While at Agway yesterdat, a weekly stop, I got a couple more hydrangea since they were on sale. One, Endless Summer, is the same type as I planted in the new planter. This is an interesting variety because it blooms on both old and new growth wood. Ideally this means that it has a longer bloom time than most hydrangeas. The blue color is achieved by maintaining an acidic soil. Akaline soil will bring out pinkish or purplish blooms. For more info on this particular type The Botany Shopo Garden Center has created a nice web page.
The other hydrangea that I purchased is a Limelight Hydrangea. It starts out with green blooms that turn pink in the fall. It is supposed to be reliable in any soil, so I decided to give it a try. The two new hydrangeas will go down next to the driveway in the "rock garden" Point your mouse arrow at the corner of the fense and move it down in the northwest direction - when it gets to the mound of green (with weeds), that is the spot the shrubs are going. I have already pulled most of the weeds in that area (which were recently much worse than they were when I took the picture). Now WS just has to use the 4-wheeler to pull the two trees that have taken root there (and I have managed to ignore for the last two years). The very top of that area has been taken over by ferns, which is fine and I don't have a problem with them staying there.
After the trees are pulled, I have to pull up all the rock, remove the weed barrier fabric (which obviously didn't do much good after soil washed down on top of the rock), put in the bushes, replace the weed barrier, return the rocks (which have been washed so they are soil-free) and voila - it will be beautiful.
Alright, I will settle for less wild looking for that area.
Hydrangeas were my grandmother's favorite flower, so I love them too--they make me think of her. A friend has the green-to-purple variety you describe; I always wondered if they were a special type. On our recent trip to Gettysburg, we saw a huge, overladen hydrangea with both blue and pink blooms! It looked so gorgeous that way. With our acidic soil, our bush always blossoms blue.
Posted by: Jackie | July 17, 2005 at 03:31 PM
the blue hydrangea I planted last week is starting to bloom. The buds are just starting to open but we can see that the tips of the petals are blue. Can't wait until they are completely open!
Posted by: bogie | July 18, 2005 at 04:14 AM