Crapemyrtles are actually fairly long lived and some cultivars can get 20-30 feet tall. It's a very well behaved tree and a safe choice for your front yard. Crapes are prettiest when allowed to make several trunks. Shade trees make a big difference: At the beginning of this summer I had my Mulberry tree cut down. It has been hotter than H E double toothpicks. The difference between tree and no tree has been dramatic. I don't remember being this miserable in a long time. So it was damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead: I did what I was not supposed to and planted not one, but two London Planes in my 30 foot deep front yard (It's 80' wide). They are situated fairly close to the fenceline and will shade my yard and a good part of the road. There are no powerlines or sewer over there for them to interfere with. Also being on a corner lot, they're not going to droop over into anyone else's yard. I was going for maximum overkill for shade and aircooling. Shading part of the street will also combat the hot pavement effect. They're growing quickly but they can't grow fast enough for me.

Veg_grower, if you have never grown yardlongs before, I would not recommend doing away with your snap beans just yet. To avoid possible disappointment, you might want to try some first, to be sure that you like them. To answer the original post... I love yardlongs, and grow a lot of them. They are mostly vigorous climbers (some rampantly so) that will bear in the heat of Summer, when regular snap beans falter. This makes them well suited to the warmer Southern climates of the U.S. The yield can be heavy & continuous, over a long period. When flowering begins, they attract beneficial insects to the garden - wasps & ladybugs in particular. Since ladybugs are notoriously hard to keep in the garden, I highly recommend yardlongs (and cowpeas) as part of the solution for those who want to solve an aphid problem organically. Yardlongs, while botanically a cowpea, are less than ideal when used as dry beans. I have eaten them that way, because I don't like to waste anything... but I prefer other peas bred for that purpose. You generally don't get many seeds per pod, they can be difficult to shell, and they often have clinging membranes which are hard to remove. Nor will they replace green beans in most recipes. I'm a big fan of yardlongs, and eat & freeze a lot of them... but I would be the first to admit that they are not for everyone. They have unusual flavors, and are very sensitive to over-cooking. They are best suited to stir fries, and Asian soups & stews (such as Filipino pinakbet). I also enjoy them as a vegetable, seasoned with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder; they are a pleasant departure from the same-old green beans. Many in the South eat the immature "snaps" of cowpeas, and yardlongs could be prepared similarly... so Anney, I think you will enjoy them. There are variations in taste between varieties. The dark green podded variety sold commercially as "asparagus bean" does indeed have that flavor, if cooked lightly. Others, such as "Chinese Red Noodle", have a somewhat nutty flavor (the best tasting commercial variety, IMO). Some I wouldn't know how to describe, since their flavor is unique. Some varieties are very firm, and hold their shape well when cooked in soups. By the way, unlike purple snap beans, the purple pods of "Chinese Red Noodle" do not turn green when cooked. They might turn a little grayish, but a dash of vinegar added after cooking will restore their color. They are really eye-catching as a side dish. As to whether you should grow both peas & yardlongs, I suppose it depends upon how much space you have, and whether you intend to save seed. The two can cross if planted too closely. I've grown yardlongs & cowpeas with at least 50 feet of separation, and other tall flowering crops between (such as pole beans & limas) and have yet to see a cross.

Shrubs ID'd as Pittosporum. The small spot of a-fern in the first pic here looks easy to dig up. The other spot pictured in the other discussion probably has a lot of roots from the palm, hopefully but unfortunately. I might smother all of that instead of trying to dig, even if I wasn't concerned about slicing up a bunch of roots of my palm tree. It looks like adding anything would raise the level above the bricks. Not a visual problem, IMO, but the runoff from the bed area could stain the bricks, and even move the mulch onto the bricks in a heavy downpour. It looks like hopefully the rain would flow from brick into bed? If so, this is what I would do. Get large pieces of cardboard with no tape, staples (but easy to remove if it has these,) or glue, which usually needs to be cut off. Cover the a-ferns completely, and about a foot out of their area, overlapping well so it can't get through, on all sides that aren't brick or grass. Then cover with enough mulch to cover it and hold it in place. If you weed-wack the a-ferns first, it will be easier for the cardboard to lay flush with the soil surface. After it's covered with mulch, moisten it lightly, then walk all over it, to eliminate any space the a-ferns could use to keep growing. They now have no space or light. As long as this smother isn't disturbed until they are dead, and nothing escapes through a rip, crack, or edge, that should be the end of the a-ferns. I would do this ASAP, before berries show up, then not disturb until after uncovering a small test plot next year. If you have access to some more of the same bricks, I might consider adding one more brick-high around the edge of the bed. Keeping a few inches of mulch saves a lot of hassle with quantities of weeds, as well as keeping landscape from dying in times of less rain. But you don't want to have to sweep it back in bounds constantly, or stain the bricks.

Say, rogerzone6. Can you send me a Gmail with pictures of your leaf-less Ruby Slippers Hydrangeas? Maybe showing the ends of the stems, as clear as possible (not fuzzy) and then another picture showing the plant (all branches -if any- visible). I have been discussing this issue with the director of a plant clinic that I know. She too is puzzled and requested pictures to get some additional ideas... Hope you do not mind that I am still researching what could be going on... I lost your original post on the subject but "found you" in this other forum. Or email me the pics at lflluch@yahoo.com