new duo

I told myself I wasn't going to go nursery shopping this season, to avoid the heavy work of planting stuff. But visited some friends of my husband, who have tons of azaleas in a beautiful huge shade garden. And when I admired certain plants, they gave me some (I turned another three down, because afraid the deer will just munch them). I'm taking chances on these, then. First, a nice large-leafed rhododendron, 'Solidarity'. Not sure what color it will bloom. I took out the sad dying bayberry, and planted this just uphill of it (my husband dug the hole).

Second, was this azalea 'Seigai temple red'.

It's a 'spider' azalea, I'd never seen one before. In fact, that's how I got it, on the walk through their garden, I pointed and said "what's that plant that looks fluffy?" because the leaves are so narrow and deeply cut, the whole thing looks soft and rounded from a distance. And the flowers (just one was open while we were there) look like little red fireworks.

I wanted this one close to the front of the planted area, to admire its delicate foliage (and to start moving our lawn edge forward). I put it midway between the pawpaw and the large straight oak tree.

I was just delighted with this plant, because it's so unique. It doesn't look like an azalea to me. It was really hard to get photos though, because it's small still, doesn't show up well against the background of everything else. Here from the side, looking at the oak (and you can see in the rear, eyesore of the blue tarp still covering the compost I need to finish putting around the perennials).

View of it from the rear, looking up towards the house. You can see how empty the garden beds are. And how the deer have eaten all the lower half of that bright euonymus shrub against the house corner.

Speaking of the pawpaw, here's a much better photo of it. Grown enough I can actually see it from the kitchen window, inside its little protective cage.