Simply Colorful

Spring charges our senses, stimulating us with the brilliance of color. Every living thing seems to be in bloom, including our allergies. This non-stop color rush puts a ‘spring’ in one’s step, even for the oblivious. But don’t be oblivious. Wake up to this simply colorful time of year.

As often pointed out in these blogs, the true challenge of a sequential garden is carrying color throughout your growing season. When choosing your plant palette, select those that sparkle in one season and illuminate in another. Need an example? Take a true favorite, the Rhododendron ‘Weston’s ‘Pink Diamond;’ one hardy enough to be selected as a ‘Proven Winner’ by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. Here’s all the skinny for planting and care instructions from Weston Nurseries, the crew that developed and introduced this variety. http://www.westonnurseries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/80/index.htm

Need more encouragement on this choice? Think of this shrub as colorful bookends for the growing season. ‘Pink Diamond’ greets us with its powerful punch in the early spring and quietly leaves with its last burning embers of fall color. As Bruce Lee points out, “Simplicity is the key to brilliance.” Translation for your garden: choose simply colorful plants that last more than one season.

Images of the Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Pink Diamond’ (Spring and Fall shots) in our garden taken by Greg Bilowz

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