Rhododendron

Through the trees of Shipley Hall's old, Italian garden, the sun was shining this morning on the rhododendrons. Bursting into flower along with so many other plants, they are magnificent.

The word rhododendron comes from the Greek Rhodos meaning 'Rose' and Dendron meaning 'Tree'.

Rhododendron species are found almost all over the northern hemisphere with most from the Himalayan mountain areas.

Often naturalising around the woodlands of Britain, they can become a nuisance by ousting native species. Despite their beauty, they are rather poisonous and have been known to kill horses which have mistakenly browsed on their foliage.

But here, this morning, they looked fantastic.