Our cold spell over the last week doesn't seem to have bothered most of the residents of my flower beds.
I love the way my cannas seem to seem to shoot up almost overnight; and, the fact that they don't mind our hot Okahoma summers is definitely a plus. These cannas, with their huge leaves and colorful blooms ranging from apricot to yellow to red, look almost tropical; and they are a welcome addition to our back yard.
Our two crepe myrtles are putting out new leaves - this variety is called 'Natchez White' and they were the first plants to go into the ground when we moved here three years ago. Crepe Myrtles are a wonderful hot-weather shrub/tree. Here in Oklahoma, when the heat waves are drifting up from the hot pavement on summer days, you can see these shrubs blooming everywhere you turn. From commercial landscaping to urban and rural neighborhoods -- crepe myrtles will be blooming from early summer to the first frost. Their clusters of tiny blooms range from dark, deep lipstick-red, to every shade of pink you can imagine, and even cool, pure white. As those little blooms fade and fall, they decorate the sidewalks, the grassy areas and sometimes even your cars -- messy but very pretty! 
Cannas and crepe myrtles both flower in the summer months, when every other living thing is either dried up to a empty husk or inside enjoying the air conditioning. For that reason I have these two hot-weather plants in my flowerbeds -- because I know just the sight of their blooms can take me away from those hot/dry summer days and make me remember cool spring mornings.
