Rhodie scholar

Rhodies! The Pacific Rhododendron is the state flower of Washington, and anybody who might arrive here at this time of the year would certainly understand why: everywhere there are rhodies in bloom. They are a very interesting genus of flower that has many different varieties. According to Wikipedia,

There are over 28,000 cultivars of Rhododendron in the International Rhododendron Registry held by the Royal Horticultural Society. Most have been bred for their flowers, but a few are of garden interest because of ornamental leaves and some for ornamental bark or stems.

Rhodies also include azaleas; they grow into small shrubs and even into small trees. They also come an enormous variety of colors. Just for fun (and for the entertainment of my readers), I drove around town this week and took pictures of some of the amazing varieties within a few blocks of my home. This next variety caught my eye; a lady was out mowing her lawn and I stopped to take a picture of this flaming bush. She told me she has had this particular rhodie in her family for more than a hundred years and was quite pleased that I wanted to include her beauty in this post.

As I climbed back into my car and drove a little further down the street, I spied this bush in someone's yard and quickly parked so I could capture it. Notice how different these rhodies are from one another; so many of them have smaller flowers that are quite densely packed together, such as this one.

This bush is about four feet tall and I realized I should have put something in the picture for perspective, but it was too late as I edited my shots. The color is so vibrant that it reminds me of something edible. And of course, while I was learning about rhododendrons, I came across this information in Wikipedia:

It has been reported that the plant is of anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective functions against related diseases, which is probably due to its antioxidant efficacy sourced from flavonoids, saponins and phenolic compounds.

Well! What a wonderful plant it is. Not only good to look at but also an antioxidant! However, I'm not sure I'll replace my Vitamin C with rhodies. Okay, let's see: I've shown you some of the bright colors I have seen around town, but there is one color that I've spied only a few times. It seems that the yellow rhodies must flower earlier than some of the others, since this one was almost past its prime:

I had to bury my camera deep in the blossoms to capture it. The sun was trying to make an appearance but most of my pictures have little sunshine. The delicate buttery color of this flower made for an acceptable substitute for a while. There is a house on the corner of Holly and Eldridge that has at least a half dozen huge rhodie bushes, almost tree sized, and of course I had to show it to you, even if it's a little early in the season to show how spectacular this view will become.

The flowers don't last very long, but as I said they don't all bloom at the same time. I notice that the red ones are quick to burst forth, along with the light colored ones. I'll leave you with one of my favorite red rhododendrons I captured on my odyssey:

These impressive and breathtaking flowers are so much fun to look at, and now I can come back to this post and gaze at them when the green bushes are all that are left behind, and they will remind me that next spring this display will come once again.
:-)