Medfiled Rhododenrons

What a huge disappointment. Visiting the Rhododendron Reservation in Medfield, Ma., has been on my list of things to do for many years now. It's the largest stand of (wild!) rosebay rhododendrons in the state.

It's described by the custodial organization as a 196 acre reservation. Well. That's a little misleading. I expected a near 200 acre wonderland of rhododendron blossoms. It may very well be a 196 acre reservation but 194 and a half acres of that is just walking in the woods. The rhododendrons grow in an area I'd say is about an acre and a half.

It really is a pleasant walk in the woods
The rhododendrons however were hugely disappointing.

They weren't very healthy. Winter is hard here. And the eastern white pines prevent much sunlight from reaching the ground.

There are no flowers here nor is there any evidence of flowers having been here.

This isn't going to bloom...
I saw just a couple of large vibrant healthy bushes. Almost as big as small houses!

It was a pleasant enough walk in some New England woods on a nice day with summer just hours away. And there was a sign posted by the stand. It explained how the area became threatened, the rhododendrons being crowded out by the pine trees and effort was being made to thin out the pines and restore the stand. A deer fence with a gate was put up around the rhododendrons. That was 19 years ago. It looks to me like they were too late. Truth is the deer ate almost every one of them.