If you are an avid reader of this column, (of course you are!) you will note that last week, I wrote about the wonderful Bonsai Collection on the Weyerhaeuser Campus.

It is worth seeing at any time of year as the change of seasons brings different looks to these living works of art.

I had intended to include an overview of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in that column, as it shares the same acreage, but I ran out of paper in my notebook.

That's OK, because this facility deserves its own week of attention in the newspaper because it too is a world-class operation and we are lucky to have it in our own backyard.

I walked into the neat gift shop and asked the nice lady if I could talk to someone about doing a story.

Joanne Hedegard made a quick phone call as she motioned me toward the entrance door, and before I walked in she made sure that I checked out the Blue Irises and Poppies.

"They're really beautiful right now," she said.

Moments later, Steve Hootman, who is co-director and curator of the Rhody Garden arrived, clippers in hand, wearing a nice hat to protect himself from the sun.

I'm a hat guy, so I liked him right away.

As we walked into the garden proper, I asked Steve, who has been tending the 22 acres of plants here for the past 15 years, what people should know about the garden that would otherwise go unnoticed.

"Well, to begin with, you're going to see things here that you won't see anywhere else...plants from many regions...we have the best and largest scientific collection (of rhododendron species) in the world," he said.

I came to see rhodys in bloom, and saw that some of the plants were already past their best condition.

Steve straightened me out.

"To most people, Rhododendrons mean May...but by the end of May, the species are mostly done," he said.

"Done?" I asked.

"Yes," Steve continued, "Spring starts in January, for most of our species here, people come too late."

He must've seen my hangdog look, because he tried to cheer me up.

"Wild plants from the mountains come in March, and there are at least sixty different species like that," he said.

I was still too late, but Steve was there to help,

"This roxieanum var. oreonastes is beautiful, even without the blooms." Roxie what? He calmly took my notepad and wrote it down for me.

"And this pachysanthum is from Taiwan... the foliage is really interesting."

Steve was right, it was neat looking, and I was beginning to understand why he enjoys his job.

While we were looking primarily at rhododendrons, many of them had little resemblance to the ones I have in my yard here at home.

Steve showed me a gorgeous, giant-leafed plant that reminded me of something you'd see in a jungle.

"This is a Rhododendron sinogrande...you can buy one of these in the gift shop." "That's neat..are there more plants available there?" I asked.

"We have a two acre nursery, lots to choose from," he answered.

We walked through an area below a big gazebo, and Steve pointed out that just a few weeks prior, the whole hillside there was red with blooms. Noting my frown, he switched gears again.

"There are some other plants and flowers here...we have azaleas too, from the Appalachian mountains."

This reminded me about Joanne's suggestion regarding the Irises.

Steve took to a hillside covered in blue and yellow.

The Irises were still in full glory, along with some similar, yellow flowers.

I asked if the yellow blooms were Irises too, and Steve corrected me with the scientific name of the primrose growing with them, "Primula prolifera." Sounds italian...maybe Da Vinci should've painted them instead of Van Gogh.

I thought about trying that joke on Steve, but he had stepped off the path to dead-head some yakushimanum (or something like that.)

Tending to my own yard is hard enough, but taking care of 22 acres must be a real chore.

I asked Steve if he had help.

"We can always use volunteers... between the gift shop, dead-heading, renovations, weeding and fertilizing... there's lots to do," he said.

I scribbled this in my note pad and he was off again. When I caught up to him, he was inspecting a very tall, woody bean-stalk looking plant.

I have forgotten the name of it now, but if you go there yourself and see Steve wandering among the tricanthum or Asian Mayapples, you can ask him yourself.

If you are intrigued, go online to www.rhodygarden.org

or call them at 253-838-4646 for more info or if you wish to volunteer.