Rhododendron atlanticum George Forrest Few native trees announce spring

Few native trees announce spring like Cercis canadensis

dark green fronds that gleam like polished bay leaves

underplant with hellebores

into a famine food

adds a striking twist: the upper parts of the large square stems flush a deep purple-red

Rhododendron atlanticum George Forrest Few native trees announce springRhododendron atlanticum, the coastal or dwarf azalea, is a low, colony forming native of the open pine woods and sandy flatwoods of the mid Atlantic and Carolina coastal plain. Unlike the tall wild azaleas of the mountains, this species stays close to the ground, often no higher than the knee, and spreads by underground runners, or stolons, into broad, drifting colonies. The bluish, glaucous foliage is a hallmark, cool and sea gray, and the species