Purple Rain . . .

It's July (can you believe it?) And it's time to focus on crepe myrtles. If you're not from the south, they are decidious trees that have delicate lacy blossoms that furl on the end of each branch like an artist's fluffy paint brush. They come in many colors, but the two at the front of my house are purple--lavender, to be exact.

After the tree puts forth its blossoms, the purple flower falls off, leaving a seed pod that goes from green to dark brown before dropping its seeds . What some people don't know is that if you snip the seed pod off right after flowering, the branch will hurry to send forth another shoot with another plume of flowers. As soon as my trees begin to flower in May, I'm out there snipping seed pods, and I get flowers and more flowers and more flowers . . .

And do you know why I love them? Not only because a flowering tree is prettier than a green one, but because you can stand beneath a crepe myrtle, grab a hold of a branch, shake gently, and find yourself in a glorious downfall of purple rain.

A few years ago, the little boy who lives across the street came over and I let our trees "rain" on him.
My kids are too old for purple rain, but I'm not. Here's hoping that you'll find some time to enjoy something as lovely as a crepe myrtle this week.

~~Angie