I first learned to love rhododendrons (and rhubarb - but that is another story) when I was living in Denmark as an exchange student. Until then, I had never seen a rhodie! I remember spending an enchanted week at the summer house in Sejs, a nice rustic spot in Denmark near Sky Mountain (Himmelbjerg) the highest spot in Denmark. I laughed and laughed when I saw the famous Himmelbjerg, because you could easily stroll to the top in half an hour. Coming from the Western part of the US, I was used to fairly spectacular mountain ranges. I remember our summer house had a nice long rambling backyard of an acre or two to get down to the lakefront, and I'll never forget tripping along the footpath, coming around a bend and being startled by several 16 foot mountains of gorgeous blooms in pinks and reds. Those were my first rhodies, and, in my mind, rhododendrons have ever since occupied a place of mystery and beauty.
Late April through June is rhododendron time here in the Pacific Northwest. Our backyard is very shady so our rhodies bloom a little bit later than their counterparts in sunnier spots. But when they bloom they really give it their all! I was thrilled to discover, when we were buying our house, that we have lots of rhododendrons in our backyard, several are about 15 ft. tall. Every May they put on a show for us, and this year looks the like the best one yet! We just bought a few new ones to add to the yard, because they are one of the plants that does well in a shady or part shady location, and we have a few spots we'd like to camouflage.
This one is about 16 feet tall.
These are two of the new ones we bought. I love that red color!
These are all on some 14+ ft tall bushes right outside our bedroom door
And here's the view right outside our bedroom. We have a big sliding glass door, and every morning we wake up to this sight - I am a lucky girl!
I hope your May is turning to be as gorgeous as ours, and that you're enjoying whatever blooms best in your area!
Try a Rhododendron schlippenbachii, a Royal Azalea, one of these years. It's a deciduous azalea, not a rhody, but it really lives up to its name.
Posted by: Lynn | May 17, 2012 at 04:04 AM
Wow! Beautiful!!!
Posted by: mk | May 17, 2012 at 01:05 PM
Excellent pictures! The Rhododendrons are beautiful! Thank you for sharing!!
Posted by: KiniaCat | May 29, 2012 at 09:34 PM
WOW! I was once an exchange student in Denmark as well. And I first learned the story there. The experience was awesome.
Posted by: Rachel Mcmahon | October 21, 2012 at 09:30 AM
These flowers are not available here in my location. I would love to have these kinds but I have hard time looking for somebody to provide me with this.
Posted by: Jean Hyde | October 27, 2012 at 05:14 PM