Crepe Myrtle

— Whenever the weather gets too hot in Austin, Texas, there is not much one can do but stay indoors or near air conditioning. We have been lucky in 2021 with somewhat milder and wetter conditions. All around we are still seeing a lot of green in the city. In our yard, things continue to bloom.

One plant that is very good for our climate is crepe myrtle. These deciduous and evergreen trees are very heat and cold tolerant and bloom all throughout the summer and fall months. In the Austin area, you can see varieties in red, white, and purple colors. Depending on how much sun the tree gets, it can grow and bloom quite a bit, reaching heights of up to 100 ft (30 m) . If you look closely at the flowers, you can see why the tree name is crepe myrtle. The flowers appear to have a crinkled nature, crêpe-like texture to their petals. In these three shots I feature here from our yard, I wanted to pay particular attention to the flower centers and how intricate they are.