Bloom Day North: part 2

The following photos of rhododendrons were sent in by Sandy on May 15th but arrived too late for inclusion in the posting on that day so they are welcomed here as part 2 of the Bloom Day blog.

The beautiful white blossoms on the rhododendron above are flourishing on a lepidote (small leaves) variety called April Gem. Below, despite the lilac hues shown in the photo, the plant is R. April Rose (poetic license? Probably not, as Sandy says that it is actually a dark red).

Next is a shot of a young rhodo with a far less poetic tag -  R. BPT 80-5 B. It is backed by the early shoots of ferns emerging in their typical fiddlehead structure. Sandy mentions that the BPT stands for Bayport and that this variety was a product of Dick Steele's nurseries. She adds that the photo doesn't do it justice because the blossoms are actually a lovely yellow.

The rhodo below, flanked by daffodils, carries a hefty moniker - R. mucrunolatum Cornell pink.

The soft pink blooms in the shrub below belong to a variety named R. New Patriot B.

An appropriate name for the rhodo below, especially given its current Nova Scotian setting, is  R. Bluenose, although it was probably named for its purple-blue buds. It was developed in New Brunswick.

The ability to identify correctly those plants added to your garden over the years, or to track any changes in a garden over time, depends on maintaining on-going records. Some gardeners keep a daily journal while others prefer a  scrapbook that includes ID tags, photos and relevant clippings from reputable publications. The key is to ensure that identifying tags do not become lost or destroyed by accident if left out in the garden.