My Exbury Love Affair

Some plants dazzle us with their brilliant Fall color.  Some are alluring with their full Summer blossoms.  Still others brighten our winter views with interesting and colorful winter branches or berries. And of course we have the spring charmers with their delicate, fragrant flowers that pull us out of winter.  Filling your garden with seasonal show-stoppers is one way to make sure your landscape is always interesting and beautiful.

However, there is another category of plants:  the Plants Who Have It All.  Some plants are so amazing they offer color and interest in EVERY season.  The Exbury azalea is one of those plants.   In the Spring, the blossoms are so luscious, full and colorful, they will literally stop you in your tracks.  And most of these plants are sweetly scented too.  One Exbury azalea will add a soft, subtle fragrance to your spring garden.

After the flowers fade and fall away, the light green leaves make for a beautiful summer plant.  And as summer gives way to Fall, the leaves turn from green to rich shades of copper, orange and scarlet.

It is true that this plant is a bare branched plant through the winter, being that it is deciduous.  But the branches are interesting, and the flower buds begin to swell as early as January.  So it is a fairly year-round performer.

I have one Exbury azalea in my garden and it is front and center.  It is blooming right now and I am just as smitten with it's pretty flowers now as I was when I first bought it 15 years ago.  Oh, and if you asked me it's name, I'm afraid I'd have to give you it's made up name.  I bought it after my first baby was born and my brain, being so sleep-deprived and smitten with my new daughter, had no room left for cataloging plant names.  Most of the time, I simply call it "Beautiful".  

   

What's in a Name?

The "Pretty Red One"

In the Pacific Northwest, rhododendrons are a plant family that inspires collectors.  These beautiful shrubs come in many sizes and colors, and are perfectly suited to our climate.  I've been to several rhododendron gardens and I am always amazed at the diversity of this plant family. Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island has a beautiful rhododendron garden and many of the plants are still blooming.  It's worth a visit.

Many collectors will have a tag on each plant, noting the variety name and age.  I admire this sort of organization, but I don't follow it in my garden.  If I remember a plant's name it's because for some reason, the name stuck with me.  I remember the names of a few of my rhododendrons simply because they look like their name.  My 'Moonstone' is easy because it's pale yellow color glows in the exact shade of moonlight.  And my bright red 'Vulcan' was too fun of a name not to remember.  The rest of my rhodies have been blessed with my own made-up names, which would bring about a lot of eye-rolling from the serious collector.

This one is called "The one I bought at the special nursery on Day Rd. for $8 when it was just a tiny thing."  It smells heavenly by the way.

This one is called, "The beauty I picked up at Central Market 15 years ago that is twice the size the tag said it would be, and blooms happily with little care from me."

This one is my favorite, though I try not to let the other's hear me say that.  It's name is "The one with the beautiful orange bell flowers that the bees love".   I also love that when the blossoms fall off, they create a bright orange pool on the ground below.

Another photo of "the one I bought at the special nursery on Day Rd....."

And finally, the itty-bitty 'impeditum' rhododendron, who's name I remember but I prefer  the name, "The tiny purplish-blue one"