Personal Encounters with the Pacific Rhododendron

Every chance I find, I wander into my backyard woods in Kitsap to reconnect with my many floral friends. The Pacific Rhododendron (also known as the Coast or Coastal Rhododendron) is one of my favorites.

Wild rhododendrons have many moods. In the spring Pacific Rhododendrons cautiously extend new leaves and fresh flowers, blossoming in May or June. The brightness of clear-cuts keep rhododendrons squat and bushy, but in the shade of the forest they reach long, elegant arms in search of light.

The late heat of the summer will cause the lowest leaves to droop and yellow in time for autumn rains. Finally, a steady, cold winter freeze will motivate the rhodies to pull their leaves low to the trunk as the snow slides off.

I struggled to choose which images to share today, and finally settled for three of the more personal, close encounters I captured on a recent walk. Here you see fresh, young leaves not yet dark and leathery, as well as the final throws of spring blossoms hiding under the shade of Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks.

Arboreality will be featuring more from the evergreen forests in coming months. We're going to take a meditative tack for a while.

Fresh Growth on Douglas Firs

Forests of the Susquehanna River

Last weekend we explored the Susquehanna River near Holtwood, Pennsylvania. This is just one of many beautiful scenes we saw while traveling along the multiple “River Road” throughways around the Susquehanna.

Green Summer Pin Cherries

Anita Marie Moscoso recently commented that pumpkin plants in summer remind her of the autumn that is soon to come. Being a fellow autumnophile (and all-around-pumpkin lover), I know precisely what she means.

These pin cherries (Prunus pensylvanica) are another echo of the future: when the tired summer finally breathes her last, these cherries will sing the autumn into splendor with the first bright colors of the season. Also called the Fire cherry or Bird cherry tree, these small, colorful trees are among my favorite early Pennsylvania discoveries.

Happy Solstice!

Bee Balm, Beech, and Berries

Monday I ventured out to pop some things into the mailbox, when I was sidetracked by the black raspberries growing along the driveway (like the ones you see in the June solstice post). I had collected a handful when I realized that the awesome rain we’ve been having had ripened more than a mere sprinkling of berries; after running all the way back to the cottage for some bowls, I returned to the driveway and began picking.

As I made my way in around the gardens of the mainhouse, I found many amazing things in bloom. There are several of the Japanese snowbells growing near the playhouse, and I realized that someone must have brought a transplant to my cottage years ago. I also found many surprises in the brush beneath the trees as I berry-picked my way through the gardens. Flowers from many previous generations are still raising a hand here and there among the wild brush and from underneath the trees.

Nothing could have prepared me, however, for the righteous show of red that the bee balm flowers possess. There I was, minding my own business, picking and wandering, when these beautiful red flowers practically jumped out from under the beech tree. After staring breathless for a moment, I remembered my camera and brought some images back to share with you. This is the first time I’ve ever seen bee balm; once they’re done flowering, you can bet I’ll be over with a shovel and a will to transplant!

As I turned around to survey the beech tree, I saw that her fine leaves have matured from their pale green youth into a deep leathery green. You can see how this wonderful rain makes the leaves glisten. I’m still trying to get used to 80-degree weather with rain, but it makes for some wonderful gardening! I managed to get a healthy three or four cups of those tiny berries, and I have the half-eaten pie to prove it!

White flowering mystery tree

By popular request (and because I’m dying to know), we’re going to take a closer look at the mystery tree featured in Dad’s Father’s Day post on June 18, 2006.

This tree planted in front of my cottage is about my height, bringing it to an estimated 1.5 meters tall. Having only lived here for six months, I have no idea how long this tree has been in this spot. This makes it hard for me to gauge as to whether it is a young tree, or a small-growing species.

Leaves are no greater than maybe four or five centimeters in length, the flowers are about two centimeters in diameter (max). These leaves grow alternating along the branch, with almost-smooth edges. The edges appear to have very non-distinctive, slight “teeth” that stretch length-wise along the sides, but are difficult to see in these images.

It’s really too bad that the flowers didn’t stick around very long, because they were just so lovely! The flowers hang underneath the branches in pairs of two, as you can see clearly in the unopened buds of the final image. Just a few small, round, green “fruits” are now swelling where the flowers once bloomed, but aren’t distinctive enough to give me any clues about this tree’s identity.

All thoughts and suggestions are welcome as usual, and in the meantime, file this one under Tree, Mystery.

Solstice Greetings!

Happy Summer Solstice to everyone in the northern hemisphere, and Happy Winter Solstice to all in the southern hemisphere!