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gordonf
Happy Collector
Vancouver Island, Canada
Overrated Spring4 Oct '07 7:06 pm
Well, I have come into this discussion rather late, I see, but I can't imagine how anyone could claim that Spring was overrated with scenes such as the ones posted here!  They are simply wonderful! And, to think that I have only one azalea that blooms in my garden (unless one counts the tiny, potted one on the ledge), and it's a white one! Those yellow azaleas in your pictures remind me of giant daylilies! I really must try to find a place for one in my overcrowded garden! Are they Mollis or Exbury varieties, Jack? I know that there is a series available here called "Spicy Lights" which come in yellow, pink and, I think, orange. They all are extremely hardy for azaleas and all of them have an intoxicating scent! One plant can perfume an entire small garden! For other North American gardeners reading this, these plants are hardy to at least zone 3!
Wow! I'd better rush on to see what else I've been missing!
Cheers!
gordonf
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Faith S
Perpetually learning gardener
Alabama, USA
Fantasy Garden5 Oct '07 3:41 am
Dear Jack, your arboretum looks like a Thomas Kinkade fantasy garden. All the colors of the rainbow!
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Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Mollis azaleas6 Oct '07 8:33 pm
Hi Gordon - yours sound like Mollis azaleas to me, which is what my yellow ones are. They are a lot less common and more difficult than the others. I must admit that my knowledge of azaleas is sketchy, to say the least!
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Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Early spring progress report7 Oct '07 7:34 am
We are heading towards a record spring rainfall. For two weeks the weather has hardly cleared, and we have almost daily rain. Often it is very light, but in the early hours of this morning it poured down, knocking azalea blossoms off the bushes. On an afternoon walk I took the following pictures.
Walking on a wet farm.JPG
The yellow flowers beyond the waterlily pond are Iris pseudocorus, the inspiration for the french icon. My waterlilies survived the cold winter and I will now get three more varieties.
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Home-grown mollis azalea 1.JPG
One of many grown from a tray of seeds given to me by friends who germinated them. They vary from almost white to deep pink, with a few approaching the yellow/salmon spectrum.
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The Rosemary Border in early October.JPG
I'm pleased with how solid it appears so early in the season. The tall, skew blue standpipes that I've been cursing for a year have still not been replaced with shorter green ones. Perhaps a job for tomorrow!!
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Shades of green.JPG
A host of different trees and shrubs are loving the cool moisture on their unfurling leaves.
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Faith S
Perpetually learning gardener
Alabama, USA
Morning stroll8 Oct '07 5:53 am
What a lovely morning stroll, Jack. Thanks for taking us along.
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Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Sunday8 Oct '07 7:43 am
A lovely sunny day... my parents go for a walk - and these days that means they take the car and walk little bits. Luckily my dad had the foresight to provide a road up into the arboritum. And so I photograph them on a precious walk...
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gordonf
Happy Collector
Vancouver Island, Canada
Spring Walks8 Oct '07 3:40 pm
Hi, Jack- How wonderful for your parents to be still able to walk around and to enjoy the fruits of all their planning many years ago. We should all be so lucky!! They certainly look to be hale and hearty and are obviously enjoying seeing the wonderful flowers of spring! May they be with you for many, many years to come!!
-gordonf
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Liza
gardening consultant
Waterloo, Belgium
Heart warming scenes...8 Oct '07 7:41 pm
Jack, it is REALLY, SO heartwarming, to still be able to admire your happy and serene parents in their Springwalks amidst your/their Paradise, where you all have contributed for becoming one (Paradise)...You are VERY lucky, you know...
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Jack Holloway
Passionate Gardener
SEQUOIA FARM Haenertsburg South Africa
Suddenly my world is green...17 Oct '07 4:30 am
I was looking yesterday at our rainfall chart. We had rain on 17 of the 18 days starting 25 September, 18 of the 22 days since the 25th. It is the most perfect start to a season ever. All over the locals agree: this has been a magnificent spring, the cold winter contributing to the glory of the season. And on my weekend walk the farm was overwhelmingly green, and my first open garden guests have been, and were impressed, and on Saturday I had 6 garden journalists to tea together with the organiser of the open gardens project and they were enthralled. So I am feeling pretty pleased with life
Right now I'm having computer problems AGAIN so I will try to post this first pic  only
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Liza
gardening consultant
Waterloo, Belgium
What THRILLING news!!17 Oct '07 7:28 am
Wow, dear Jack!! I am SO happy for you!! And I had thought that you were lost because of.... "Romeo and Juliette"! And you were experiencing all this garden glory! Isn't it fantastic!! Congratulations!!
And this Spring-pond photo is really splendid!! I would say , equally magestic with the similar Autumnal ones....
I hope/wish your...computer problems are soon solved!
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