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Article: The Azaleas: Washington's Favorite
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- April 23, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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This is not the time to leave Washington unless you hate
azaleas. The insistently lush pink `Coral Bells' herald the season
and opened April 13 with me. I always used to count on the Carolina
jasmine blooming on that date until, first, I noticed it was usually
a week later and, second, my glorious plant of it died in the drought
of 1988 to my bewildered anger.
But back to azaleas, it is usually April 20 before the main
burst of the Kurumes begin-these are the Japanese evergreen azaleas
that are the commonest azaleas in the capital. They were introduced
in the 1920s but only began to be common in the 1940s. I can
remember a time when it was said they couldn't be grown here, but now
they ...