August 28th, more hydrangea

The weather is very gardening-friendly, not so hot and sunny as last week. The temperatures are perfect for mucking around in the garden. Today I went back to Gerber's Nursery as it is the closest one. I just went to check things out, see if they had fertilizers, and perhaps pick something up if it caught my eye.

First off, I saw a whole bunch of hydrangeas in a section that I hadn't been in before. Most of the plants there are trees, and the hydrangeas were tucked in and between the trees so that they wouldn't get direct sun all day. I resisted buying a bunch of Limelight hydrangeas; I am going to let the hedge idea percolate for a season, and if I still see it in my mind next spring, then I will plant it. This is the curve of the driveway where I can see a hedge of some sort. It would define the yard more and it would be the first thing you see when you drive in. I have estimated that I would need 7 or 8 hydrangeas to fill the spot.

                                     

I did buy a Bobo hydrangea which is labelled as a petite shrub. And I put it next to this fringed bleeding heart that I also bought and thought they should be together. So I dug out a new bed on the side of the front yard, just in front of a birch tree. I didn't dig too deep as I didn't want to harm the birch's roots. I amended the soil with a triple mix that I bought at Gerber's; it is a mix of manure, peat moss and loam and the woman working there said they use it for all their plantings.

Next summer, I will enlarge the bed a bit more and fill the front with impatiens. I think the pink looks so pretty next to the creamy white of the hydrangea. I have fallen in love with panicle hydrangeas; I think they give you so much with their long bloom time. 

This is a shot from further away, showing off the lovely birch bark.

And this is what it looks like from the front porch. 

I also bought more astilbe and will get them planted tomorrow.