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Our rhododendrons finally popped.
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At least on the front side where my husband didn’t butcher them with the shears.
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For a sheer burst of color they’re hard to beat.
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And I’m not the only one who loves them.
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Giant bumblebees swarm ever them all day long…
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And it does my heart good to see their little legs covered in pollen.
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Long live the bees!
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🐝🐝🐝
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I have a thing for bumblebees.
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Thankfully the bees have a thing for my rhododendrons.
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When the bushes are in bloom they’re covered with fat fuzzy bumblers…. and I love it!
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I’d love it more if the little darlings would stay still long enough for me to snap a decent blog photograph, but you get the idea.
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Long live the bees!
❤️
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An hour and a half in and we were still exploring.
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Which is where we found this mini pyramid.
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It’s basically the same kind of stone my husband used to build my garden bed last year so I suggested perhaps he could build me one of these this year.
He pretended he didn’t hear me, but my memory is long and I have patience.
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Every now and then there was a bench.
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But we were always moving and didn’t dawdle.
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Dappled shade is good for ferns. Add soil too wet to walk over and it’s damn near perfect.
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I have to say I was looking forward to the rhododendron section of the trail. A forest full of rhodies?
Bring it!
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If you’re wondering why the husband looks slightly puzzled? It’s because we were right in the middle of the supposed rhododendron section but didn’t know it.
After doing a 360, you can see why we were confused.
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One bloom does not a collection make.
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Onward. To the pond…
To be continued.
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I adore early June in Maine.
Daytime temperatures are warm but not hot. Nights are cool and there’s no humidity. The tourists have started to arrive but haven’t yet overwhelmed the state.
But the best part of early June in Maine?
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Rhododendron season. (Please note I have color coordinated my hanging baskets of geraniums… momma didn’t raise no fool)
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We have two large bushes in the front of our house and they never fail to put on a show. They even have it timed so one blooms after the other for a longer burst of color.
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I trimmed this one back last year and was a little worried I’d done it at the wrong time.
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Clearly, I was wrong.
💕
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Do you see him?
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How about now?
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten saw him.
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Though eating him was probably higher on his list than it would be on yours.
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Yes, it was a little chipmunk scampering through the rhododendron in front of my kitchen window.
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The day was hot, the shade the bush provided was cool….
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So the little guy just stretched out… and chilled.
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Salvia, geraniums and New Guinea impatiens are blooming in my little stone wall garden bed, but unfortunately now and then I find a hole.
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See the empty space on the left? Thank you Mr. Woodchuck, please tip your server. 😡
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Happily my strawberry shortcake foxglove is on the list of woodchuck avoided plants.
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It’s also rhododendron time.
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And this year, they’re glorious.
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Every season I tell myself to cut them back, then they give me a riotous bloom and I cave.
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This year I planted three tick weed (coreopsis) behind the marigolds. Sadly, they must have been on the ‘favorite woodchuck snack’ list because one morning I looked out and they were munched down to nubs. Solution?
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Giant headed yellow marigolds. They’re not my favorite flower, but they’re not a woodchuck’s either … so that’s a win.
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As is this pink cosmos. Such a happy flower. I smile just looking at them.
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River's world..... 