Hydrangeas

Year four has started out great for the hydrangeas! Their sturdy branches are already bursting with multi-colored blooms, and the bees are loving it!



Endless Summer opens with a green flower head, which turns pink, purple and blue.



Blushing Bride opens with a similar green flower head which turns white and blushes to pink, purple and blue as it ages.



These shrubs receive just 2 hours of direct sunlight, one hour in the morning and one in late afternoon. From the look of things, they seem to enjoy their homes!

Bloomin' Hydrangeas!

I'm so excited that the Hydrangeas I planted two years ago are finally blooming. I was reckless in planting them in afternoon sun, but that's where I wanted them to be, so that's where they went.

When the gooseneck loosestrife exploded this Spring and hid the plants almost completely, I was worried that they would get crowded out and suffocate.



As it turns out, the hydrangeas love the shade that the loosestrife have provided and are putting on a lovely show in return.

The Penny Mac surprised me with beautiful blue poms.



The Woodlander and Nikko Blue are just starting to bud out, but I will get photos as soon as the flowers open more.

Hydrangea Garden

Here is a view of my new Hydrangea garden. It's not all that impressive at this point, but next year it should be worth blogging about.



I was so cruel to create a Hydrangea garden in this location, because it gets nice cool shade until about 1pm when it is hammered with the hot afternoon sun for the rest of the day. How rude of me! I'm probably suffering more than the plants do though, since I am the one lugging water to them every day! Ideally, Hydrangeas prefer early morning sun followed by mid-afternoon shade. I really can't think of a location around my house that offers those conditions though.

I planted three Hydrangeas and underplanted them with Gooseneck Loosestrife and pink daylilies. From left to right the Hydrangeas are; Penny Mac, Woodlander and Nikko Blue. I also bought some lovely pink tulips from Jesse Israel that I have yet to plant, but I hope to get them in the ground this weekend. (I always say I'm not going to buy more bulbs, but I end up giving in when I see all the exciting colors and varieties!)



I planted three of these pink Double Classic daylilies in the middle of the bed. These plants are shorter than most daylilies at only 16" tall, so they should be more tidy and compact than other varieties I have seen. I don't particularly like the foliage or habit of daylilies in general, but I am giving this cultivar a chance to redeem all daylilies! I ordered these when they were on sale at Bluestone Perennials, and they arrived in perfect condition. I like to keep an eye on their weekly sale items, because they always have a nice selection.



I filled in the rest of the bed with Gooseneck Loosestrife from my mother-in-law's garden. Gooseneck Loosestrife is a quick spreader, so if you plant it and want to keep it contained, be sure to plunge some sort of plastic or metal barrier at least 6" deep around the plants. Since I want a thick underplanting of Gooseneck Loosestrife, I did not install a barrier around the plants. I want it to spread and fill in that flowerbed until it is overflowing with little white goose necks.



The Hydrangeas will bloom in spring and early summer. The daylilies should bloom in the middle of summer, then the Gooseneck Loosestrife will take over blooming at the end of summer. I hope to keep constant color blooming in this little area. We also plan to replace that hideous skirting soon!

Hydrangeas

I love Hydrangeas! It was not until I moved to the South that I was first introduced to these lovely shrubs. How did we live without them in Ohio? I think Ohio would have been a much more pleasant place with Hydrangeas.

Hydrangeas prefer early morning sun followed by afternoon shade. They do not like the late afternoon sun that causes their leaves to wilt, but with enough water, they can tolerate these conditions. Some hydrangeas are flexible in color and will bloom blue in acidic soil (add sulfur) and pink in alkaline soil (add lime). White hydrangeas always bloom white and green hydrangeas always bloom green.

We currently have five hydrangeas, all different species. Let me show you some of them!

I'll start with my favorite, because you might get bored with this long post, and I really want to share this one with you - the Endless Summer Blushing Bride. Check out that dark green foliage and snow white mopheads. This bush was just planted this year in May, so it is still quite small, but it will reach 4' x 4' at maturity.



The blooms start off small and green. I think they're quite lovely in their miniature form.



As they age, the blooms get fuller and begin to turn white.



Until they finally reach maturity and their glowing white color.



The blooms stay this gorgeous white for many weeks, when they start to get a "blush" of pink to them. (If your soil is acidic, they will blush blue!)



As they continue to age, the blooms turn green with a blush of red (or blue). They are gorgeous and dry very well. I have no pictures at this stage although I do have a nice vase of them on the counter. Maybe I'll do a follow-up post on drying hydrangeas.

We also have a standard Endless Summer hydgrangea that will not bloom this year, because it was damaged by the late April frost we experienced. It will bloom again next year though, and probably more prolifically than ever! This bush was planted last May, and it has reached about 3' x 3' in size. The first year it did require a lot of water, but it has become more hardy and drought-tolerant in its second year.



This is a Penny Mac hydrangea, named for the founder of the American Hydrangea Society. I found it at Lowe's and have been pleased by its wonderful performance. I was very naughty and planted it in full afternoon sun, but the shrub has taken the heat like a champ!



I'm currently letting it bloom pink, because it seems our soil is naturally alkaline. Next year I am going to force it to blue though. You can see that the flower petals of the Penny Mac are smaller than those of the Blushing Bride.



I love watching the progress of the blooms as they open.



We also have a Niko Blue and a Woodlander hydrangea, but they were planted alongside the Penny Mac in full afternoon sun and are not doing as well as the Penny Mac. I think they will pull through and thrive next year, but they aren't really in shape for a photo shoot at this point!

Catmint is a popular perennial for underplanting with Hydrangeas.



Catmint gives off a light minty scent and the delicate blooms are a nice accent to the blooms of the hydrangea.



I love hydrangeas because the blooms are very long-lasting and cover the plant all summer long. I recently trimmed some blooms off the Blushing Bride that had been on the plant since I purchased it in May, so they were at least 3 months old. Hydrangea blooms also dry very well so you can enjoy them all year long. Although they can be needy when first planted, mature hydgrangeas require very little care and look great in any setting.