A Bloom Here, a Bloom There

Camellia

I’ve been monitoring the blooms since February at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Washington, making trips about every two weeks. I am so glad I went when I did to catch the giant Chinese variety Magnolias in bloom, because now all the blossoms have dropped. It’s sad to see them go. They bloom for such a short period of time. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to view these beauties.

The extraordinary warm weather and the rain we had the previous week has really helped all the plants explode into color. Now that most of the early spring bloomers are fading away, the real gems of the garden, the rhododendrons, will be predominating for some time to come. Enjoy the many images below of several different species of rhododendrons.

I finally got a decent shot of one of the Rutherford Conservatory tropical plants species, Agapetes, a native plant to Himalaya. See below.

Here is some Wild Ginger.

And here is the shiny leaf of a Mayapple. Don’t let the name fool you. It is a poisonous woodland plant. I like the tiny, serrated edges on the leaf.

I’m really looking forward to April, when the Himalayan Blue Poppy will be blooming in the garden, soon to be followed by the Giant Himalayan Lily. The garden is open everyday, 10am – 4pm, except for Mondays.

All images property of Peggy A Thompson