Vases Filled With Light Blue Hydrangeas

hydrangea flowers in vases
From the Garden

Vases with blue hydrangeas- the Endless Summer variety.  It’s not too hard to fill a vase with hydrangea flowers.  Generally they are huge, and one will fill any kind of vase nicely.  Some of my new plants were flattened by a torrential rainstorm we had just after I planted them and they still bloomed, but the blooms are laying on the ground facing upwards.

Today I decided to cut them and bring some inside, but getting them to look okay in a vase is not easy since the heads are greatly bent sideways.

I brought a vase full of hot water outside with me and plopped the cut stems into it right away.  That keeps the white sap from clogging the stems so the flowers won’t wilt right away.  Than they are added to cold water once I go inside – snipping a bit off the bottom of the stem first.

I dug out my little vases – one is actually an empty Patron tequila bottle- and filled them with the light blue flowers.  I need these photos for my work as I get ready to add new wedding stationery to my BlueHyd store.

Bloom Hydrangeas, Bloom !!!

My hydrangea shrubs are blooming!  The Blushing Bride is mostly white with a slight green tint.  Maybe the pink color will show up later.  That is part of the fun in growing hydrangeas – they tend to change color as they age.  They don’t bloom and die and look hideous, they bloom and gradually dry out on the stem, changing slowing day to day.

My blue hydrangea is full of light blue flowers.  It’s really pretty – even though our torrential rainstorm from a couple weeks ago flattened the stems.  The shrub itself is quite small, but it’s giving me some gorgeous photos and pretty color for the front yard.  Can’t wait to see it next year, when it should be larger and more amazing.

Still to come is the Pinky Winky, which has tiny buds just beginning.  I don’t think the Pee Gee or the Limelight (I have 2) will have flowers this year, but I am happy with what I am seeing.  The white flower on the Blushing Bride is huge.

  • my hydrangeas
    Pinky Winky
  • hydrangeas
    PeeGee
  • white hydrangea flower
    The “Blushing Bride”
  • hydrangea flowers in vases
    Hydrangea cuttings
  • light blue hydrangea flowers
    Coming out light blue
  • hydrangea bouquet image
    Ceramic Tile

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The Pinky Winky is Planted!

pinky winky shrub
Finally – the Pinky Winky is in the ground!

Finally — I got my newly acquired Pinky Winky hydrangea shrub into the ground! The other four hydrangeas were planted a couple of weeks ago and then we had a week of rain. I couldn’t decide where to put the last one – the Pinky Winky – and then I decided it should go out front so it can be seen by passersby. So I began to dig near the edge of the house and I was stopped by a white pipe in the ground. It must be part of the septic system I suppose.

So I filled in the hole and had to find another spot. I decided on the area next to the garage. The Pinky Winky tag tells me that it will be quite large and eventually reach 8 to 10 feet wide and high. It also needs some sun. I also noticed that little buds are forming – which is exciting! I thought I might have to wait until next year to see some blooms, which will be pink and white and elongated.

All hydrangeas – the Limelight, Blushing Bride, Blue, and Pee Gee are doing well.

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Make Your Home More Inviting by Adding Perennials

rhododendron red buds
Red Budding Blooms on Rhododendron

Adding long lasting perennial shrubs to the yard is a great investment to your property. When I had my taxes done this year I was told to keep receipts of any improvements I made to the yard, including landscape plantings and other upgrades. Since I have a yard that needs a lot of help, I like the idea that I can claim at least some of my hard work on my taxes next year as a home improvement.

Have you ever looked at houses you pass while driving and thought how much the look could be improved by adding some nice looking perennials? I realize that not everyone is a gardener but it’s a shame people don’t care to make the outside of their house look lovely. It’s the first thing everyone sees and plantings make a home more inviting, in my opinion.  Hire someone to do it if you don’t want to.

Adding colorful perennials to the yard takes money and work, but the lasting appeal far outweighs the initial investment. Comparison shop for deals on your favorite flowering shrubs and buy something that needs little to no care once it’s planted (unless you like to fuss over roses!).

I love hydrangeas because they are fuss-free for the most part, but another plant to consider is the Rhododendron. The large version comes in a variety of flower colors and this red one (pictured) is my favorite. They like some shade, but this is a very hardy plant that will grow large. The smaller version, which looks more like an azalea to me, is also easy to grow and gets an abundance of flowers.  The only issue I’ve had with this one is that something ate the leaves – deer maybe?

Buying perennials in Fall will save you money, and over the winter they will have the chance to settle in and get ready to bloom in spring or summer the following year.   Adding just a few flowering perennials to the yard will make a big difference and will continue to enhance your landscape for years to come.

Buying Is Fun, Planting – Not So Much!

hydrangeas in pots
Newly purchased hydrangeas in pots

Going to the nursery and buying new plants for the yard is such fun. I love to imagine them each growing large and gloriously enhancing my landscape. But once I’m home and the work of digging and getting them into the ground begins, I’m not having as much fun.

Finding the right spot for them is the first obstacle to overcome. Some of them, in fact most of them, like sun with some shade. The blue “Endless Summer”, white “Blushing Bride“, the “Limelight” (I bought two), and the “Pinky Winky” all need to get some sun, but the “Pee Gee” wants shade.

Also, the full grown size of these plants needs to be considered. Hydrangeas don’t really need to be trimmed, so I want to give them all the space they need to look natural in their settings.

While I am considering all these things and watching my yard for the sunny spots, the plants sit in their pots. Each day they must be watered. Plants in pots dry out very fast. Then a freeze was predicted and I brought them all inside the garage for the night. I wouldn’t have worried had they been planted in the ground, but being in pots makes them more fragile.

I know they want out! And they will do some nice growing once they are in the ground. This weekend the weather in my part of New England will be fabulous, so I plan to get the planting underway.  After all, adding perennials to the yard is a wonderful and lasting gift you can give yourself.

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“Blushing Bride” The White Hydrangea

hydrangea plant in garden
Newly planted “Blushing Bride” hydrangea shrub.

In the mix of hydrangea shrubs I recently purchased, the white flowering “Blushing Bride” was new to me. I’ve had the blue endless summer variety, limelight, pee gee and a few other types, but not the one with round, white flowers. I planted it in the front of the house, next to the entryway. It won’t be really large – only 3 to 5 feet across – so won’t block the doorway.

(My yard is a work in progress – soon this front garden will be spectacular! Wait and see.)

The tag says that the flowers will be blue in acidic soil, so this new type of hydrangea is apparently closely related to the Endless Summer. I don’t know if my soil is acidic or not so I guess I’ll just wait and see what the flowers look like on this one.
I’ve read a bit about it and it should be a hardy plant. If you have one, here are some things to remember:
* Don’t cut it back. This one blooms on new and old wood. (Trimming of dead stalks can be done mid-summer.)
* It likes sun with some shade
* White to light pink flowers (in alkaline soil)
* Cutting the flowers in summer will produce more blooms
* Pile mulch around the base for winter
When mine gets flowers, I will be sure to share them here. It already has buds so I’ll expect flowers by July.

See the updated page with flowers here!

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