May
Flower of the Month
Azaleas &
Rhoddies
Abundance in action!
It's hard to find a garden here that doesn't have at least one azalea or rhododendron, most of them spilling blossoms like avalanches over the whole bush. If you stand near them when the bumble bees are out, you'll hear them buzzing inside the flowers - that's Buzz Pollination. They're actually using their strong wing muscles to shake the pollen off the anthers and onto themselves.
Rhoddies can be hazardous to bees - they're so sticky they can get stuck inside!
In Tibet, rhododendron grow off steep cliffs and are pollinated by the worlds largest honey bees. This honey is red and a natural hallucinogenic. For over six hundred years collectors have dangled from rope ladders hundreds or thousands of feet in the air to gather this valuable commodity.
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden won't let you experience that, but it's a gorgeous place to see these plants in all their splendor!
Suggested bee attracting flowers from our April Hamlet pollinator meeting
agastache, mexicana, rupestris
alder
Anise Hyssop *
asters
Big-leafed maple
bleeding heart
carropteris
coneflowers (echinacea)
cosmos
cottonwood
dahlias
fennel
globe allium
hibiscus
huckleberry, evergreen
Joe Pye Weed
lavender **
mahonia
oregano
red currant *
rosemary
salvia
snowberry
sunflowers
winter squash
zinnias
Asterisks mean it was mentioned more than once.
Visit Camassia Natural Area!
The Nature Conservancy has chosen this local natural area restore Oregon White Oak stands. It blooms profusely in April and early May with over 300 species of plants. If you want a wildflower fix that's minutes from home, here it is!
or - Take a Trillium Hike through Tryon Creek!