Rhododendrons

One of the things that attracted me to our little house was the beautiful rhododendrons. Believe me I was surprised to see such huge ones. This particular one is located towards the back of our house and is as tall as the house itself. I call it my rhododendrum tree. We have a smaller one in front which we get two blooms from every year due to the amount of sun it gets. It blooms early in the spring, and again late summer. This one only blooms once a year and it just so happens that it blooms in between the two blooms of the others, so I feel we have rhododendrons all summer long.

There is another special reason I love these flowers, is that they remind me of my Mom. She lived with us for a while before she got sick and went home to be with our heavenly Father. The house we lived in at that time in Spokane had two rhododendron bushes, and they were merely small bushes. In Spokane the only way they would bloom, due to the weather was for ants to take them over and eat all the sticky sap substance off of them. My mom would start watching every spring to make sure we had ants on them. I still remember one year we had ants on one but not the other, so my husband and I went out and moved some of the ants to the second rhododendron just to make sure Mom would have her flowers.

It lightens my heart every year when my Rhododendrons bloom especially this one, as I can admire it as I cook, do dishes, and laundry, since it has over taken both those windows. That is perfectly fine with me, as they really make my work seem easier, and truly brings back fond memories of my mom. I truly look forward to the blooms every year!