Second Annual City Wide Bloom Day

Ask a gardener to name their favorite tree, flower, or any other plant, and you are likely to hear something vague like "whatever is in bloom today", or " maybe I can give you my top 5". In honor of this month's bloom day, I am going out on a limb (so to speak) and declare that the Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia) is without question my favorite tree. I have also decided that from now on, July's Bloom Day post at A Tidewater Gardener will be all about Crape Myrtles. You can learn more about these trees (and how integrated they are in nearly every streetscape and landscape in Norfolk) at the the First Annual City Wide Bloom Day.

Let's start this year's tour at home. Some Crapes across the street make a nice backdrop for my garden and in other shots you can see what we see from our second floor in July (click to enlarge any photo, I'm sorry you can't click to smell the blossoms).

These are growing at Larchmont Elementary School...

... and at nearby Maury High School.
Earlier this year, Maury High School lost one of its students. Charles Humphrey was captain of the football team and co-captain of the basketball team. He was fatally shot by another teen, in the early morning hours next to Park Place Methodist Church. A Crape Myrtle across from the church became an impromptu memorial.

Norfolk is a diverse city where in some areas the struggle to reach adulthood is full of obstacles, and mere blocks away are neighborhoods of private school and privilege. But don't get the wrong impression, this city is not one way of life or the other, there is a lot in between as well. The thing I have always found so peculiar with the city is how quickly you go in and out and back in again through differing pockets of life.

Please allow me to digress for a moment - yet again. The last shot was taken at a very humble shopping center near my house with some intensely colored Crape Myrtles. Other than the trees, the only reason I go there is because it is home to the nearest Alphabet store. In Virginia you have to buy your liquor from the state and at locations spread far apart, where only recently they have started to behave and resemble actual retail stores. This ABC store is special because it is right next to the railroad tracks leading to the coal piers. When the trains go buy, thousands of bottles on shelves start quivering against one another making magical music.

If you would like to see what is blooming around other people's homes and in other cities, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens as she hosts another Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.