Azaleas at the Jarvis House Garden May 2012

Right now the Azaleas in the Jarvis House garden are really at their peak.

All of these plants were purchased from a backyard gardener and azalea breeder.

The gentleman had died before I came along, and his wife was selling what was left.

The plants were in their plastic pots, and just left as if the old gardener had gone in for the day.

Each payday from then on anything that still had a leaf on it was grouped in a pile and bought without any knowledge of the color or nature and habit of the growth of the plant.

The azaleas were just planted around the garden boarders.

Now thirty years later, and after transplanting and moving the shrubs around a bit,

this is what resulted.

I found out by trial and error which plants were tree-like, which were low growing,

which were unusual,

which were loose,

which were wild,

which were compact,

which liked to cascade,

which had very deep colors,

which had buds like roses,

and which were  just lovely.

This is the first group of azaleas from a different viewpoint, which is the other thing I learned.  Azaleas like to take on their own shapes.  You can prune them a little, but they have a destiny of their own, so don't mess with it too much.  Click on the photos to make larger images.