What's Blooming at Bear Run in late June - Rhododendron

Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), also known as great laurel, is a large evergreen shrub with clusters of pinkish- white, lobed flowers on glandular sticky stalks. Its habitat is damp woods and forested wetlands ranging from Maine south to Georgia and Alabama. This tall, straggly shrub often forms impenetrable thickets on moist slopes or in swamps. It is sometimes used as an ornamental for its showy flowers and handsome foliage, although its earlier flowering brightly colored Asian relatives are the species typically planted..

To enjoy blooming rhododendron, plan to visit the Bear Run Nature Reserve in June or July where it grows abundantly along the Bear Run stream and several reserve trails around Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright designed vacation home of the Edgar Kaufmann family. Rhododendron often peaks around the 4th of July at Bear Run.

Also plan to visit the “Fallingwater Homecoming” exhibit open now through July 18, Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Barn at Bear Run.

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