Each July Bloom Day, I celebrate one of my favorite trees, the crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia species). The climate here in Norfolk is extremely well suited for them. Winters are generally not too extreme, the summers are long, hot, and humid, and we usually have ample rainfall. In short, the trees thrive here, and we have a Frenchman to thank for it. Fred Huette was the city's first parks director, and it was he, more than anyone else, who promoted crapemyrtles. As a result our streets are festooned in July with huge pink tresses, and in the mornings windshield wipers are needed to clear the fallen blossoms for safe driving. Huette was also one of the founders of the Norfolk Botanical Garden where I work, so you can imagine we might have a few crapemyrtles planted there. Last year the garden was recognized by the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC) for our Lagerstroemia collection, which is the only recognized collection of this species in the country. So because opportunity presented itself, and because of a lazy streak, the photos for this month's post were taken at the botanical garden.
