Author: Pam

New England native, Florida resident. Blogging about boating, beach-combing, gardening, camping, and knitting.

Turning the Corner on Winter

sepia photography hydrangeasOnce January is here don’t we all begin to look forward to the end of winter? It’s funny, because winter is just getting started really. At least where I live in New Hampshire. January and February are the coldest with the greatest possibility of snowstorms. Yet, we know that the month brings us closer to the Spring months. We’ve turned the corner and begun a new year with new hope for things to come.

It’s got me writing about flowers again! First I went through my hydrangea photos and got them organized. Then I found more free photos to use as I write. (Check out Morguefile if you need free pictures to use for anything.)  Today I wrote a page about the types of hydrangeas.  It was fun to finish it up with lots of colorful hydrangea photos.

Although the world is gray and white with snow on the ground and the daylight gone at 4:00PM, beneath the snow my hydrangeas are waiting. This next year will give them the chance to shine in my yard. Last year was the planting and babying. This summer they can show what they’ve really got. I am excited. Color is coming.

My Trouble With The Pee Gee

white flowers pee gee
Little Pee Gee

When I bought six hydrangea shrubs this past Spring, one of them was a Pee Gee (paniculata – Grandiflora). The tag said that it wanted some shade so after some thought, I ended up putting it at the edge of the yard near some big trees that would shade it partially. I didn’t know that it would bloom that first year but it did and had some very dainty, very white flowers at the ends of it’s long stems.

The flowers were pretty, but they drooped to the ground and we got lots of heavy rain after that which beat the bush down flat almost. By the time summer was over, the shrub was not looking too good. It has many, long thin branches that left the leaves lying in the dirt.

I ended up giving it a pruning and I don’t know Continue reading “My Trouble With The Pee Gee”

The Ever Changing Hydrangea Flower – August Blooms

many colored flowers on the blushing bride shrub
Many colored blooms on Blushing Bride.

Hydrangeas could be called the great, morphing flower.  From the time they bloom in June and July until Fall arrives, the flowers undergo amazing and wondrous changes.

My white flowering “Blushing Bride” is showing some unusual color combos as it ages.  The once all-white huge flower is now mostly green with some pink on each petal.  On the same bush, I have a white flower that seems to be changing to light blue, and some smaller, light green blooms.

By this time of year, late summer, any hydrangea shrub which had held bright blue flowers now has odd-colored blooms that no longer resemble the pretty blue.

It’s not really a bad thing, but the coloring is a bit hard to categorize.  It’s a combo of green, purple, pink and maybe some blue tint still left.  I suppose it depends on your garden dirt.

That is the thing about hydrangeas.  They are never dull.  Even as they age they can still be very interesting and lovely.

green hydrangea flower

Related articles

Limelight: A Beautifully Named Hydrangea

budding limelight hydrangea flower
New Flower on the Limelight

I’ve never grown the Limelight hydrangea nor been around any of the shrubs. I purchased two of this type bush in Spring this year and planted them in front of my house.

Figuring that they would need this summer to grow good roots and become hardy, I didn’t expect flowers, so what a nice surprise to see them begin budding!
Sure enough, more and more little round petals began to form and now both bushes are filled with the elongated, lacey looking flowers. I expect that as the flowers age they will become more green. I am very happy with these healthy looking plants. I highly recommend the Limelight hydrangea as a perennial planting for your yard.

white limelight hydrangea flowers
Lacey white Limelight flowers
Related articles

Watching This White Hydrangea Flower Turn Green

As you can see in my photos below, the hydrangea flower on the plant named “Blushing Bride” is going through a change to green as it ages.

It started off white, then began showing cream or ivory colored petals mixed with the white.  Now it’s taking on a definite greenish appearance.

However, if your soil alkalinity is different from mine, your Blushing Bride flower may be pink or blue.  This is one type of hydrangea which has flowers that will be various colors according to the type of soil.

hydrangea shrub in garden
Recently planted Blushing Bride shrub with new flower just beginning to grow (top).
White flower hydrangea
Ivory colored petals beginning to show.
green hydrangea flower
Now the white flower is turning green.
Related articles

Learning From Experience – Which Hydrangeas Are Best?

white hydrangea flower
The “Blushing Bride” Flower

I am still learning about the hydrangeas I planted this spring. They have all surprised me by blooming very nicely. The only one that doesn’t have many flowers is the Pee Gee.

What I’ve learned:

New hydrangea shrubs will flatten easily in a big rainstorm. After they bloom, it’s even worse as the flowers get wet and heavy.

The flowers which are elongated (Pinky Winky and Limelight) fare better. They droop when the flowers are wet, but not to the ground like the others. Maybe because their petals are smaller and the flowers are more open. Their stems are sturdier too.

The overall appearance of these types of shrub seems to be hardy and carefree. I have to constantly water the Endless Summer (blue-flowering) shrub as well as the Blushing Bride – both are mophead varieties. They wilt terribly in the sun, even though they get mostly morning sun.  It has been hot.

I’ve cut some of the blue ones because they were laying on the ground.  They are now hanging to dry on my drying rack.

They are all beautiful and I don’t think I have a favorite yet.  I may decide by the time summer is over.

Related articles