On the edge of my grandparentâÂÂs property is an alley of myrtles that were planted by the rich people who originally built the house in 1900 to teens. The house is on the St. Johns River in Florida. The Crepe myrtles were planted most likely as the vacation house was being built. My grandparents bought the property in 1950. When the day came to see the property again (right after they put down the down payment) there was a massive amount of smoke coming from the very place they were headed. They prayed that it wasnâÂÂt their newly bought property but the closer they got the more sure they were that it was. When they arrived the entire property and all its virgin timber were ablaze in massive forest fire (they were in a record breaking drought at the time). The lawn was on fire, the formal camellia gardens had already burned (only two of which are alive today and they are 10ft by 12ft each), the live oaks were catching, and even the wooden bulkhead (keeps the river from eroding the property) was on fire. Amazingly, the house, crepe myrtles, two camellias, and 12 large live oaks survived the blaze.

Twenty years later another fire burned the back 15 acres, missing the first five near the river. My grandparents are now in their nineties and can no longer take care of the 21 acre property alone, so my uncle lives with them.

The last 20 years of the crepe myrtles lives have been hard from neglect. The vines and trees up to 1 1/2 feet in diameter had taken over and were choking out the very fortunate crepe myrtles. Only 5 of the original 16 remain due to lack of sun, trees falling, and hurricanes. These crepe myrtles needed a pick-me-up. So, a couple months back I cut ALL the vines out of the crepe myrtles and decided not to cut the trees yet for fear of them damaging a myrtle. Up until today (1/23/2012)their lives were taking a turn for the better until my uncle cut one of the monsters down to three feet because a 5 year old magnolia had grown up in the crepe myrtle (he doesnâÂÂt know anything about horticulture). These 110 year old crepe myrtles were very large. The diameter of the myrtle two feet above the ground is a full foot and it was around 40 feet tall. I now have an even bigger job of nursing them to recovery.

I'll post pictures tomorrow if my grandfather hasnâÂÂt burned the evidence.