Azaleas

[Tom King]

It's a shame they don't last long, in bloom.  This is in front of the rental house.  They're not quite at their peak, but I was down there, and might not remember to take a picture later.  This is also before I've cleaned up the beach I reclaimed last year.  There has to be over a thousand, and maybe even two.

 

[curlyoak]

More like 20,000 or more flowers. What a show! Thanks

[Tom King]

I spent a day with the Clearing Saw, and my snake-proof boots, last Fall, cutting down all the various saplings that had grown up in them.

I'll try to think to take a picture, in a day or two, when all the red ones finish opening.

[Mark J]

That's like an azalea forest.

[Tom King]

Those red ones are still not fully opened.

Here is another picture of some Azaleas.  This is the driveway coming into our house, and horse barn.  There is a mile long state road, that comes down the middle of our place.  We call both that, and this gravel path, our "driveway".

Back when Pam and I were still not married, the Summer of 1979, we were visiting her Parents.  There was a lady near where they lived, who started large, Hybrid Azaleas on the sides of her driveway, and sold them for $1.50 a piece.  I was driving a 1965 Buick (another story), with a large trunk.  I told the lady that I'd buy as many as she could fit in the trunk, not having any idea how many that would be.

She got 65 in there.  We spent several weekends planting them, where we planned to build Pam's pottery shop.  I think they all lived.  I just grabbed this picture on the way in.  The Pink ones on the right, and any you see down the driveway from that are some of those.  Those pink ones are about 7' tall now.   The white ones to the left are just starting to open.

That's the horse barn roof you can see, in the background, and part of the house roof to the left.  The White Oak near the left of the barn was a little one I moved with an excavator about 20 years ago.  It's thriving.

We had our 41st Anniversary, and my Mother's 105th Birthday, two days ago, on the 18th.

We said we could "fix up" the pottery shop, and live there for a while.  We've raised two children in it, and are still here.

 

[Coop]

Beautiful place Tom! 

[legenddc]

We have a few azaleas but none that size yet. My wife bought encore azaleas which kept their flowers up throughout the winter last year.

[Tom King]

Thanks.

Here's a couple of more pictures.  One is looking back from the house at those on the right side in the first picture.  Pam's garden is kind of hidden behind those.  The Pin Oak to the right is larger than it looks in that picture.  It, and a few others, completely put the house in shade after the leaves come out.

The other picture is the path going to the barn.  That White Oak is the one I was talking about planting with an excavator.  I had a guy working with a 320 cat.  I had him scoop out a hole, and scoop up a little White Oak, maybe 4" in diameter.  We didn't get it exactly vertical.  I thought it would straighten up as it grew.  It's straight, but still leaning the same.

The Evergreen tree to the left is some sort of Japanese tree. It was supposed to only get 15 feet tall, but is at least 25 feet.  One of the hurricanes tore it up some, breaking limbs, but it's filling back out.

We had never even heard of any that keep blooms all year, until just the past few years.   These were planted Summer of 1979.

 

 

 

[Tpt life]

I have had to cut back so many azaleas on tiny properties. They really are spectacular when they can be allowed the space to grow. 

[wtnhighlander]

Some of the historic residential districts around Mobile AL have the largest azalea plantings I have ever seen. My folks lived down there for a while, those blooms were amazing!

[Tom King]

The White ones finally opened fully.