Rhododendron Spring
Spring west of the Oregon Cascade crest can be grim. Weeks of cloudy days and frequent spring rains replace the crisp days and snows of winter and precede the sun-dappled forest floor of summer. But it isn’t entirely dreary. There is an elevational belt where the Rhododendron grows under the heavy canopy of Douglas fir. And there is a belt of time when the Rhododendron blossoms splash pink through the deep spring shade. The combination of large pink blooms and persistent rain define the season. It’s spring in glorious, dripping wet, pinkness. Rhododendron spring.