Pacific Northwest Gardening: Laurie's Garden Tour 2, 1 by

wrote:
Okay you guys! I am laughing my head off until the dg police show up and slap our hands because of your boy humor. You know the rules here, inane as they are. And boy, are they inane.

Here are my very innocent ideas for that lovely, pure pink rhody: Kitten Pink, Pink Belly Pink, Puget Sunset, Maiden's Blush, Lipstick . There. Now I'm playing nicenice.

Laurie, you are surely the wicked queen and you are completely enjoying it! I had no idea you had it in you. Yes, I agree with Jan: tell us how you really feel! LOL! I can just see you gleefully ripping the poor souls out by their very roots and loving every moment of it. Do take all your frustrations out on those poor trees!
I adore purple rhodies! Imagine them with my new 'must have' tree: Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'. A black locust with heady chartreuse leaves. You know how I love that chartreuse color with those deep purples and roses. Week knees in the garden all around. Put a climbing clematis in clear lavender to climb into the rhodies and get that nice purple/chartreuse color longer into the season. Sigh. And yet another thing: to a British citizen who lives on an excellent historic property, I guess 35 years does not seem very old in a plant. But around here it is definitely at least middle aged! My house was built in 1964 and I'm thinking all my rhodies were planted about that time. I'm sure someone here can do the math on that. Well, enjoy your ripping! We'll probably hear the screams all the way across continents. But do post a photo so we can know who is meeting its bitter end. And do tell who is moving into the neighborhood they are vacating??

The only cultivar I know I have from the original rhodies is Vulcan. Not exactly my favorite, but it's okay in its place. Here's a photo that shows the setting for that 'forest red' as I call it. But we better be careful posting rhody photos on this thread now that we know Laurie's real feelings about the matter.

By the way, Laurie, you do know, don't you, that when you sacrifice a plant, regardless of the reason, you really owe it to yourself to do so with kindness after thanking the plant for its excellent service, even if you hated it? Because if you don't do this, your fairies will know it and you will be very, very sorry. Very sorry. I speak only partially tongue in cheek. You really don't want to mess with fairies. Stay on their good side. Word to the wise.