Your crepe myrtles are beautiful! I wish we could grow them here, but I think I'm too far north. My dad has some in his yard in Delaware and I'm always envious. Thanks for posting the photos. Your pink rose bush is lovely too.

Lots of color at your house. So pretty! I love the crepe myrtles. I have that 'All Summer's Beauty' Hydrangea and I love it too. I enjoyed seeing everything that's blooming especially since high summer is when I need to add more color. Great examples, thanks.

Ooh, I had my eye on that Apricot Sparkles earlier in the season and now I wish I had bought it! Love it with the Russian sage.

Thanks for the photos. I always love to see other people's gardens!

:)
Dee

Spedigrees,

You're not going to be able to grow crape myrtles in the ground in your zone but you can grow them in a pot. They would have to be overwintered in a cold basement or garage and watered during this time. Not sure you want to go to all of the trouble but it's a possibility nevertheless.

Dee,

I wish I had a picture of this daylily in full bloom. It's a prolific bloomer. I think it's every bit as good as Stella for bloom time. I love that apricot color, too. In my case, it goes well with the brown of the utility pole.

I am envious of those crape myrtles, though I'm not sure that I really want to go to the trouble of creating a spot to store them in the winter. I'm right now working in Alabama and they are everywhere. They bloom longer than I've been rotating through here (most of the summer), the bark on the trunks is lovely (and I noticed one yesterday with a trunk diameter of over a foot), and if they haven't been hacked off (an unfortunate occurance in many of them) they have a nice shape. From a distance they read a bit like lilacs, but up close the non-flowering parts are much nicer than lilacs.

I notice that in both this set of images and the other set, you have lots of shrubs and small trees to give structure, flowers and interesting foliage to the garden, along with perennials. I really like the mixed border approach, both for the structure and color it adds to our new England winter landscape (as well as year-round) and also for how much easier it is to maintain than borders with just perennials, especially as I get older .

Magnificent crepe myrtles... they must look wonderful from the window. Wish I had room for them.
Molie

"...In my case, it goes well with the brown of the utility pole..."

LOL! Well, I guess it pays to color coordinate not just the blooms, but anything else in the garden, lol. Especially those things we can't change!

This daylily is definitely back on my list!
:)
Dee

Also love the Crape Myrtles in bloom. I planted a Muscogee Crape (purple/lavender blooms) one year ago last spring. It survived winter just fine and is growing large like a monster, but it did not produce any blooms for me this year. Perhaps it is still too young. Maybe next year!

Oops, I must have had cooking au francais on my mind that resulted in a fit of illiteracy! These would be crape myrtles of course.

I'd probably not go to the trouble to grow these beauties in containers, but I never say never. It's something to keep in mind. Then again perhaps climate change will someday transform my cold zone into something more moderate, or maybe at some point we'll relocate further south.

Either spelling is considered correct. You find the word "crepe" used more in the South.

Rockman,

Your Muskogee may not be a variety that blooms well this far north. It may be too young but they usually bloom well even at a young age. My Acoma and Red Rocket never approach the bloom show put on by my Hopi CMs. It may have something to do with some CMs being early bloomers and others being late bloomers. The ones that bloom late in the South have basically no chance up here of ever putting on a good show. If your Muskogee never pans out, you may want to give Zuni a try. It's relatively smaller but it blooms the same approximate color and it's one of the more cold-hardy CMs.

Thanks for that useful information tree oracle. I planted a Muscogee back in 2001 and it did bloom that summer and the summer of 2002. Then I transplanted it in spring 2003 (to a spot that would give it more sun and space..it was larger than expected! It was visibly weaker that summer of 2003...then came January 2004 (-5 one morning) and it bit the dust. So, I am trying again. The plant is certainly vigorous, growing many feet last year and this year. I will give it more time to see if 1) it can survive a more severe winter and 2) will bloom. If it doesn't pan out, I think I will try the Hopi.

post deleted and placed on another, more appropriate thread.

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Mon, Oct 7, 13 at 9:59

I just ran across a newer GW thread Unusual plants around town........ that I probably should have posted on rather than this one.

In fact, I think I'll duplicate my post there since that thread is dedicated to crape myrtles.

Claire

edit note: Please respond on the other thread (if you feel like responding)

This post was edited by claire on Sun, Oct 6, 13 at 18:18