Flowering Azalea, the Native Kind (Rhododendron austrinum)

 These Azaleas are on fire!

You won't be able to miss this gorgeous shrub.

A distress call is going out: "Help! Please pollinate me!"

The native bees need to get to work; there are a lot of flowers here.

This shrub has more flowers than leaves. As the flowers are in their height of glory, the leaves are just emerging. See our previous post on this.

Orange, yellow, red, green, pink, and every shade between.

Would William Blake consider this to be 'fearful symmetry'? I'd be scared to try and recreate it from memory.

These flowers are not only beautiful and enchanting, they are staggeringly complicated.

As the bees see it (photographed from an elevated position.)

Enjoy this one before it's gone. Only a few days remain!

Springtime in the Arboretum

Spring is officially here, having begun on March 20th, and many of the inhabitants of the arboretum are in full vigor. A walk through will reveal a variety of species putting out new leaves, putting on flowers, performing reproduction, and otherwise enjoying the change in seasons.

These are samaras of the red maple (Acer rubrum).

Here we see flowers of the devilwood (Osmanthus americanus).

Laurel cherry (Prunus caroliniana) flowers are numerous!

These are purple pawpaw (Asimina triloba) flowers.

These are green pawpaw flowers. They will soon turn maroon or purple.

This pretty little white flower is produced by the mayhaw (Crataegus opaca). Last spring, an eastern red cedar was cut down in the hopes that we would see more of these flowers. As compared with the last three years, we are certainly seeing more mayhaw flowers today.

In northwest Louisiana, we love our azaleas, but not all azaleas are native to the southeastern United States. Here we have the stunning flowers of our native yellow-flowered azalea (Rhododendron austrinum).

 

 

 

Yellow-Flowered Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum)

Fresh green azalea leaves appear after the gorgeous, orange flowers.
Photo taken March 21, 2020

Mid-March Spring Time Flowers

Puffs of white flowers cover the slender branches of the laurel cherry (Prunus caroliniana).

Wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) flowers are light pink and low to the ground. They are growing well with blue phlox, Christmas fern, and a young red buckeye.

Walking through campus you will see that some azaleas are already in full swing. Our yellow-flowered azalea shrubs (Rhododendron austrinum) are preparing for a dazzling display this coming week. They are called 'yellow-flowered'; however, in the ground of the arboretum, they are 'orange-flowered' and produce a delightful aroma. Don't miss it!

Yellow-Flowered Azalea

Yellow-Flowered Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum), pictured March 23, 2019

These flowers have a strong, sweet fragrance.

Pollinators were found, hard at work!

Rhododendron austrinum