The Lesson of the Azalea...

The camellia is my favorite flower.

I like gardenias and magnolias, too.

But, I agree with Southern Living Magazine. “The azalea is the essential Southern plant.” At this time of the year, this flowering shrub bursts forth in color and fragrance. We know it is Spring when the azaleas bloom, creating a wash of fuchsia, pink, purple, red and white blossoms across yards everywhere in the South. Add in the white of dogwood trees and the purple of wisteria vines ad the whole Southern landscape broadcasts the return of Spring. Are we listening?

Azaleas belong to the genus Rhododendron comprised of more than 800 species and 10,000 named selections. I associate rhododendrons as mountain flora, where they grow wild and mingle with mountain laurel. And even though azaleas, too, grow wild in the woods, I see them blossoming in yards and gardens all around town.

If planted in the right soil, this plant is a low maintenance shrub. While some people kept their plants well trimmed to create hedges, others let a group of plants grow upward and outward to their heart’s desire. If so, these bushes can stand taller than humans and actually create natural fences. I prefer the big, bushy plants.

In Georgia in years past, azaleas timed themselves to reach full bloom during The Masters Golf Tournament or rather humans so scheduled the big golfing event to coincide with the natural event. It was so predictable that many a skeptic claimed the the flowers were fake. In recent years, climate changes have made the backdrop less predictable. The famed course boasts more than 30 varieties of azaleas and the 13th hole, appropriately named Azalea, is surrounded by a thousand shrubs, according to The Augusta Chronicle.

Although the Chinese tell an ancient legend about the origin of the plant, it is native to several continents, including North America, especially in the United States.

According to a number of websites, the Victorian art of giving qualities to flowers did not bypass the azalea. According to “flower language,” admirers of these spectacular plants are innocent, yearning for a better life, hoping to fall in love. It symbolizes prosperity for the country and and a happy life for people. Who could not be happy when looking at an abundance of magnificent blossoms in a variety of color. Such sights have to stir the heart.

Harper Lee weaves her own symbolism into the flowers in To Kill a Mockingbird. Mrs. Dubose, at her death, gives Jem a white camellia, symbolizing courage. Atticus explains, “Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Mayella’s red geraniums represent her desire for a better life. And Miss Maudie, “the best lady Scout knows,” nurtures azaleas, symbolic of her own strength and determination.

In real life, gardeners choose a variety of plants for a variety of reasons - height, color, ease in growing. These same flowers may stir diverse responses from the bystander. Whereas, one sees beauty, another may view nuisance. Always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, a set list of rules about flower symbolism can never speak for every emotion that any bloom may stir in any observer.

Although we obey moral and civic laws, life itself is not limited to a mere set of rules for humans to check off. “Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.” Inevitably, life sends us on a detour like COVID-19 did.

Author Anna Quindlen points out the lessons that nature, especially the azalea, teaches us. She writes, “Look around at the azaleas making fuchsia star bursts in spring; look at a full moon hanging silver in a black sky on a cold night. And realize that life is glorious, and that you have no business for taking it for granted.”

Like the inevitability of daily dawns and evening sunsets, azaleas bloom in a profusion of color every spring. But do not let us take them for granted. As the pandemic wanes with more and more folks being vaccinated, let us enjoy these flowers, share them and be grateful they announce a time of rebirth. Certainly, forbid us from diminishing their beauty by taking them or any part of life for granted ever again.

2021