All over the woods here in north east Pennsylvania the flowering of the Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is at its peak. And it's intriguing to see how much the flower color varies in these lovely evergreen rhododendron relatives.

The three in the picture (click to enlarge) are all from wild in the woods no more than about 100ft/30m from our front door. Farther away there are darker pinks, almost red, and I noticed 15 miles away last night that great drifts of them were all noticeably dark.

This variation in wild plants has been enhanced by plant breeders, as can be seen in the pictures of the kalmias stocked by Rare Find Nursery and in the only book on this invaluable acid-loving shrubs – Kalmia: Mountain Laurel and Related Species by Richard A. Jaynes (Timber Press). Sadly, that book is now out of print but you can find it used at you-know-where for about $30 and new at up to almost $300! (£20 used or £25 from their British site.)

The only problem is deer - all those in the woods here are stripped bare to about 5ft/1.5m and those now inside our deer fence are slow to recover. We need deer candy Kalmia latifolia crossed with the short and suckering, 100% deer resistant Kalmia angustifolia. I discussed this idea a couple of years ago. We live in hope.