Beautiful Flowering Shrubs 



R. ponticum has also played a considerable, if not quite 

 so important a r61e in the evolution of the garden 

 Rhododendrons as we now know them. The hybrids 

 bred from it are not quite so hardy, have narrower 

 leaves, and are inclined to be more wild in growth than 

 are those derived from R. catawbiense. R. arbor eum is 

 the parent from which all the red not purple or pink 

 garden hybrid Rhododendrons get their brilliant hue ; 

 while the not very hardy R. griffithianum, with its 

 fragrant, unusually fine pink-flushed flowers, is respon- 

 sible for some of our most beautiful varieties, e.g. 

 Pink Pearl. 



The course of the development of the Rhododendron 

 throughout the year is well worth watching. At the 

 outset of the spring the tip of every branch holds up 

 a great bud that stands out noticeably against the dark 

 stiff foliage, for it is clad in the palest shining scales, 

 the upper ones of which show a particularly silver 

 sheen. The bud swells until it is the size of a big 

 filbert nut, and here and there the scales begin to part 

 and reveal a hint of colour pink, purple, crimson or 

 white. The outermost scales then suddenly develop a 

 tendency to fall, and soon the knob-like bud is trans- 

 formed into a globular head of flower-buds, like closed 

 paper bags all alike, all the same size, and each 

 subtended by a long silvery scale. In the next stage 

 the petal bags slightly open at the mouth, and often a 



