Rhododendrons

• Andrew Rouse, President of the Rhododendron Society, has invited us to visit his own garden in Hawthorn East, to include a talk on rhododendrons from Andrew.

  Arrangements

• Travel will be by car pooling from the clubrooms after a short meeting, with easy access and street parking
• Arrive in time for morning tea – plenty of seating

We enjoyed a delightfully different presentation with a visit and morning tea in Andrew’s garden in Hawthorn. Here we had the opportunity to observe hundreds of diverse and rare species of rhododendron flourishing in this knowledgeable plantsman’s beautiful sheltered garden. Many were flowering in pink, white, red and gold shades, highlighted against green foliage, ranging from tiny, dainty bell flowered shrubs, many tropical species, rare introductions from overseas to the more familiar garden bushes seen in Melbourne.

Andrew also had a large collection in pots, explaining that rhododendrons are well suited to pot cultivation, preferring an open potting mix but with care not to over water. A visit to the glasshouse was a tropical adventure in itself with its array of hanging baskets and propagated cuttings.

Thank you to Andrew for his generosity in opening the garden and providing such an enjoyable morning, enabling members to learn so much more about the rhododendron species range.

A few pictures of some of the rhododendrons can be viewed on our Facebook page.