#mountain Laurel

[zegalba]

[vandaliatraveler]

Despite its small size, Valley Falls State Park is a real treasure. Most people who visit the park come for the falls on the Tygart Valley River and completely ignore the beautiful trails. The Rhododendron and Glady Creek Trails wind through some lovely old cove forest anchored by impressive boulder fields smothered in moss. It has that LOTR thing going, especially along some of the more secluded sections of Glady Creek, culminating in an enchanting, multi-tiered waterfall draped in rhododendron. This time of the year, the mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) are in bloom (I can't decide which is lovelier) and the fungi and ferns dominate the forest floor, now that the canopy has closed over. The American royal fern (Osmunda spectabilis), which grows in the nooks and crannies of the giant boulders at the edge of the river, is a personal favorite of mine.

[aisling-saoirse]

Laurel bloom on Long Pine Lake, NJ - May 26th 2024

[holmes-ja]

Oh dear, I think the compression is not playing nicely with this one.

So instead of my normal months-of-the-year themed nouveau stuff, I've lately been working on a commission! This is Kata the assassin.

[hermeticbridgetroll]

Got some stunning shots of the Kousa Dogwood & Mountain Laurel blooms today!

[wiley-treehouse-gardens]

[naomimaria]

Mountain laurel illustration I did for myself. It's part of a pair.

I wanted it to look like it was something I could have made with in litho with crayons and I think it came pretty close.

Botanical illustrations are hard. Foreshortening is hard. But I got it done hahah.

[paulpingminho]

[dk-thrive]

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia Latifolia). ‘Sarah’. 69° F. June 7 2023. Darien, CT (@dkct25)   

[samguayart]

A sketchbook spirit of rain-washed mountain laurel, of a gloomy June. And another unfinished spirit of the solstice sun, of a garden's unfurling rainbow.

And a little bonus of bugs in love on the milkweed.

[lizacharlesworth1]

Mountain Laurel, NYC by Liza Charledworth

[faguscarolinensis]

Kalmia latifolia / Mountain Laurel at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[vandaliatraveler]

Finally, a gorgeous spring day for a long hike in the mountains! Blake and I did the 7+ mile round trip hike on the Rohrbaugh Trail to Red Creek Canyon in the Dolly Sods Wilderness. This is a fabulous hike through old spruce forest leading to a rocky promontory overlooking the Red Creek drainage. Other than in the fall, you get the overlook mostly to yourself (true solitude is a rare thing in the Mid-Atlantic, with over a third of the nation's population crammed into the Eastern Seaboard). Yesterday, we shared the vista with a group of day-hikers from Pennsylvania, including one young acrobat who was doing backflips at the edge of the overlook (photo #7). Bat-shit crazy but ballsy. He also retrieved someone's lost sunglasses from a sketchy crevice.

Rohrbaugh Trail can be a tough hike due to muddy troughs that have formed in poor drainage areas. So if you decide to try it out - and it's absolutely worth the slog - wear a pair of good, water-proof hiking boots. This is wilderness, after all.

[aisling-saoirse]

Laurels at Long Pine Lake, NJ - May 26th 2024

[zoeflake]

🌿 Mountains of laurel 🌸🌱

[hexasart]

A poisonous pride icon for @ladyrabahber ! :>

The flowers here are Lantanas, Mountain Laurels, Azaleas and Oleanders!