The crepe myrtles in my yard are in full bloom and they couldn't be prettier. Every branch is topped with a cluster of pink fluffiness that reaches skyward, and in today's breezes, they bobbed like a cork on some invisible wave. On our walk the other day Bonnie and I agreed the crepe myrtles might be the prettiest they've been in several years. Whether it was the mild winter, an early spring or all the recent rains, I don't know...probably it's all three but we're certainly enjoying the color they provide in the neighborhood. Every house seems to have at least one crepe myrtle and most have more.
Mine are the soft pink in the first photo but I can enjoy these snowy white ones that line the side of my neighbor's house too. Every glance out my breakfast room windows is filled with their soft whitness. Those trees are quite large and so are the blooms. I could cup both hands together and the flower cluster on his trees would spill over my hands.
But Bonnie has the color I really wanted...a deep reddish pink, watermelon really. It's what I set out to buy all those years ago when the landscaping first went in. The nursery was out of that color at the time so I settled for the softer pink; they're still pretty. They bloom a little later than most of the others around so while mine are just hitting their stride as far as color is concerned, most in the neighborhood are on their last gasp.
Carol has a pretty deep lavendar one in her yard. Well, actually, it's bi-color. The lavendar bloom and the red/pink one behind it in the photo above are on the same tree. I'm not sure how that happens but it's interesting. You can see the seed heads forming where the bloom to the left of the big purple one has faded. We wait until February to trim back our trees and the bare branches fill up with goldfinches snacking on those seeds.
With all the rain we've had lately, the neighbor is lush. It's nice to have abundant splashes of color among all that green.
Comments