“Happy I Was Wrong”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
Spring flowers continue to show up. In fact, the last few days, I have been surprised more than once by new flowers. I’ll be watering the garden, look up, and am shocked to find a tree or shrub in bloom. I am beginning to think I am not the most observant person.
One of these “surprise” flowering shrubs is a native azalea (Rhododendron austrinum). Earlier this spring, I thought I only saw one flower bud on the bush and was so disappointed. I even considered digging it up and moving it somewhere less noticeable since it is taking up valuable space in a sunny area of the garden, and goodness knows, there are very few sunny spots in my garden. Since this is about the fourth year I have had this, I thought one flower cluster just wasn’t enough. Well, I don’t know if it read my mind or what, but all of a sudden this native azalea burst into bloom.
This native azalea is deciduous, and the brilliant golden blossoms have a lovely honeysuckle fragrance. As with all azaleas, this particular one likes acid soil, part sun, and moist but well-drained soil. Hardy to zone 6 and about six feet tall and two feet wide, this azalea makes a wonderful addition to a woodland garden.
This is still a small bush, but it is growing steadily every year. I am hoping in a few years, it will be large enough to really stand out in the garden.
I am so happy I was wrong, and that there was more than one bloom on this shrub this season.