Blogfinger photo in Jackson Twp. New Jersey 6/7/20. Click to enlarge.
From the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:
“One often overlooked option is mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). This shade-tolerant North American shrub has gorgeous flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer. A close relative of rhododendrons and azaleas, it’s an excellent choice for a shady garden. It’s also evergreen, so even after the blooms have faded, its leathery deep green foliage provides a welcome sign of life. Even in the coldest winter weather, when rhododendron leaves have curled in on themselves, mountain laurel remains bravely open to the elements.”
This wonderful woodland evergreen is found in New Jersey along the edges of woods in backyards and public parks. In Spring their blossoms pop and convince the viewer that spring is truly here.
Our photograph was obtained along the edge of some woods in semi-rural Jackson Township. Eileen remembered the shrub because we had them in our backyard in Chester.
I used to enjoy looking for shade-tolerant plantings, because we lived in the woods. So we specialized in rhododendra, azalea, pachysandra and myrtle. But the regal mountain laurel was the king of the forest.
–Eileen and Paul Goldfinger. June 8, 2020.
Note: Ocean Elmo is the winner of our “name that plant” contest. He will receive a signed print by OG artist Jack Bredin
THE BUTTERHILLS:
Mountain Laurel