Moving right along . . . on to block #47! (Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?)
Here we have another "Rhodie", this time for West Virginia. 'Rohodendron maximum' is very popular as a landscaping shrub because of its large size. They are extremely common in West Virginia and throught the eastern and northwestern states, and can reach heights of 15 to 40 feet. In fact, the name rhododendron means "rose tree". The shrubs are members of the heath family and bloom in the spring with lovely fragrant flower clusters, that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. No wonder it was selected as the state flower after an exuberant recommendation by Governor George Atkinson in praise of its many attributes. School children cast their votes in favor of it and 'Big Laurel' was approved by House Joint Resolution January 29, 1903. Other names for it include 'great rhododendron', 'great laurel', and 'rosebay'.
COLORS: petals--light pink #3326 & dark pink #956; centers--yellow #307; leaves--light green #989 & dark green #987; letters--smoke gray #645.
Just a side-note about duplicate flower blocks: If you piece the states in alphabetical order, the rhodies for Washington and West Virginia will be set side by side, so you may want to do them differently if that bothers you. Truthfully, I didn't think about this at all, until I had them all laid out yesterday. If you wanted too, you could do one pink and one purplish-pink, or something like that, to create some distinction. Up to you.
One of our rhodies shocked us this spring with an amazing bloom!
