It should be understood that I have absolutely no right to have anything against the rhododendron per se. But it is decidedly not fragrant, unlike the lilac. I confess that I didn't really know about the lilac until I spent a bit of time upstate. Not in the sense of 'up the river' or 'in the looney bin', mind you. And a well bit further up than Tarrytown, if you don't mind me saying so. It's getting on to be a good 25 to 30 years ago now that my ignorance confounded me. Not surprising though that I didn't know about the lilac before then, as here they are few and far between. "What could be the reason?", I wondered.
Well, you'll just have to take my word for it that rhododendrons do not grow well in climates much colder than our own. Which explains why there are not many upstate, but that doesn't mean lilacs won't also grow well here. However, I planted a lilac once down here, and it didn't do well.
These landscapers just love their azaleas and rhododendrons. They flower, and I bet they're plenty easy to plant and maintain. But it disturbs me that such stout specimens of the shrub kingdom, together with the Yew bush (which is not unrelated to the redwood, but is unrelated to the sheep) should be our premiere representatives here in the suburbs of Levittown.
Let them plant their norway maples, but where are the sugar maples? "Sorry, they are not so urban hardy.", I can hear them saying. I get the picture. Robert Moses should have a shrub named after him. I am surprised that the Robert Moses Causeway is not lined with Pachysandra.
An irishman brought to my attention the whereabouts of two lilacs in the area. They are on Booth street, past the schoolyard. One is white, the other purple. Both seem to be doing well. I'm told that they grow wild in ireland, much like the potato.
3 comments:
I am very fond of the lilac, and have seen several in the Rocky Point area. However, being from a state in which the rhododendron does not grow, I am very intrigued by the glossy leaves. A little rhododendron has just this weekend found a place in my front hill.
Well, I'm delighted you've read my blog. Don't get me started about waterer laburnums.
Being generally opposed to Rhododenrons, I nonetheless endeavoured to broaden my understanding of the species by researching upon them in the Wikipedia.
In the "Toxicology" section of the article, the author notes:
"Xenophon described the odd behavior of Greek soldiers after having consumed honey in a village surrounded by rhododendrons. Later, it was recognized that honey resulting from these plants have a slightly hallucinogenic and laxative effect. The suspect rhododendrons are Rhododendron ponticum and Rhododendron luteum (formerly Azalea pontica), both found in northern Asia Minor."
I'm prone to wonder what sort of "odd behavior" characterizes a hallucinogenic laxative.
In any case, my position on the Rhododendron is unchanged.
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