What a Difference Knowledge Makes!

I’ve lived in the same house for more than 40 years. There have always been rhododendrons in front of the house. They grow so fast they easily cover the big front windows. What the good of having plate glass windows if you can’t see out of them?

I coped with it by pruning the bushes every year, and every five to ten years pruning them back to almost nothing. As a result, there were usually very few blooms. Two years  ago, a neighbor told me I should thin the branches out instead of cutting them back. That way light would go through the rhododendron. He even offered to do the work for me!

As a result, the bushes had so many blooms last year. This year there are even more, and they are stunning!  (Click on a picture and it will become a slide show.)

When I went outside this morning to take the last of the pictures, I could hear the sound of bees buzzing.  There are usually a lot of bees in the flowers but this morning there must be at least 50!  This has all been a good reminder that I need to seek information or ask for help when I don’t know what I am doing!