Don’t Murder Your Crape Myrtles

Crape Myrtles (crape or crepe are both correct spellings) are trees, and they grow from 20 – 40’ in height. They have been lovingly referred to as the Lilac of the South (with no fragrance) with a very long bloom time in the summer.

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Tips to Help Create a Self-Sustaining Garden

Many of us spend a lot of time in the garden trying to get it to look the way we want it to. Maintaining and sustaining a garden can take a lot of work, but it doesn’t need to. In fact, if you’re prepared to put the initial work in to plan, you can create a garden that does a lot of self maintainance. Most of the work involved in creating a self-sustaining garden gets done during the planning phase. When you put more thought into the set-up of your garden, you’ll reduce the amount of care and maintenance required to keep it going. If you’re new to gardening or you’re unsure how to make it self-sufficient, these tips can help you get started:

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Tabebuia Trees Spring Blooms

Common name(s): Golden trumpet tree

Family: Bignoniaceae

USDA hardiness zones: 9B through 11

Origin: native to Central and South America

This last week I was surprised by the sudden blooms of bright yellow on trees in the neighborhood. I wasn’t familiar with the species. I did some research on the golden trees. Tabebuias are from the West Indies, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Central America, but several species are very well adapted to South Florida. I was thrilled to find the golden beauties here in central Florida. Since they are tropical plants, they WON’T SURVIVE HARD FREEZES.

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