My Secret Love

Hydrangea...my secret love (or not so secret if you spend any time listening to me drone on and on about gardening).  There are so many varieties and hybrids with their own charm and allure - I find myself unable to resist them.  This summer, in Northeast PA, our hydrangea have been out of control, so I am going to walk you by a few of my favorites.

 This heart-shaped love is a Nikko Blue.  These bushes do well in partial shade, bloom on 'old wood' so should be pruned as soon as the blooms die.

 

For the novice and/or lazy gardeners, the Endless Summer is a great bet for you.  Depending upon your soil PH, it will bloom blue or pink (or both) and all summer long.  It isn't picky about what kind of wood it will bloom upon the following year, so you can cut away to your heart's content.  I have planted many, many of these and am astonished at the variation in color.  Look how these are shades of both blue and pink on a single flower.  Love these!

Not quite as showy, but very romantic and a nice addition to any garden, is the Oak Leaf hydrangea.  The leaves are shaped like an...oak leaf...and the flowers are similar to the Pee Gee (but smaller) and give a great show of color from white to pink to red to brown. I LOVE using these flowers in my arrangements.  An added bonus is that the leaves of this bush turn a purple to red color in the fall.  How cool is that?

The Annabelle Hydrangea is also a beauty in any garden.  The flowers begin a lime green, mature to white and back to green as the summer progresses.   (Once they've turned their final green, they can be dried and used all winter)  I've used these as hedges and as one single bush in a spot that needed a pick me up.

My Favorite Plant of the Year for 2011 is the gorgeous, unique plant commonly called the Blue Lacecap Variegated Hydrangea.  I planted it everywhere this year!!  The leaves are so unique because of the variegation of color so they stand out among all the other green bushes in the garden.  Don't you just love them!?  The flowers are lacecap so they also add a little something different from the other kids.  It likes shade but can take a bit of sunshine without wilting.

Now for the Queen of the Garden (and my personal all time favorite): the Pee Gee Hydrangea.  I can't say enough about this flower.  You can buy it as a bush or, my personal favorite, as a tree.  I guarantee you will LOVE it.  The huge, cone shaped flowers begin white and gradually mature into a deep rose - at any time you can cut and dry them and they will be gorgeous all winter long (these are the hydrangea you normally see on wreaths and other dried flower arrangements).  The only pruning you need is to cut off all the old flowers and prune the tree for the next season.

This is just a small sampling of this wonderful flower - my garden lover.  I encourage you to buy and plant them; you won't regret it.