A Love of Hydrangeas

I brought home a bouquet of cut hydrangeas the other day. 

It's made me think of all the hydrangeas I've planted in the garden. 

I've planted twelve varieties over the past several years. 

I just love them.

There's the Limelight and Mini Limelights that surround our dining patio. 

We also planted a hedge of Limelights along the old sauna building. 

My favorite varieties are those that express this wonderful lavender-blue hue. 

Nikko Blue, Endless Summer, Penny Pac...are all dependable for this coloring in their blossoms. 

This bed of Little Lamb hydrangea are under the windows at the east end of the dining room. 

Here they are in late summer. They blossom cream and fade (brighten) to a wonderful pink when the nights turn cool at the end of summer. 

Hydrangeas (hydro) are named for their love and need of lots of water. If your cut bouquets start to fade, give them a nice cool bath and they will brighten up. It's wonderful to watch. 

Endless Summer. 

This variety blooms all summer long. A few more examples of their blossoms follow below. 

Endless Summer. 

Endless Summer. 

Endless Summer. 

This hydrangea bed has mostly Endless Summer, with a mix of pinks and blues. 

They were so small (one gallon pots and smaller) when we planted them. 

It's amazing to see them so big now. 

You can see a large Nikko Blue blossom in the back corner. 

Classic Nikko Blue. 

They are all so brilliant in color. 

The north facing hydrangea bed has a wonderful view of the valley. 

This Pee Gee hydrangea is in the front bed which receives a lot of sun throughout the day. Pee Gee is a sun tolerant variety so I planted several of them. 

I also planted some Pee Gee's in front of the dining room windows (on left). As you can see, they look a lot like the Little Lamb hydrangeas underneath the east facing dining room windows (on right). 

Here they are again from the porch. 

Hydrangeas have been a wonderful addition to our gardens. They have thrived in our Pacific Northwest environment (we are in Zone 5). 

Also, the deer have never bothered them and unlike the roses, we've never had to treat them for anything (fungus, pests, etc.). 

They are amazingly low maintenance. 

They just need water. 

I hope to plant some of these favorite hydrangeas at our new home. I'll have to wait and see what zone we end up in!