Try saying that ten times fast!
I actually received a reply from the Native Plant Society about my mysterious pink flowering shrub...
"Kalmia Latifolia or Mountain Laurel. Notice how the stamens are pulled back against the cup of the flower. When and insect comes and "tickles" the center of the cup the stamen will snap in, depositing its pollen on the insect."
A quick Google of Mountain Laurel tells me it is the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania and all parts of the plant are poisonous -Yikes! Well, it's still beautiful and I will still enjoy the blooms in the house...we just won't be eating them!
Pretty but poisonous! Good to know.
ReplyDeleteI'm planting purple pansies in the concrete urns by the door of my building this afternoon. That's as far as Chicago gardening has advanced this spring! Yesterday the high temp. was a horrid 44 degrees. Oh, and we've planted spinach in our community garden allotment. So, I guess we're off and running . . . but far behind N. Carolina, I'm afraid. :)