don't keep records and have no functioning memory.

Lola said...

I don't keep records either but must start putting ID tags out as my functioning memory went out the window. Hooray, got 5 free bowling balls to put in my gardens. Color of ball to enhance the color of the plants that reside there.

Unknown said...

Awesome pictures! Could you please email me? I was wondering if there is any chance you could get any seeds of Phacelia purshii? I would love to grow it!

Thanks!!
Jeff

Christopher C. NC said...

Hi Jeff. I don't pick up email addresses from comments. You can email me at the the name of my blog at gmail.com