Lagerstroemia indica Dynamite® with blown glass in the same color scheme. If the rose is the undisputed queen of the garden, then crapemyrtles are her knights in shining armor, for when summer temperature rise, and the queen goes into seclusion, that's when crapemyrtles really begin to shine. "When sustained daytime temperatures are about 85 degrees F or above, and other species are losing their luster, crapemyrtles begin to produce flower buds for their summer show-off period," said Carl Whitcomb, PhD. and President of Lacebark, Inc., "Once flowering is triggered to begin, on many cultivars, it continues for 100 to 120 days or more." Unknown selection of pink crapemyrtle with Artemisia 'Silver King', maiden grass, pink perwinkles and 'Belinda's Dream' rose. The dry foliage in front are iris. It was too hot for them this summer. Crapemyrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is a large flowering shrub or small tree native to China, but it...

Like some of the plants in these containers, I felt all prickly about my blog being hacked. It's all better now. The grass is 'Princess Molly.' I love that grass. Yesterday, my blog was hacked, and because of malware, it took down my blog host's entire system. Luckily, I have a wonderful technician who rebuilt the blog from scratch. It just came back online. Above are some of my containers filled with tropical plants. Tropicals are the way to go with plants in containers. Also, install a drip system like Bill and I did. I talk about it over at Lowe's website. Maybe a drip system for your containers would help you too. In weather news, the heat is stuck in the on position although I hear of cooler weather in our future. It's also back-to-school time again. My youngest went to a new middle school. My son is a...

I water the vegetable garden with soaker hoses, and the sandburs have thrived in the fence line. Makes it interesting when I go in there to harvest. The grass is crunchy. Fires abound, and leaves are falling from the trees. Walking to get the mail at the end of the driveway has become an endurance test nearly worthy of the Olympics. We've been over 100F for awhile, but unlike last year, there are fewer days of hellish temperatures, and we're seeing a gradual cool down. Southern sandbur up close and personal. You can see why they hurt. To add to our misery, It is also goat head or southern sandbur season. Get our your knives, boots and heavy duty gloves. It's time to celebrate in the Sooner State. Yes,  Cenchrus echinatus L., the southern sandbur or goat head sticker, is making our lives even more miserable than the heat and drought combined. Add some...

In case you haven't noticed on the news, the weather people, at least those not living in the south central part of the U.S., keep pointing gleefully at the big "H" centered over Oklahoma. For me, the big "H" has outlasted his welcome because he was never welcome in the first place. No one can garden in weather of 112F. Even the agaves in the pots are gasping for a drink. Because my agua still comes from a well, I can water, and I do it carefully in dibs and dabs. I no longer have any gardening advice except hang in there. My mother used to have a saying, "Get glad in the same pants you got mad in." Since I'm a world-class cranky pants today, I'm going to go walk on the treadmill, watch the Olympics, and then get a massage. Take that heat dome, and fly off to...