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Wednesday 25 May 2011

Mandarin Lights Azalea ... Smiling

It is rare that I do a post on one individual plant .. I seem to always jam pack a post because I am so enthusiastic about all my plant babies ?
Northern Lights azalea class are gorgeous azaleas .. My very first azalea is Mandarin Lights.
I have had this beauty for many years .. I had it in the wrong place for almost all of those years and it would only put out two or three flowers .. it was trying so hard to TELL me something .. which I ignored for some reason.
Finally I moved it to just the right bed .. my on going hellebore bed that gets morning light and is looking darn good .. especially now that Mandarin Lights is one very happy azalea .. to the point it has so many flowers it is awesome !
So once I got over my "Duh ??" moments and did the right thing by this little wonder .. it rewarded me above and beyond my expectations and that is when you get that touch of magic from your garden .. it makes it so worth while you have a silly smile on your face every time you look at such a plant : )
Ghost fern and a little clematis, plus a dicentra are its closest friends .. they love to touch each other and make it known they are there keeping "Mandy" ? company .. wink wink
Taking pictures of this beauty is very difficult .. it needs just the right touch of morning light.
.... with a touch of shadow
... and a friendly arm hugging it gently ?
How can you not smile at that ?

16 comments:

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

What a beauty!! I'm glad you found the perfect spot, what a difference location makes! :)

Marguerite said...

Beautiful flowers Joy and what a combination with the ghost fern. They were made for each other.

GRACE PETERSON said...

Yep. She's lovely. And you chose good neighbors for her.

Karen said...

I am really enjoying your photos! I am a wanna be gardener, but alas, I have a brown thumb.
Cheers

Lona said...

Hi Joy. Oh, she is just gorgeous. Maybe that is what is wrong with my Golden Lights azalea? It has never bloomed. Maybe it needs a spot more sunlight. Here I go moving again. LOL!

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

What a lovely Azalea, Joy. I saw one yesterday at Canadian Tire. I spotted the flowers from quite a distance and headed right over to take a closer look. They're such gorgeous blooms, such an incredible colour. This is now on my list of "must get this for my garden". I see more digging of new spaces in the garden in the near future. My poor hubby...I always tell him 'this will be the last one!' Of course, you and I know there's never a 'last one'...har har har...

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What an unusual color for an azalea. It is beautiful. Made me smile.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello Rebecca girl : ) Yes it makes such a huge difference when you finally put a poor bedraggled plant in the right place and it finally can breath ! haha

Hello Marguerite : ) I pair odd plants up together just be a gut reaction and the need for speed to hurry up and get on with the next job in the garden. So some combinations work and some do not .. it is a gamble !

Grace girl thank you and yes sometimes I can get those combos right .. and the ones that are wrong .. we just don't speak about!! haha

Karen my goodness thank you : )
Funny enough I am a total brown thumb with house plants .. although so far my two snake plants have survived me .. so far ! haha

Lona I just moved so many plants in my front garden this afternoon I ache like mad and I am not even sure I did the right thing by all the poor plants the shovel has smacked around .. it will take time to see if they recover from my on the spot enthusiasm .. poor Big Daddy hosta my not be so big any more ? eeekkkk !! LOL
Yes .. try more light .. morning light is the best .. let me know how it works out !!

Martha girl John was ladder man for me all morning while I tried to tame some of the vines .. he is also "dump" man which helps so much. Our husbands really try to help our madcap adventures work out. Just keep telling George that he has such big muscles now from garden work ! haha
And you are so right .. the digging never ends !

Thank you Lisa : ) It was hidden for so many years in a too shady spot .. makes me feel guilty in fact .. but now she is smiling big time ! phew !

Anonymous said...

This is so bright and pretty. I love the last shot.

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Mandy is a dazzler. We should all pay better attention to what our plants are saying to us - what a nice reward for listening! :)

Barry said...

Joy:
Not one for the colour orange, this is one that always sells off the benches at work. You have a wonderful specimen, and I am so happy that it is happy and that you are happy. Are you happy girlfriend?

Vetsy said...

Joy your Mandarin Azalea is a dainty, pretty little thing.

I like the pinkish orange mix of color and shape of it's blooms.. No wonder you love it, i certainly agree. I'm so glad that you didn't through it out and instead found out what the problem was...Good for you!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Sandy girl thank you : ) The last shot is my favorite too.. this colour can be very tricky to shoot ... usually too vivid and it screams? haha

Ms S girl : ) thank you she is totally happy in here home now and I am wowed by her party dress ? LOL
Some times even the most experienced gardeners don't listen to their plants kids until they shout at them ? wink wink

Barry sweetie : ) the only orange I usually go for is PUMPKIN orange .. but I bought this azalea about 8 or 9 years ago and it stuck ?
Are gardeners ever totally happy ?
The weather usually makes us complain .. bugs make us complain .. powdery mildew to black spot makes us complain .. bad performance of plants we expected more of .. the list is endless .. yet we are always hopeful for some reason ? we are a funny bunch of people ;-) wink wink

Hello Vetsy girl : ) Thank you !
It is a complex blend of colour and you nailed it ! : ) I had to give it another chance and I am glad that I did too ! .. small plants don't make me go to great lengths to find out why they don't smile .. but the larger ones will have me going that extra mile for sure !

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

So pretty(-:

Carrie said...

I couldn't not smile - we do have to listen to our plants, they know what's best for them xxx

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hello there Cindee girl : ) thank you! .. it is a rather bright colour in the garden but I love it !

Carrie girl hello there : ) Yes .. for the most part I try to listen very hard but you know what it can be like some times right ? We have to stumble a bit before we learn ;-)