Rhododendrons in Bloom at Babīte

A sunny but slightly cool Saturday - perfect for a walk through a pine forest, marvelling at the multicoloured clusters of rhododendrons. Anthills can be seen here and there, having taken a liking to this spot. In the central part of the rhododendron nursery is a pond where duck couples spend their leisurely days. One pair already has four lively little ducklings. Walking and admiring the splendour of the rhododendron blooms, you can easily spend more than one hour at the nursery. Only the mosquitoes won't let you stand still for a moment - and there are an unprecedented number of them this year.

The University of Latvia Rhododendron Breeding and Trial Nursery "Babīte" was founded on 1 July 1980 and is currently the only specialised rhododendron nursery in the Baltic states. The nursery is situated in an open pine forest covering an area of 12 hectares. Here you can see 73 rhododendron species and 184 varieties, of which 57 are locally bred varieties (breeder R. Kondratovičs).

Although not every rhododendron had its variety name on display, there are a few I particularly want to highlight. Not far from the entrance, the intensely pink "Līva"; the bright yellow "Saule", as if reflecting sunlight; the vivid red "Uguns" and the snow-white "Astra"; the white "Polārzvaigzne" with a soft yellow centre, extraordinarily rich in blooms; the deeply saturated dark red "Commonwealth". Some rhododendron names were a genuine discovery - for example, "Sprīdītis", "Jefiņš", "Profesor Jeršov'" - and I also found my own namesake, "Inga".

The most popular rhododendron in the nursery appeared to be "Irina" - richly blooming, full, and quite tall shrubs with pale violet flowers and a yellowish centre. A salmon-coloured Japanese rhododendron in combination with a rhododendron of another colour creates a fantastic colour combination. Softly white-yellow flowers belong to the "Silver Slipper" rhododendron, while surprisingly orange ones belong to "Golden Dust".

You too can enjoy the view, looking through photographs from the rhododendron nursery: