New England native, Florida resident. Blogging about boating, beach-combing, gardening, camping, and knitting. Work for Zazzle as a designer since 2008.
Found this hydrangea photo and good information on one of my favorite photographer’s site. I never grew pink hydrangeas like this one. It has fun little pointy petals. Pete kindly allowed me to re-blog here, so enjoy! And go see his photos… they are stunning!
I have always loved Hydrangeas. My Nan and Grandad grew them at the front of their house, and so did my Mom and Dad. It’s amazing how when you see a certain flower they bring back such wonderful, precious memories. Because of my love for the abundance of showy blossoms this popular shrub produces, and because of the fond memories, I have grown Hydrangeas in my garden for some years. Although, for the first time ever, I made the most silly mistake of pruning then at the wrong time so I did not get a single blossom last year. But this year, they are back again, and in splendour.
Here are a few facts about this colourful flowering shrub, some I already knew, and some I didn’t.
Hydrangeas go back a long way, and were here before we were. The oldest fossil finds discovered in America go back 40 to…
When I first moved to Florida back in 1979, one flowering shrub I missed was my favorite – the Peony. My grandmother had them in her Massachusetts garden around her old white farmhouse, and the huge blooms impressed me as a child. The fluffiness of the blooms were like none I’d seen, and the peony instantly became my favorite flower.
This page contains my photos of the peonies I planted and tended for the five years I lived in my New Hampshire house. They bloomed in July, so I thought I’d treat myself to a trip back in time, when I could walk into my yard and see these beautiful blooms. I wonder if the new homeowners are enjoying them today.
I live in Florida for 27 years, without growing any peonies in my landscape. I had everything else a southern gardener could grow including a white and yellow jasmine along my fence.
Camellias of all colors grew under the shade of the big live oaks in my 2.5 acre yard. I had a magnolia tree, orange tree, gardenias, hibiscus, crotons, and bougainvillea, lots of crepe myrtle, a stag horn fern, and more that I can’t remember now. But peonies don’t grow in the deep south.
I really missed seeing peony flowers, and when I moved back to New England in 2005, I couldn’t wait to have some growing in my yard. Unfortunately, I ended up not having a yard of my own to plant them in until years later. But once I had my own home, I went out and bought a peony bush. I believe the Sarah Bernhardt (light pink flowering peony) was the first, and I can’t find a picture of that flower in my photos… but that one is my favorite. (I’ll keep looking for a picture!)
I don’t recall the name of this white flowering Peony. I always kept the name of the plant in the soil beneath the shrub so I could recall the name. I no longer live there, and I’ve forgotten.
I know that the bright pink flower, with the yellow center is the Karl Rosenfeld. It’s not as fluffy as the other types I grew, but it was unique.
Peony flowers don’t last long. I loved to photograph the buds too. If I missed a day or two, and didn’t go outside (due to weather) I could miss the prime blooming time!
Most of my peonies – 3 plants – grew along an old wooden fence near the driveway. The Karl Rosenfeld was planted out back. The front gardens, near the house got too much sun for growing peonies, so I reserved that area for sun-loving shrubs.
Peonies are easy to grow, but some years they don’t get many flowers. When they do bloom, ants can be found crawling all over the flowers. Usually a cage or holder of some kind is needed to keep the stems upright once they flower. It’s best to put the cage up and let the stems grow up through.
Viewing a sprouting peony in Spring, was just what I needed after a long cold winter! Here they come….
It’s easy to start new croton plants from cuttings.
Finding plants that will propagate easily has always been a goal of mine. Starting new crotons from old plants is easy. In fact it’s easier than propagating most things I’ve tried. Cut the stem, put cuttings in water and wait a few weeks. More detailed explanation below.
It is possible to propagate hydrangeas, but that takes time. It’s worth it, because in the end you have a new, lovely hydrangea bush. In fact my baby hydrangeas grew quite large before I had to move.
But back to the crotons. These plants love sun and heat and can live through a draught. The wilted leaves come back after getting some water. Crotons like well-drained soil, and the sandy soil of Florida helps this plant to love it outdoors. It can even survive the cold nights we sometimes get here in Central Florida.
This first photo below was taken over the winter months, when the leaves are duller in color with more green and dark purple colors. Or maybe this one just needed better care.
Winter Croton
In this second photo, you can see that this plant’s leaves have turned stunning red, orange, yellow and pink from the bright Florida summer sun. I’ve also given it fertilizer and cleaned out the pot a bit. It was full of ferns.
Summer Croton
So, to propagate this croton, I waited until Spring when it began to grow some new leaves. Then I cut off the top of a longer stem, also making the stem long enough to drink from a vase of water. Remove the lower leaves of that cutting, and put it in water.
Bright Orange Leaves of the Croton
You will want the stem to not be touching the bottom of the vase, so find one that leaves it hanging. The new roots will grow out of the bottom of the cut stem. Wait a few weeks and the roots will emerge. Be sure to change the water in the vase daily! Once you see roots, it won’t be long before they are long enough and you can plant the new croton in a pot or the ground. Don’t plant until the roots are at least an inch long.
Three New Croton Plants
These are my three new croton plants. Their leaves are not as bright because I took the cuttings before the mother plant’s leaves turned so pretty. But once these new plants are in the ground, in a sunny location, they will turn just as bright.
As you can see below, the baby croton is turning color. I need to fertilize these plants for better result, but even without much attention, crotons will grow beautifully.
It is so hot down here in Florida in the month of July that I rarely go outside. This morning I scurried around my yard and took some photos until I just couldn’t stand being out there. I think I lasted less than 5 minutes. The heat index says it feels like 100 out there. Add in tons of humidity, and you have Yuk.
So lets begin with the flowers. The crotons and hibiscus are loving the heat. They were made to withstand summer heat in this disgusting climate. Thankfully we are getting lots of afternoon thunderstorms that keep me from having to go out and water.
Red Hibiscus
My rose bush hasn’t had any blooms for a while, but I noticed a small rose and bud today. It probably needs more attention, and more fertilizer.
Small Rose and Bud
I bought some Impatiens when I first moved into the house, and unbelievably they are still looking pretty good! I also planted my mother-in-laws-tongue, or snake plant, in the ground and it is doing well. I’ve put a few of the big seashells I’ve collected into the garden as decoration. The older, worn shells look good displayed that way. I had to put them out front, away from the raccoons, so they wouldn’t drag them off!
Seashells Decorate the Garden Bed
The Persian Lime tree is doing great. It’s still in a pot, and has lost a lot of the fruit it started with, but I still have some good size limes coming. I’ll have to figure out when to pick the fruit.
Persian Lime Fruit
I have 2 eggplant plants, but neither one is growing any eggplants. They flower, and lose the flowers and keep growing tall. They are a good spot for ladybugs to lay their eggs and eat aphid infestations, but that is about it.
Maybe there aren’t enough bugs to pollinate the flowers. I need more flowering plants in and around my garden.
But I tried. I bought a bunch of marigolds because I always grew marigolds in New Hampshire. They usually became beautiful rounded bushes with tons of flowers. But that is not happening to these marigolds.
Eggplant
The marigolds have been growing for months, and I only have about 3 flowers total. The stalks have grown very long and tall, without flowering. It’s very bizarre. Marigolds are good to grow near tomatoes and other vegetables because they will help keep certain unwanted bugs away.
Orange Marigold
On to the tomatoes. I have 2 tomato plants still growing, but neither one looks exceptionally good. Both have some small green tomatoes, and I don’t know if I will get red ones to eat before the raccoons decide to help themselves.
Tomatoes
I tried covering the vegetable garden with netting, and I think that helped. But a papa cardinal somehow got inside the netting and was trapped in the garden! I went out and freed him, but I had to cut the netting off in the process. He was really freaking out, so I left the garden uncovered.
