Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Mystery Of The Giants

There are giants in the land! Well, these giant rhododendrons in our neighborhood, some taller than a house. There are over 1,000 species of rhododendron, including a giant species.  The mystery to me is, why are these huge ones only purple?  I have never seen giant ones of any other color! The name comes from the Greek words rodon, meaning rose, and dendron, meaning tree, putting it together it mean rose tree. In the bible, Mary has a servant named Rhoda.



“…he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
Acts 12

20 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Aren't they gorgeous? Our poor Rhody gave us a bunch of blossoms --but not nearly as many as you showed in that first photo. Our tree is not that full.... George is going to work on it some this year --giving it some fertilizer and see if we can revitalize it a bit... Oh --how I love those blooms though!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy

SquirrelQueen said...

Wow, those are huge and beautiful. Good question about the color Ginny but I have no idea. But then I've never seen them that big before.

Reanaclaire said...

So lovely, Ginny! Spring is in the air now, right? But I couldnt see much flowers when I was in Scotland. :(

DawnTreader said...

Never thought about size vs colour. But aren't all rhododendrons various shades of purple and maybe white? If they're smaller and other colours I assume they're azaleas... Ours aren't in bloom yet.

Tamago said...

Wow they are huge! And so pretty! Looks like they are everywhere and it sure is mysterious they are all purple. But they are so pretty :-)

Hootin Anni said...

...some taller than a house?!@!! Amazing.

MadSnapper said...

3rd up from the bottom is my favorite. i love the way it snugs the house... and the one in the header is magnificent. these are so beautiful, and i have never seen them before.

Shug said...

Oh my.....absolutely gorgeous. Would love to have some of these around our place. Guess I need to check into getting one. so much color!

Linda said...

They are beautiful! Your header photo is amazing, Ginny!

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Wow! These are just fabulous! I never realized the bigger ones were always purple!

Chatty Crone said...

Ginny - I always find it lovely when visiting your home here! Truly lovely. sandie

Ruth Hiebert said...

These are spectacular and I would be perfectly happy with a purple one.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

They are so pretty. We used to have a couple but they died. I think they got too much sun where they were.

LV said...

These are absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen any just like that. What a joy that would be to see them everyday.

Ann said...

Those are beautiful and they remind me of the ones we had around our house when I was growing up.

Dee said...

Heavenly...I did not know they get this big...awesome :)

Joanne said...

I think my old landlord had these but they were white. They are awesome!
Blessings, Joanne

S. Etole said...

What gorgeous abundance. I've never seen anything like that.

LC said...

There were many of those that we enjoyed seeing on a recent trip. Maybe they are like our Southern Indian azaleas which need room to flaunt their natural shape and size.

Rose said...

They are gorgeous!

The Big Cow - Easter 2024

 The Big Cow is all dressed up and ready for Easter. And he has brought along some of his friends as well!