We’ve had some beautiful Spring days recently, but I see Summer coming just around the corner. The last vestiges of cool weather have motivated me to do more garden tasks that should have been done weeks ago. Ah, well! I’m not working for a grade like I did in college, and nobody cares but me, anyway. So in today’s photos, you’ll see some beds after weeding and some in their glorious messiness.

I changed my focus this morning from a general garden overview to showing you only one type of shrub. My gumpo azalea, Frosted Orange, is one of my favorites. It’s a late bloomer that has some delightful properties. Its peak has passed, but buds will still continue to open for a couple more weeks. The top photo shows the perfection of the two-toned blossoms.

I bought these three shrubs in the 1990s to front my “triangle bed.” They’re much more compact than the huge Indica azaleas you see in the background, however, they have shape-shifted through the years. They tend to sprawl from the center and self-propagate very nicely. From these three, I now have seven more.

A couple of weeks ago, this bed’s mauve Louisiana iris was in full bloom with these azaleas. I love the color combination. You wouldn’t think mauve and orange would work, but it does.

Three smaller gumpos are poorly placed and could benefit from a new location. I should’ve moved the one by the deck in January since it was pretty well trampled by the guy who rebuilt the deck. Fortunately, it has survived but is badly misshapen. These two below are healthy but need a better visual advantage.

You can see three in this border with Shep photobombing through the branches. Combining several shrubs seems to work well to boost the visual impact when they’re blooming. Some years, they tend to bloom at once with a big “ta-da.” This seems to be one of those years that the flowers extend over a longer blooming time, but a less-impressive showing.

Here’s a single shrub, but it’s paired with hardy gladiolas. I love this gaudy, messy, joyous effect.

Finally, I’m showing a bonus collage with alterations in blossom colors. I suppose the difference is because of hybridization, but I’m no horticulturist. I just enjoy it when I see it, even variations on the same shrub.

Maybe next week, I’ll show what I’d intended to show today, which was a summary of April’s other flowers around the yard. In the meantime, happy gardening!