Tropicana Canna Lily

It was love at first sight, even though I didn't like canna lilies and preferred softer colors in my garden. 

Softer colors?  I reminded myself that pastels wash out to nothingness in the hot Alabama sun. I looked at the plant in front of me. Tropicana Canna Lily looked very suited to my subtropical climate. Its name declared it so. I studied the price tag. It cost too much, so I left the nursery without it. But I couldn't stop thinking about it and later returned to buy it.

I love Tropicana because of its bold foliage, which can reach four to six feet in height. It is what it is, without apology. It is as loud as a fire truck.

Tropicana's foliage has purple, orange, and blue-green stripes that glow when backlit by the sun, and it holds its orange blossoms aloft like bright torches. Mine has just put out its first bloom of the season.

Tropicana is hardy to zone 7, but it may survive outdoors in zones 5 to 6 if planted deep enough to escape the frozen earth. In colder climates the rhizomes need to be dug and stored inside for the winter. It does best in slightly acid to neutral, moist but well drained soil and may spread rapidly in ideal conditions. I planted mine in full sun, close to a water hose. It can also tolerate some shade. I have divided the clump several times. I now have Tropicana growing in several locations and have had plenty to give away to friends.

Tropicana's main pest is the Brazilian skipper butterfly, a little brown butterfly with diamond shaped markings in shades of white and gray on its wings. The caterpillars roll up the leaves and feed on them. The plant also will begin to look tattered if it lacks fertilizer or moisture. I usually water it when I fill the nearby bird feeder, and that keeps it happy. The birds like this plant too, and I have seen them eating its blossoms. That doesn't bother me.

If deadheaded, Tropicana will usually sprout new blooms, right up till fall. Deadhead them by clipping the old blooms at the end of the stalk. The stalk will soon send out new blooms.

A Time to Persevere

Hot and sticky today with forecasts of more to come, and it's time to retreat from the garden. The grasshoppers, the white flies, the molds and fungus will thrive, while I neglect my duties in favor of air conditioning and icy drinks. 

Our summer will test the mettle of both plant and gardener, and the weak ones die or go dormant. I make quick forays in the mornings and evenings, yanking a few weeds and checking on the status of my tomatoes and green beans. I hastily tour other parts of the garden. It's green and lush, but on closer inspection I find leaves that are wilted and pitted with tiny holes. Something has been chomping on the foliage, leaving jagged edges. Weeds are sensing my flagging efforts and are putting on a new offensive, determined to take my paths. I won't let them. I will get them with the hoe this Saturday morning. Early.

Normally, people in my part of the country visit the Gulf this time of year. It is part of our culture. In the summer — and other times, too, if we can get away — we go to the beach. Now a great sadness has descended, and we wonder if the oil has reached our favorite spot. I heard that it has come upon Orange Beach. I am glad I spent a few days at Orange Beach earlier this year, before the greatest oil leak in history began its deadly flow into the Gulf. I sigh when I look back at my photos. It seems that summer has no redemption this year.

But I am an optimist. Gardening has shown me the resilience of the earth, and it has demonstrated resurrection and new life. It has taught me to take up my trowel and persevere, for there will be joy in the morning. 

Enough with gloom! Here is what is happening in my garden, today:

Trees are prospering, invigorated by the deep, soaking rains we experienced all spring.

The woodland garden is a quiet retreat.

Hydrangeas are still beautiful.

And a few other flowers bloom, too.top: Caryopteris ( blue mist spirea). Clockwise from above: Asclepsias (butterfly weed); Crepe myrtle; Gardenia; Speedwell

May you never lose hope. May you have courage, and may you have eyes to see things that are beautiful and good.

Happy summer!  Deborah