Day two the first full week in Macro-March! I’m going around my yard in search of first signs of spring, and I’m attempting to identify the plant. This is a fun adventure I must admit. Today, no rain, thankfully, but wind, cold and greys abound, so I’m quite lucky to have caught this bud as well as I did (once again with my macro clip on the 18-55 kit lens).
I feel very scientific and I love the research I’m doing this week. This lovely emerging bud is an Exbury Azalea (of the Rhododendron family). I believe it is specifically called a “Klondike” known for its wonderful orange and red hues in bloom, but I’m not so sure. I had no idea there is a wonderful history associated with the cultivation of this rhododendron, so if you have an interest, please click on the link below. Here is an excerpt:
“Many of the hybrid deciduous azaleas available today are the result of over 160 years of hybridizing utilizing numerous plants native to the United States, Europe, and Asia. The story of these hybrids begins with the discovery of deciduous azaleas on the east coast of the United States. Around 1738 these plants were beginning to be introduced to European gardens. Plant hunters such as John Bartram and Andre Michaux were known to have collected and identified azaleas in the United States. These collections were distributed to wealthy Europeans and were considered precious treasures for their gardens.
Much of the early hybridization was accomplished in Ghent, Belgium around 1825. A baker by profession and a gardener by hobby, Monsier P. Mortier was a pioneer in the breeding of these azaleas. Mortier's exact methods and crosses were kept secret. It is assumed that he was the first to be successful at crossing the American azaleas, R. calendulaceum, nudiflorum, arborescens, and viscosum, with the European R. luteum.
The city of Ghent, Belgium was to become the center for the breeding and propagation of these plants, hence the evolution of the name Ghent hybrids. A botanically specific name was also applied to this collective group of hybrids: x R. gandavense. It is referred to as a collective group of hybrids because Mortier started the work and it was later continued by such people as Verschaf-felt, Davies, Cassel, Vuylsteke, and Van Houtte. Interest in these plants was so high that only eleven years after Mortier's first cross there were recorded 107 clones of Ghent Hybrids. (Bowers, 1936)”
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v40n1/v40n1-cash1.htm
I came across this book also and it’s a great read on azaleas! (Love that books have been made available online for all to enjoy!)
http://books.google.com/books?id=-GIAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA133&lpg=PA133&dq='Coccinea+Speciosa'+georgia&source=bl&ots=bMkS7T7Ban&sig=gHEz7fMETIHlWwpdJmmo8jt4TQM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b_UVU9qAHInz2QXY-oDwAg&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q='Coccinea%20Speciosa'%20georgia&f=false
I’m rather thankful that I am not adding another villain to my mix of yard beauties too! This rhododrendon will distract the plant police in the hood. Ha! Want to see this beauty in bloom? Here is what I took last year:
http://365project.org/darylo/365/2013-04-22
HOT DOG! Extra special points if you actually clicked on a link or two! ;)
