So sorry...

I feel so sorry for my late flowering rhododendrons. It's not their fault. They are programmed to bloom when it suits them. In my garden they overlap so beautifully with the roses. If only they could flower in comfort.

 My hot weather indicator!
Late Pink Rhododendron

But the weather gets in the way, every year. The last big pinks are flowering in the Driveway Border - right! It must be time to crank up the temperature! And so we have a hot, dry week with lots of wind. Watering doesn't help much. And the late flowering rhododendrons just give up - the struggling lilac-blue Blue Wave, the tall yellow, the bright pinks. I can just hear them muttering : Oiy! This isn't what we signed up for!

And those beautiful coloured blooms droop within a couple of days. Like a bunch of roses picked for the house, it's just too hot for them to last.

 Poor thing.
Floppy Rhododendron

So sorry!