Azaleas are a “garden” flower, or maybe a nice shrub to line the driveway – but occasionally, walking through the forest, you see these relics alongside daffodils, indicators of a more human-cultivated past. They bear testimony that a homesite used to stand here, and the plants, and the bees that love them, thrive long after the people have moved on.
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 
A beautiful flower, it’s easy to understand why people would plant them in their yards and future generations enjoy them. They are native out here, in California and Oregon, and I often come on them when wandering in the woods. –Curt
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They do grow well here, but the wild relatives – mountain laurel and rhododendron – are really dominant. If we see azaleas around here is a pretty good indication they were deliberately placed at some point. Most be nice to have these filling the understory in the spring!
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Indeed it is.
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