Crepe myrtle

Originally posted on Blogger 6 January 2012

I had never really noticed Crepe myrtle until I moved to my current home. Once someone pointed it out to me I discovered them scattered all over the suburb where I live and quite probably it has been elsewhere too but I’ve just not seen it.

How could I not with its striking colours?

Because there are many species of Crepe myrtle the best I can do is give the genus of Lagerstroemia. The trees are native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia and parts of Oceania, so again I have a plant that is not from around these parts!

The bark can look even more stunning after rain as it really shows up the contrast in colours, but I only usually head out into the garden with camera when the sun is out! Much easier to take photos.

When I took the photos of the jade blooming I went for a wander down to my letterbox to see if I had any late Christmas cards coming in (no mail) and noticed the first flowers from the Crepe myrtle were starting to come out.

These were taken in 2008 and I started to sort them again in August when I first started this blog. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to do something with my photos rather than just leave them on CDs.

They really are beautiful and jolly.