Snowballs in April? Yes please... but only if they're Chinese Snowballs (don't worry, these are made right here in Charlotte ;) ). Why the current obsession with flowers? Since I grew up in Southern California, amid a landscape of cacti and palm trees, witnessing spring in the South feels like a botanical-forest-jungle-of-lushness. It took me years to understand that you don't need automatic sprinklers and a high-tech irrigation system to make grass grow in this climate.

So when I came across these huge hydrangea-like blooms, I stopped dead in my tracks. I pulled off the side of the road, got out the car and cried (not really... ok maybe a little... on the inside). Here, before me, stood a tree of flowering softballs (softballs that I wanted to sniff and pet). I found perfection on a stick. I took a bizillion photos, but these are a few of my favorites.