Red

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