If bees could pay in cash (or gold), then I was going to be a millionaire by now. We have the following evergreen rhododendron in our front lawn. This is the largest one. We have about three more on the side lawn.
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Can you see one of the other rhododendron peeking out from the far-side in the top second picture. I can't have enough of their beauties; try to take the shots from every possible angle; in every possible mode at all times. The last picture in the second row is that of a night shot.
I have not planted these trees. I live in a house that is 103 years old and it has the still original shape, structure, design, foundation, basement, wooden floor, the door latches(knobs) and keys and all the door/windows' border/framework (whatever those things are called). It's fun to stay in this old house as all the floors all the time creeks; bathroom doors do not have any lock; the rule of the house is if the bathroom doors are closed, that means someone is inside and no one should barge in without knocking; the closet doors are such that if one gets locked inside, one will not be able to come out as there are no locks inside; no wood work can be done inside the house unless it's absolute emergency; anytime we ask any constructor to fix anything, he starts salivating over the wood and advices us that such chestnut, pine wood are no longer available!! Why am I rambling about our house instead of the garden? Well, what I am trying to say is that whoever stayed in this house took great care of the house and the yard. One person or perhaps many person, over the years, whoever stayed in this house planted all these azaleas, rhodendrons, dogwood, evergreens and other many flowering trees around the front, side and back yard of the house. They seemed to have much knowledge as varieties of such trees were planted; the locations provided the exact requirements of the trees in terms of light, shade and soil. I do not take care of them, but they are growing big and strong. I wonder when the trees were planted, what size they were then, if the person got to see and enjoy its beauty. My humble thank you and gratitude to them wherever they might be on this earth or mixed in air.
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New growth appearing in the tree. The tree is a medium size in both height and width-wise. It's height must about ten feet; the width must about five feet or more. The second picture is that of a close-up of the bud; more blossoms soon going to boom in the third picture
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Close-up shots of the flowers.
The tree is a magnet for bees; from tiny fly-like bees to these large bees (bumble bees??) buzz around it, flying from one flower to the next. How do they choose which flower to visit? Why are they, most of the time, hovering around the top-flowers instead of the flowers at the side and bottom branches? Are enough pollen left for many bees to visit the same flower? Many such questions would crowd together in my mind as I stand mesmerized watching their activities.
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The pictures are hazy because the bees zoom around in sonic speed; difficult to catch a still-shot.
