Bushes Full of Orchids

Ever since moving to Oregon 20 years ago, I've had a love affair going with Rhododendrons.  Living in the Midwest, I had no idea there were shrubs that flowered so extravagently.  I fell in love with these bushes that seem to sprout corsages of exotic orchids.  They come in a huge variety of colors and sizes.  You would think, just looking at them, that they belong in the tropics, or at least in California.  But  Oregon is lousy with them...they even grow wild in the coast forests.  They're cold-hardy, they transplant beautifully---you can dig them up and drag them all over the yard.  And they're evergreen...before I moved to Oregon, I had never heard of broad-leafed evergreen plants!  One of the many (million) jobs I've had was working at a nursery owned by one of the premier rhododendron hybridizers in the country (a very quirky little man, and his wife is certifiable...but I digress...)

Anyway, here is a picture of my earliest-flowering rhodie.  It lives in the row of bushes that I have growing along the fence in front of my house.  My only complaint about them is that I can't seem to assemble a collection that blooms all at the same time.  They will flower--one at a time (maddeningly)---from late March through June.  Oh well...it gives me an opportunity to enjoy each one separately, I guess!