Cornell Plantations gardeners are crediting a mild winter for this spring's spectacular bloom of rhododendrons, including more than 300 specimens on display at Comstock Knoll.

"This year the rhodies really knock your socks off," says Donald Rakow, director of Cornell Plantations, where the grounds are open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dark each day.

Shades of pink and red will predominate through the month of May at Comstock Knoll, the hilltop collection of hardy azaleas and rhododendrons located between the Plantations headquarters building and Beebe Lake. Interspersed among the rhododendrons, which are expected to continue blooming for several weeks, are the sky-blue flowers of lungwort, the golden yellow of fairy bells and the delicate white of Solomon's seal, as well as the rich golds and greens of unfurling hosta leaves and fern fronds.

For more information, call (607) 255-3020. Or visit the Cornell Plantations web site at http://www.plantations.cornell.edu to learn "What's Blooming at Plantations," or get the online guide to the Plantations Path and schedules of Plantations classes and special events.