A Happy Crepe Myrtle

Remember when this sweet tree got planted last year?

Look at it now. It’s bigger and loaded with blooms.

Yep, it’s thriving. And look at the lush grass. It’s deep and thick and is like walking on a shag rug that is 3 inches thick, which I do often with bare feet. I hand weeded for emerging weeds the first year, but this year there are no weeds.

The “Encore” plants in the front, however, are NOT thriving. It’s too sunny and hot for them in that place. “Encores” are a cross between azaleas and rhododendrons–neither of which is happy with too much sun–though claims are made that the Encores are “sun tolerant.” Remember that I planted them last year and moved the struggling azaleas in that bed to the shady side of the house–where they are thriving. Encores will bloom off and on all summer and fall.

My neighbor’s Encores get a lot of afternoon sun and are thriving. But the front of my house gets the full impact of the summer sun well into mid-afternoon. And clearly, Encores do NOT work there. I have no space to move them to shadier sites in the garden, so they are going to go to Bryan and Corinne as soon as I dig them out. One has already died.

Eventually the Crepe Myrtle will provide more shade, but not for a few years. I’m going to replant with the “Drift” landscape roses like the little “Popcorn” rose I planted earlier in the summer. It is thriving in the hot sun in the back of the house. I’d like to get more of the “Popcorn” version, and Hidden Pond Nursery is going to try to order 5 of them for me. Otherwise, maybe the “Apricot” Drift rose that is known for its fragrance. Hidden Pond does carry the drift roses, so eventually I’ll get some that will work for me.

Drift roses are low to the ground and spread. They will be perfect for the front. Here’s a picture of my “Popcorn” rose in the back, surrounded by white perennial Lantana, which is also thriving. Drifts rebloom on a regular basis, and one does not have to deadhead them, but I do. And deheading is needed right now. But you can see all the new growth. The blooms open white and then start to turn a pale yellow at the centers. I love the name “Popcorn” for them.

And while I was outside with my phone, I took a picture of the “Limelight” hydrangea I planted last year. It, too, is thriving.

How fun is that?

(The herb garden is to the right of the “Limelight,” and that’s Rosemary growing tall. I almost lost it to a sucker fly insect in the early spring and used Neem oil and soap and water sprayed several times a day to stop them.)

Gardening is a practice of wins and losses. The wins are more fun.