The State Flower of CT.

Mountain Laurel "Nathan Hale.", a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I would've preferred something a little more vigorous and a little less fragile. Mountain laurel does have its charms, though! I have fond memories of visiting the Devil's Hopyard state park when I was a kid and seeing mountain laurel growing around pine trees and brooks.

We used to have "Carousel" growing in our front yard but when we had the roof redone a few years ago the bastard roofers hit it with a piece of material and broke it at the base. They killed it and didn't even bother telling us! We got "Nathan Hale" as a replacement shrub. I guess no one told the roofers that if you destroy mountain laurel in the state of CT you have to pay a fine. Sometimes it doesn't really pay to make waves, I guess...