Rhododendron 'Rosebud'
24th May 2008
For the most part I am a lover of double flowers, and variegated leaves and indeed any of the wierd and freakish variations that plants are capable
of. In the case of azaleas I have a bit of a problem. I don't generally like Rhododendron. They are too tidy, too deliberate, too self consciously
pleased with themselves and I get very tired of it, very rapidly.
An individual flower of 'Rosebud' on a plant in a pot is a (small) wonder of self involved motion, like pink flakes spiralling down a plughole. I was
a little unsettled by the synthetic pink unchewability of the flowers, and I was right. It is a smug, fat repulsive toad of a plant that has been dipped in
cheap christmas aftershave to conceal the vacuous absence of either charm or personality.
There is a reasonable side to my personality, that will save the repulsive little pustules life, on the basis that it is filling space and not doing any apparent harm,
but it will eat away at my joy in the garden, like a maggot in a salad , until one day at a completely inappropriate moment I will hit it very hard with a spade
until the maggot is gone.
Did I mention how reasonable I was?
26th May 2009
15th June 2013
I am reasonable, and more cowardly than I had hoped. I have dug it up and replanted it at a greater distance from the house.
25th May 2017