Mountain Laurel
The air is honeyed with a mix of linden, holly, lily and lotus.
The mountain laurel has no scent, but these massive plants, towering 15-20 feet, cover more than an acre of our forest. They are some of the world’s oldest blooming plants. The primitive flowers have no petals as we commonly know them, but unfold as origami crepe. Their undersides are slightly sticky to the touch.
Photos do not do this fairy landscape justice, but I’ve done my best to bring this beauty to you.
This pathway, measuring more than half an acre, is completely surrounded by mountain laurel, cresting overhead in a wave of white.
The forest protected blossoms glow as ghosts, but a curious feature of the laurel is it blushes pink when grown in direct sunlight. This plant is 20 feet tall.
May 24th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Wow! Lovely!
May 24th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Very beautiful! With all of the wonders of nature around you and your gardening, it must take a great deal of discipline to stay inside and draw.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
On nice days, I can just take a lap board outside and work on the porch, which is lovely, with pretty chairs and cushions and a great view.
I usually put in a good 2-3 hours work farm work per day.
Friends make sad noises when I tell them how much farm work I am doing, but consider how much time in their day is wasted on dreary commutes to and from jobs! And many go to joyless gyms to get exercise. I used to work out two hours a day jogging and weightlifting. Who needs it now? Now I just go rake and chop something.
I get a much later start at the drawing board in the day than I used to and work until 1 AM. Even if I don’t start drawing until 4 PM, I still put in a 9 hour day!
I did 5 hours of farm work yesterday because I know it is going to rain all week. That means I will be indoors and drawing! I was only outside about an hour today.
A great advantage for me is that I usually don’t have to do housework or cook. That gives me lots of time in a day most people don’t have. That said, I’ve cooked almost every day for two weeks, though for the previous few months, I hardly did any.
I’ve also been painting my office. I have so many productive things to do, and everything is going quite well. Working outside every day has been great for my health. I was so sickly the last few years, and now I am full of energy. So many things left hanging now being completed. Very happy.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:53 am
“but a curious feature of the laurel is it blushes pink when grown in direct sunlight.”
Might be the same mechanism at work that makes some roses blush pink in direct light.