Boldly shouting, “Spring is here!” tulips stand up with bright color to any last shots winter may take at us, while we await the coming of the three sweeter, kinder seasons. Cleverly opening and closing with day and night, bowing but then standing straight again with changes in the weather, they advertise spring with the smartest displays to be seen in yards and gardens. February brings its sunny tease and the courageous efforts of hyacinths and crocus, but to me it’s the tulip that stands up to say, “Give it up winter, the flowers are here to stay!”

Welcome, springtime! Photo: sxc.hu/yanyan92

My mom had a long boring hedge along one side of our front yard when I was young, and we all wondered what she was up to when one fall weekend when she went digging from spot to spot in the small line of soil between the hedge and the lawn.  To our surprise and delight the next spring we saw that she had planted a row of bright red tulips.  (Mom, bless her memory, brought to us the “tulips of life” in many circumstances, making our lives bright when they might have been drab and showing us how to hold onto the promise of good things to come when life was humdrum or harsh.)

Brrr!  The spring teases of February and March always make me forget what may lie ahead come April!  I say YES to the much-needed precipitation whenever it appears (even though it may be the snow, hail, or sleet that come clear into June or the July surprises at county fair time).  However, YIKES to the return to cold temperatures and downpours that make muck of my rhododendron blossoms or shorten the life of the bloom on the ornamental cherry.  Ah well, such is the price we pay for a climate that is really very moderate but still graces us with the feeling of four distinct seasons.

Spend some time planning when the weather won't let you outside. Photo: sxc.hu/loleia

Spend some time investigating rhododendrons and you’ll be amazed.  From the history of their arrival in the USA from the Alps of Europe, to their highly varied habitats, to the amazing range of plants from three to 80 feet tall with a marvelous range of colors in blooms and foliage, these “rose trees” (the meaning of rhododendron) are truly intriguing.

Flowers form in big, gorgeous clusters. Photo: sxc.hu/durbs

I’ll try to control my excitement for a few moments and give a few more relevant facts and tips on choosing and growing these plants.  First of all, most like partial sun, best in the morning.  Filtered afternoon sun and/or shade will do, but avoid hot spots with full afternoon sun.  When you choose your plant, be sure to read carefully and ask questions because the plants really do have a tremendous range of forms and can be deceptive when you see them at the nursery.

My thoughts take me from the backyard out to our home's front entry this week, and here's why:  our lovely purple rhododendron, a “PJM,” is aglow with blooms out front at our house.  I have changed my usual morning exit route so I walk past it as I head off to work and get the daily boost that seeing this wonderful bush offers me.  Rhodies are one of those wonderful plants, along with their close cousins the azaleas, to which a gardener can become fully devoted.

There are orchid lovers and dahlia lovers and rose growers, but if I were to become hooked on a single plant, the rhododendron would be it.  Perhaps it is my memory of wonderful weeks as a child with my family at Honeyman State Park near Florence, Oregon that makes me grin when I look at a rhodie.  I remember walking along pathways to the sand dunes through rhododendron bushes that were three times taller than my twelve-year-old self.