May is the big Rhododendron season in Oregon. From Portland to Ashland, Rhodo's and Azaleas bloom their hearts out! Florence, Oregon has a Rhododendron Festival but all the coastal towns have their share. The various varieties start blooming the last of April and you see a few start blooming in February but most wait until May. The older parts of each town had the advantage of planting many years ago and the tree pictured in Reedsport must be at least 100 years old!
You have to wait for the last of May to realize that wild Rhodo's are scattered up and down the coast on highway 101. Their pink and white blooms are often on wild bush like trees that are often 10 to 20 feet tall. Without their blooms, you hardly notice their presence. We enjoy several nice plants at our cottage in Lakeside & thought you might like to enjoy them too.
We always think of Treva & Pete Woods at this time of year. They spent their honeymoon with us travelling north and south from our Lakeside cottage. It was prime Rhododendron time. Everywhere we were surrounded by Rhodo's and Treva photographed most of them! It was one of the most magnificent displays we have seen since living in Oregon. It must be the ocean breezes they like so well.
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