At the front of the house to the right of the front door are two large rhododendron bushes which are bordered by two equally large arborvitae shrubs.
They were quite modest in size when I bought the 4-year old house back in 1991. As time had passed, they've really thrived and gottten too big for foundation plantings. Each summer I have wanted to move them to another place in the nearly quarter-acre yard. But everyone says to just pull them up. A couple years ago I had a landscaper come and look at the job, but he wanted to just tear them out, but not transplant them. In late winter this year I talked to another landscaper and he promised to replace them with smaller plants. I just absolutely did not want to give up these maturing plants. Here is the view from the living room window. They are now right up against the siding.
Now that they are really overgrown and I must decide to let them all go. This is really a must now because of the arborvitae that is crowding the front step railing.
This week the purple rhododendron is blooming nicely. The white one is so crowded by the purple one, it just gets by with a sliver of the space. However, it does have a few blooms, which are coming out. I counted five emergent blooms today.
Soon (I keep telling myself) I will have to get these overgrown shrubs pulled up. The arborvitae cannot be just cut back because what will be left is ugly de-nuded branches. I tried that a few years back.
In the meantime, my mother and I are enjoying cut rhododendron blooms in the house. Here is a pitcher on the breakfast table in the kitchen.
This bloom graces the dining room table.
I just got a few things put out on the deck this week. This includes containers with white pansies and pink dahlias, hostas, and hens and chicks (sempervivium).
I've even put some rhododendron blooms in a watering can and placed them out on the deck.
The blooms are so lush and lovely. Can you see why I haven’t wanted to get rid of my precious rhododendrons?
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