It's the year of the bloom

Rhododendron protistum var. Giganteum.

There was a time when I used to climb up into Rhododendron protistum and R. macabeanum, by the bridge at the top of the gully at the Dunedin Botanic Garden, and nip off each withered flower truss with an extendable pole pruner.

I became quite adept at balancing on upper branches, hooking the pruner round the old flower stalk with one hand and pulling the blade control with the other.

It was a satisfying moment every time the old flower truss toppled over and fell to the leaf litter below. Satisfying, not only because each one is large enough to make a resounding smack on hitting the ground and alarm fossicking blackbirds, but their removal would allow the plants to put all their available energy into producing new flower buds.

Without this effort they would produce seed and foliage, and bloom only every second year.

Gradually though, they grew beyond the reach of my most precarious endeavours and I let them return to their natural cycle. Now they flower only every second year.

Well, this is the year. They are in full flower, R. protistum with trusses of light rose-pink blooms, and R. macabeanum cheerfully yellow. Both have up to 30 florets per flower and are celebrities of the woodland garden. Don't miss the show.