Gardening with Galligan: All about azaleas
Memorial Day weekend has always been marked by gardeners as “Color Weekend” and it’s not hard to see why. Azaleas! The fruit trees have gone quiet and the magnolias and dogwoods are white, but — and it’s a very big but — those azaleas, early, mid- and late are all in bloom and what a show they make.
I really love mine. I planted them where I can see them from my bedroom window and even closer, from the room in which I write. It’s really worth remembering that if there are flowers that you really care about, especially if they bloom in spring when you are less likely to be outdoors, to plant them where you can see them from inside the house.
Indeed, I watched them all winter as well, as one snowstorm followed the next. Because they are planted next to both a fence and a pine tree, they were in position for the snow to drift their way. And it did. Remember in February, when it snowed twice? The second storm was supposed to be less than an inch or maybe just a dusting.
We got 7 inches. It was after that storm that the azaleas disappeared from view. Completely. To be truthful, I thought they were goners. But apparently, they are really hardy shrubs, because if anything, I have better bloom this year than in the past — a lovely surprise.
Azaleas belong to the rhododendron family. They bloom in spring, and because they have been bred literally for hundreds of years, there are over 10,000 cultivars from which to choose.
They are shade tolerant and will be happy to grow underneath trees. This is one reason I love them since I have more shade than I know how to fill. They prefer acidic soil, 4.5 to 6.0, and it should be well-drained. They tend to be slow growing and rarely need pruning.
According to azalea historian, Fred Galle, the plant came to America in the 1830s when a southern plantation owner, John Grimké Drayton, made it a mainstay in the landscape design for his plantation, Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, in Charleston, South Carolina.
They were such a success that, following the Civil War, his gardens were opened to the public, an idea encouraged by Charles Sargent. The gardens remain one of the oldest public gardens in America and they’re still going strong. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is located at 3550 Ashley River Road in Charleston and can be reached by calling 800-367-3517 or emailing [email protected].
Many other cities have azalea festivals as well; interestingly, they are mostly in the South. If you visit Ashley, you could manage the North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington as well. In Mobile, Alabama, they have the Azalea Trail, a series of gardens planted with azaleas, running through the city. They host an event every March featuring the Azalea Trail Maids, 50 women dressed in Civil War attire. Maybe next March? When we’re still deep in snow? Worth considering.
Disagreement of the week: I was at a discussion on genealogy recently when the speaker quoted a survey that claimed “the only hobby that exceeded genealogy was gardening.” Gardening? A hobby? Stamp collecting is a hobby. Gardening is not a hobby. Gardening is a way of life.
