Red
The
azaleas were overwhelmingly pastel.
When
I finally decided, two decades ago, to see if I could keep the plants
in my yard from dying I also wanted the palette to be juiced up. True
reds would save the day.
I
already had the azalea 'Mother's Day' and it looked fine, so I bought
a number of others of that variety. However, over the years they
grew slowly and looked a little sparse so they wouldn't do.
Asking
an experienced grower about true reds, the recommendation of 'Hot
Shot' was offered and I bought some of those. But they were an
orangy-red and not what I was looking for. I suspect we all see
colors slightly differently. Maybe 'Hot Shot' DOES look pure red to
some people! 'Wolfpack Red' also had that orangy-red look to it,
though the effect depended on the quality of the light and the effect
seemed to vary from year to year. The color of most azaleas change
slightly in that way. The color expert Don Voss noted that such
small changes were still an unsolved problem.
'Red
Ruffles'? It grew well, had a nice large flower and was a fine
addition to the garden … but it seemed to have a trace of purple in
it.
'Midnight
Flare' stood out. Looked good, but a little late flowering (and
getting disfigured by the fungus 'Petal Blight'). And it was a very
dark red. As was 'Karafune'.
'Hershey
Red'? The color was fine, though the flower and plant were small.
Got to keep looking.
'Sunglow'?
'Johanna'? I couldn't put my finger on it, but they seemed ordinary
in some inexpressible way. Some rejects from hybridizer Joe
Klimavicz were also OK but still had an “ordinary” look. I guess
that's why they were rejects!
Finally
I found 'Coronado', a James Harris hybrid from Georgia. It was a
perfect red, the flowers were good sized and the plant grew well.
Well, THAT was taken care of!
What
else did I like? Dark purples and strong bi-colors grab attention in
the landscape, contrasting well with the dark green overtones of the
grass, foliage and trees. 'Robin Hill Congo', a vigorous hybrid from
Robert Gartrell, had large dark purple flowers that somehow were
still showy. Bi-colors? Bob Stewart's 'Ashley Ruth', Pete Vines'
'Dawn Elizabeth' and the Glenn Dale 'Fawn' all seemed happy to grow
and show off.
Returning
to the show-stopper: what is it that makes red such a great garden
color?
Could
it be reds and oranges grab our attention like no other? Fire trucks
and ambulances are red. Traffic cones are orangy-red.
Could
it be the contrast with the greenery and blue skies? Contrast always
grabs our attention, as painters and photographers will attest.
Could
it be that our blood is red and our faces flush when we get excited?
Umm ... no.
The
final answer as to why the red flowers look so great in my yard is
(wait for the drumroll…) because I like them!
Score:
Emotion 1, Philosophy 0
