Happy Spring!

I have committed the same crime every gardener in history has probably done. I chose a plant and put it in a place where it doesn't belong. I fell in love with a rhododendron from the local farm and barn store. I bought two at $35 a piece, that is very spendy for me. I like to grow my own plants from seed., or get them on sale. We planted the lovely Percy Wiseman rhodys in front of our living groom windows, facing south. in Boise. That equates to planting them in the middle of the Gobi Dessert. What was I thinking? We shaded them last summer and they lived. Rohdys need acidic soil- we have alkaline soils. So I dutifully built raised beds and put a bunch of pine mulch as well. That is probably why I didn't kill them outright. This weekend we put them under our pine tree out back. We built a new raised bed of what I like to call "the devil's puzzle pieces" Horrible stuff to used in a smaller curved bed. We spent two days figuring out how to place them. Just before sunset, we got them moved to their new home. I hope they do well. 

 Here they are in their original location.

 There was a really badly built raised bed that we dug up. we used those blocks and bought more for the new bed. 

Here is the new bed with the rhododendrons planted near our pine tree. They are now about 1 and 1/2 feet tall and will grow to be about 3 feet tall and four feet wide each.