Hi Lisa, Sounds like a great plant. Rhododendrons need sunny days in the summer, usually the early summer, to set flower buds. I am on the East Coast and in 2009 we had very cloudy, gloomy weather most of the summer. In 2010 many of our rhododendrons had poor bud set because of this. Hopefully that is what it is and most future seasons will be much better. However, if that is not what it is, then here are some ideas: If you had seen buds that didn't open: If there were, then if they looked sort of hairy on the outside, it would be a disease problem and they should be picked off and destroyed so it doesn't spread. If there were, and they were not hairy but had some flower pedals coming out that died, then it would be partial bloom that was frozen back. If there were and they were still closed and dead, then it would be frost damage. Since there aren't any flower buds, dead for alive, then it most likely is one of 3 things: 1) too much shade, 2) too much fertilizer, or lawn fertilizer, or fertilizing too late in the year, or 3) pruning to long after they bloom. Fertilizer, if used at all, should only be used around bloom time and then it should be a good azalea food like HollyTone and applied once at half the rate on the package. Since you don't fertilize, fertilizing may help. Pruning should be done soon after blooming. The new flower buds form in mid summer. Most azaleas need some sun to form new flower buds. One more thing, never cultivate under the rhododendron. They have shallow roots which extend out to the drip line and even beyond. The drip line is the area where a shadow would be if the sun was directly overhead. Cultivating will damage these shallow roots. Make sure the soil is acidic. Usually if the leaves are nice and green, the soil is OK. If the leaves are yellowish with green veins, then you probably need to acidify the soil. Test to make sure. If you do, then use powdered sulfur to increase the acidity, never use Aluminum Sulfate. It kills rhododendrons. Steve Henning, Reading, PA USA 6 Here is a link that might be useful: How to care for rhododendrons and azaleas.

I'm much more patient, but I have space to give to slackers, if I like them. Right now 75% of my iris have bloomed. Many of the remaining have buds. Of those that did not bloom, 8 I got 2 years or more ago with no blooms yet :( , but some of those were tiny when I got them from the same trade & didn't expect bloom for a while, although I really did this year. Another 6 or so I just got last year-but some of those are lates & may still bloom. I divided several clumps last year, 3 of those did not bloom-some of the rhizomes were big enough to bloom, but didn't. I'm surprised, but that happens. I do have 2 iris that just don't seem to multiply well & only grow big enough to bloom every other year. This was their year. Batik is an odd one-I got it several years ago, took 3 years to bloom the first time. It bloomed 3 years in a row, then I divided it, didn't bloom 2 years & I moved it again & it still hasn't bloomed. I think once it is settled it will bloom every year. Maybe.

I garden quite a bit with my two year old. Here are some things we have done: She has helped me plant a few seeds here and there (the only seeds that she can manage were nasturtium, sweetpea and sunflower) and has her own tools to dig around with. I grow quite a bit of edible stuff for her to snack and graze. She loves the our strawberry and raspberry patches. I like to grow a cherry tomato in a container on our patio for her snacking. We also eat nasturtium and borage flowers for fun. I take her to the nursery with me and give her a rides in the wagons and she likes to visit with the cats and doves they keep there. We bought a catnip plant for her kitty and we planted it near her play house. I have raised beds with my veggies growing, and it was a bit of a struggle keeping her from digging when there were seeds and young plants. But now it thriving and she comes out to help harvest. When I needed to distract her I would just find some worms or bugs to keep her company. Here's a link for a kids garden. It is for the NW but I'm sure some ideas are adaptable. Here is a link that might be useful: NW kid's garden

My daughter won't eat the tomatoes, but she loves to walk around with her little "garden basket" and pick the red ones! Now that we finally figured out how to keep the birds out, she like "hunting" for the little ripe strawberries, too! For flowers--We have been putting in moss rose and it's taking off like crazy! I was just trying for a little color on a bald spot in our yard, but they are spreading and have beautiful flowers! My garden was crazy this year--my first one, and I didn't really expect anything to do well, so I didn't spend much time planning... Next year I'm going to do a lot more planning--which includes asking my girl what SHE wants to plant out there!