‘Fantoosh’ is an excellent but under-used Scots word, meaning roughly over-the-top, rather fancy, or dressy, used in true Scottish form, slightly disparagingly . It suits not only Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’ but at this time of year several rhododendrons we have, which are rather showy and spectacular, easy to grow, perhaps a bit on the vulgar side. Not the sorts to find at specialist places like Glendoick or Muncaster, more for catching the eye at huge garden centres.
This is one of those, Rhododendron ‘Creamy Chiffon’, or to be completely accurate, R. yakushimanun ‘Creamy Chiffon’. It is actually quite distinctive in that it is one of few evergreen hybrids whose flowers are sort of double. It has a well-behaved growth habit, and its flowers start off salmon-pink in bud and gradually change to creamy-yellow. It seems very reliable at flowering, and shouldn’t grow higher or wider than it already has here (which is just as well!) It is supposed to flower May to June, and has done so every year so far.
