Azaleas

The camellias are just about gone here on the Island and the azaleas are beginning to burst open to fill the landscape with color.  It seems like the progression is perfectly choreographed to maintain the colorful landscape throughout our stay here: first the early camellias, then new foliage in all shades of red, yellow, and green, and now the reds and magentas of the azaleas.  The azalea bushes have a few blooms open but what seems like a million buds almost ready to burst, and I’m eagerly imagining a flood of eye-popping color when the bushes are full.

There are of course many beds of annuals which have been providing color throughout our stay here, with flowering kale in the colder times and now such delights as snapdragons and daffodils.

The azaleas, though, are the real heavy hitters of color and we look forward to their beautiful display.  This is their time to dominate the landscape, and indeed they do!  As always, click on a flower image here on this page to see a larger version, and check out more flower images in my photogallery.

We’ve marveled at the effort that goes into maintaining the manicured and well-groomed appearance of Palmetto Dunes and the Island in general, and wondered about the costs to property owners for their share of this maintenance that is performed.  Can’t be cheap, with all the labor-intensive activity that goes on here, but without this activity it wouldn’t be the same place!

About Tom

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Appalachian State University.
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