•  ItsAboutThyme_logo[1] by you.         It's About Thyme                      
   tel:  512-280-1192                                                      June 4, 2010
 
                              On sale this weekend only
                       25% off all one gallon perennials
                            20% off all crape myrtles
                                20% off all lavender
 
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Gardener's forecast for the weekend:  sunny, hot and humid, with a
high of 99 degrees on Sunday. Shift to working outside in the cooler early
morning and late evening hours.
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LAVENDER LEMONADE from the kitchen of Diane Winslow.  
As the dreaded summer heat arrives (see forecast above!) I think many will
agree that one of the most refreshing drinks around is lemonade. This will  
always be sincerely appreciated by a gardener on a hot day. And there's an
easy way to improve it. Flavor the water that you use with lavender flowers 
or leaves.

Steep 2 tbsps of dried lavender flowers or leaves in 3 cups of warm water
until it cools down. (If you use fresh flowers and leaves, use 4 tbsps.)
Strain the flowers and leaves. Then use the lavender water to make your
lemonade in your usual way - either from concentrate, or from fresh
lemons. We have some dried lavender for sale for $1.89 per ounce. But
since we are all gardeners, I recommend picking up a couple of  lavender
plants at the nursery. Four inch pots are on sale for $2 this weekend.
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The Corpse Flower Phenomenon
As crowds gather in Los Angeles to get a whiff of the notoriously
putrescent corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum), Diane reports that
the nursery has two specimens which seem also to be moving along nicely
towards a flowering stage. Stay tuned for updates in the next few weeks!
Read more here from the LA Times: corpse flower   
  
   
           King & Queen of Crape Myrtles 
                                         by Chris Winslow
 
As the mercury rises, and the gardeners of the Austin area prepare for the
upcoming 'mini-drought,' I think the time is right for me, in my unofficial
capacity as nurseryman / columnist, to nominate the amazing crape myrtle
as the official 2010  Plant of the Summer.
 
They bloom for months, and they come in any size you could imagine.
Once established they can hold up with our native tree species during
even the most prolonged droughts. Great color and water conservation
rolled together into one great tree!

But let’s be more specific, and choose some monarchs. I hereby nominate,
as ‘King of the Crapes’… Muskogee. This stately specimen grows to
a height of 25 to 30 feet,  and blooms for 120 days. This is a record-setting
 bloom time!
Muskogee is a light-lavender with strong resistance to powdery mildew.
Its fall leaf color is red and yellow and in winter its bark is grey and
pinkish-brown.
 
As ‘Queen of the Crapes,’ I nominate Natchez. This white flowering
beauty grows from 25 to 30 feet and has the second longest bloom period:
110 days.

Her fall leaf color is red-orange and her winter bark color is cream-cinnamon
brown. Natchez is resistant to diseases,  and is considered the benchmark that
all other varieties are compared to.

Besides this king and queen, there are dozens of other top performers to
choose from. For a dwarf tree, one of the best is Victor. This dark red
variety grows to 4 to 5 feet and blooms for 85 days.

For mid-size trees, those growing from 8 to 12 feet there is Siren Red, Pink
Velour, Catawba (purple), and Acoma (weeping white).
 
For trees between 15 and 20 feet there is Dynamite ( deep red), Red Rocket
(red), and Tuscarora (coral red to dark pink).

For true shade size trees, 25 feet and up, along with Muskogee, Natchez –
there’s Basham’s Party Pink.
 
As the official ‘2010  Plants of the Summer’ begin their amazing bloom cycle,
we should all give thanks for the bright colors they bring to our landscapes
during the harsh summer months.
                                    Happy Gardening Everyone!
© Chris Winslow 2010    facebook-thyme 
  ItsAboutThyme_logo[1] by you.  Visit the website at  www.itsaboutthyme.com  Visit the
nursery at 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin 78748
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