I’m not trying too hard to garden these days. It’s too hot, and I don’t think the vegetables like it either.
……. Happy 4th!
I am not familiar with all types of hydrangeas, but I do know that almost all blooms change color at some point. These multi-color hydrangea blooms show how pretty the hydrangea flower can become along the timeline of it’s life.
This first picture is mine. The blue buds of Endless Summer hydrangeas come out as cream color then eventually turn bright blue, if the soil is acidic enough. As summer ends, the flowers may turn other colors, like green or pinkish purple. Eventually they will dry on the stem.
As a flower fades, or goes by, it can become most beautiful. The blue petals can turn purple and green. I am not sure if this is what happened in the picture below, but I’ve seen my own blue hydrangeas fade to the most stunning and unique colors. Late summer hydrangeas that have turned green are my favorite.
Late in the growing season – into fall – hydrangeas can dry right on the stem. Dried flowers can be just about as lovely as the fresh blooms.
All of the flowers pictured here are of the macrophylla variety, with big, round blooms.
If your soil is more alkaline, mophead hydrangeas can be pink instead of blue.
The long life of the hydrangea flower makes it a popular choice as a perennial for the landscape. Once it begins to flower, you can enjoy those huge blooms for months.
Thanks to Pixabay for most of these pretty floral images.
My daughter gave me a calendar for last Christmas. She had gone through and written some things on each of the months and in June she wrote, “One year since you moved”. At first, it doesn’t seem like a year has gone by since we packed up the Penske truck and took the 3-day (hellish) drive from New Hampshire to Florida. But if I give it more thought, I can see all that I did within that year, and yes, it is believable. In fact, I did pack a lot into the past 12 months.
Pampas Grass grew in my northern yard, but it died over one extremely cold winter.
I had hoped to find a house to buy with a good size yard and plenty of place for gardens. But money, or lack of it, always seems to give so few options in reality. Florida is no longer the super cheap place to live that it used to be. Without money, you don’t have many options, and you have to end up settling for the best you can do.
One thing I am very grateful for is that I don’t have to move in the near future. Hopefully I will never have to move again, but I know better than to plan on that. At least the house is in good shape. Aside from replacing the AC unit, there isn’t much to do until the fridge stops working, or something like that. No major repairs needed (fingers crossed).
In Florida, summer is like my winter was in the North. Winter was a time to rest (except for shoveling snow and lugging wood for the wood stove). There was no yard work to be done (unless you count snowplowing the driveway). And most winters it was manageable. (2015 was a bad one.) It’s too cold to do much outdoors, and I simply sat at my desk and worked day after day. I was much busier in summer with my gardens and yard work.
Street Sweeper in May
Summer in Florida is the time to stay inside. It is NOT the time to garden, unless you want heat-stroke. Believe it or not, it can even be too hot to go to the beach! I’d love to have a pool, but since I don’t, I stay inside and sit at my desk and work day after day. Now, I look forward to Fall, the way I used to look forward to Spring. That is when I can get back outside and do some gardening / yard work.
Hydrangeas are beginning to bloom in the north. Next month all my hydrangeas at my old house (none of it is mine any more, but I like to pretend it is) will be blooming. One day I will go back and take a ride (or walk) past my previous home, just to look at how much the plants have grown. They were my babies. I planted them, and wish I could have stuck around to see them grow year after year. Wishes mean nothing.
An Evening Ritual, Robins Bathing
If I ever have hydrangeas here, they will have to be in pots. No hydrangeas can possibly withstand the heat of these summers. They would be wilted all the time. I’m sticking with citrus trees and tropical plants. The vegetable garden is still in it’s experimental stage, with netting over it to block the raccoons’ escapades.
So in a year I have done a lot. (All photos are mine, and were taken while I lived in New Hampshire.)
Hydrangeas Blue 