Rhododendrons

May is the time for the peak flowering of this vast and extraordinary genus.  They are not universally popular however.  Anyone who gardens on alkaline or even conventional 'good' garden soil is unlikely to get excited about something they can't grow.  And for those who can grow them (on acidic, sandy, soils) there is always the prejudice about them that they are a boring blob of dark green foliage for eleven months of the year.

Well, here's a thought.  Go and enjoy them in someone else's garden.  There are so many gardens open under the National Garden Scheme, or indeed are open as businesses, that feature rhododendrons you can have a good day out, wallow in the amazing range of colours and forms that they take, and maybe even inhale some of the finest garden plant fragrances out there.  And cap it all with a nice tea and cake.  Let other people do the gardening!

And if you do have the perfect rhododendron soil, be aware that in a genus of over a thousand species, (and many thousands of hybrids) they are not all dark and blob-like.  'Azaleas', a term generally used for deciduous species, are generally smaller, with a lighter feel about them, ideal for smaller gardens.  There are some with highly attractive foliage, others that form medium-sized shrubs which flower delightfully early and a great number which stay very small – like the 'Carmen' in the illustration.  For anyone who gardens on poor acidic soil, they, along with heathers, and grasses like Deschampsia cespitosa, there are so many possibilities for flower from January to June.