Apparently while I was swearing at the rain and snow this past fall and winter, the hydrangeas were saying, "thank you, thank you, thank you!" In the ten years since they were planted we have never had more than a handful of blooms on any of these plants. But this year is a very different story.
Mitchell gave me these shrubs for my birthday the first summer we lived in this house. He chose them all by himself and brought home six pots.
Hydrangea 'Nigra' - a mophead with cream to pink blooms and wonderful black stems.
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Glowing Embers' - another mophead with crimson red blooms and wonderful dark green foliage.
Hydrangeo macrophylla 'Taube' - a "unique" deep rose flower in a lace cap.
More recent additions to our hydrangea family were a gift from mother for Christmas three or four years ago. (How is that for a wonderful gift?) These are both smaller sized, so fit in the main garden.
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' is an "endless summer" hydrangea that continues to bloom until fall. This one opens white and purple, but turns a gorgeous pale blue when in full bloom, and the mopheads are huge.
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Lady in Red' is the most unusual one I have. It is a lace cap that is supposed to open pink and turn to red as it matures. So far the latter has not happened, but this is the first year that the blooms have been pink at all. I think it looks like it has a rash! It is perfectly gorgeous in the fall, tho, because all of its foliage turns to burgundy, so you get three season color from it.
Do not adjust your screen colors! Pink, crimson red, deep rose? Does this give you some idea how very acidic our soil is? In the early years I added lime and tried to get the pinks to hold, but it is not going to happen. As much as I love blue flowers I decided to just relax and enjoy the purples and blues. Add a few yellow daylilies here and there and what more could a girl wish for?
