This is our 25-year-old Crape Myrtle. It is at our home in Great Falls Virginia.
We call it the giving tree because:
It gives excellent shade to our back patio. In the hot mid-atlantic summers, it makes it relaxed and comfortable to be outside. It is a perfect complement to a patio with southeast exposure.
Its branches are amazing. They curve like a sculpture. They seem to be dancing together.
The bark peels and gives extra interest to the beautiful color of the bark.
The summer white flowers are amazing. It is like a snowball that lasts for 2 months.
Caring for the Crape Myrtle has been a labor of love. Notice the tree has been pruned from underneath. The proper way to prune the Crape Myrtle is to thin its branches and only prune from the base junction of a smaller limb to a larger stock. Unfortunately, there is a practice of top-pruning crape myrtles that is wrong. In botany circles, top pruning a crape myrtle is known as "Crape Murder." Top-pruning inhibits a crape myrtle from reaching a beautiful mature state... such as our giving tree!