Where I live, rhodies and azaleas are so
ubiquitous as to be boring in the extreme. They offer an extremely short
bloom season, then sit as dull green lumps for the other 11+ months of the
year.


With a bit of study you can come up with a rhodo based garden that starts in
January and ends in August!

But you are correct - if you just stick in whatever is usually available at the
garden centre, you will have a pretty narrow bloom time, and unless the foliage
on the rhodos you choose is pretty interesting (some are), you better
interplant with things that spread the blooms later in the year.