WITH SPRING ARRIVES ALLURING AZALEAS

There's never enough time for Haupt to spend in her lovely backyard, full of several varieties of trees and flowers and even a pond.

As Marie Haupt walks around her neatly kept backyard, full of beautiful flowers of all shapes and colors, it's obvious she's most proud of her azaleas.

"I like all plants but I was wanting to try something new, unusual and different," Haupt said of her decision to plant azaleas over 30 years ago.

And Azaleas are certainly these things. Azalea blossoms range in color through all shades of pink, red, white, yellow and purple. Their long, conspicuous stems extend beyond the petals and a long, slender capsule covered with hairs holds the seeds.

More than 50 species of azaleas bloom in North America and many of these can be found in Haupt's back yard.

But it all began with five little plants spaced two or three feet apart in the early '60s.

"They started growing together and before too long they were all over the place," Haupt said.

When she first heard of azaleas she was intrigued but she had trouble finding them around here. She finally saw them at her first visit to a nursery in Cape. They had all of the normal flowers for sale, and then there were two or three "squiggly plants" -- azaleas.

"The man working there told me I wouldn't like those," she said. So she didn't buy any then. But she became more brave when she saw azaleas in a mail order catalog. So she bought some, planted them, and the rest, as they say, is history.

And she fell in love with them.

She likes them for many reasons. "They're colorful and once I get them planted, I don't have to do a lot of work to keep them up. Just keep them watered and a little fertilizer after they bloom."

Haupt says the sad part about azaleas is their lifespan. The average azalea lasts only about two weeks. That's why she plants different varieties that bloom at different times all around her house. When one batch of flowers goes, there's one to take its place.

Haupt admits she's not as pleased this year as she has been. "It doesn't look as good this year. Last year was nearly perfect. The weather was so great."

This year, the sporadic weather has hurt, Haupt said. The weather would get warm, then suddenly cold again. This is bad for the flowers.

"They would start to emerge and then comes this sudden cold. The freeze comes and the flowers are unable to stand the cold."

But she says that's just part of the package of dealing with flowers.

"That's what you get when you're messing with nature. You take the seasons the way they develop and there's always tomorrow. If they don't bloom this year, there's always next year."

While azaleas are the foremost on Haupt's mind this time of year, she is equally proud of her entire backyard. She even has a private pond.

When asked whether or not the pond is man-made or not, she said, "You could say that."

She hasn't always had a pond and was surprised to find one there several years ago.

The city was doing construction work on her street and was moving dirt around.

"I heard a frog and thought what's this frog doing down here?"

She looked out to find a pond.

She and her husband, Joe, have bought Japanese goldfish in this pond and after many years they can weigh as much as 75 pounds. Theirs only weigh from 5 to 7 pounds.

She loves her back yard but doesn't get in it as much as she'd like. "But I do get most of my exercise back here. It's my hobby. I work hard out here.

"Nobody makes me do it but I'd rather mow than clean the house."