The last couple of years I've noticed Yellow Bells in commercial plantings all over Austin. Its shiny, green foliage and bright, yellow flowers are unfazed by our heat. Like crape myrtle and lantana, this is a plant for people who like showy color all through the summer.

Being a tender perennial, Yellow Bells will die back after a freeze. I've had it only over the winters of 1999 and 2000, which were milder than normal. It's come back larger and more vigorous each year. Now in its third summer, it grew from 0 to 6 feet in a season.

Tecoma stans requires full sun, but in my yard it is shaded most of the day in summer by a Chinaberry tree on its north. Only now, in September as the sun moves further south, is it getting the sun it craves and finally blooming in my garden, months after I've seen it blooming elsewhere.