Mountain Laurel
When many other flowers have gone away for the season, Mountain Laurel adds some bright, summer colors to your garden. The fragrant, dainty pink and white evergreen shrub is the Connecticut State flower, native to the Eastern United States. It was first documented in 1624, a favorite of travelers.
Cherokees use the plant as an analgesic and for other forms of healing, including rubbing leaf ooze into scratched skin to prevent cramps and crushing the leaves to rub onto scratches. They also use the wood for carving, most commonly for spoons.
Mountain Laurel often grows in large thickets and cover large areas. It thrives in acidic soil.
