Learning the Difference between Hydrangeas

Today I planted a Jacob's Ladder that I bought at Gerber's nursery on Friday. I was assured that it would grow in shade.  I took out one of the hydrangeas in this bed and moved it further down, then put the Jacob's Ladder in its place. I am so pleased with the fringed bleeding heart in this spot that I didn't want to disturb it. So I moved the hydrangea instead; they were too close for both to grow optimally.

This is the fringed bleeding heart, it was just a small plant last summer so it is doing great in its second year. This is obviously the right spot for it. It gets about 3-4 hours of morning sun in this location.

This is the hydrangea that was moved, further down the bed. I dug out another 2 feet of bed here; the spot was full of roots and was quite difficult to dig.

I was going to dig this hydrangea out, thinking that it didn't survive the winter. But there were a couple of small green leaves right in the middle. I didn't know if they were weeds or if they were the actual hydrangea coming back, so I left them.  And they are definitely the hydrangea emerging again. It is very late compared to the other hydrangeas. And growing like this makes me think it might be a hydrangea like Annabelle. It has no shoots coming off the branches and I am going to snip them off.

At last, I am beginning to understand the difference between hydrangeas. I was very confused by the advice available on pruning hydrangeas. But now that I can see how they regrow in the spring, I am starting to understand the difference. The panicle hydrangeas start to grow on the stalks that have remained through the winter. The other type, mophead hydrangeas, regrow from the ground each spring and these can be pruned down hard in late fall or early spring, depending upon whether you like the winter interest provided by the stems. This type are more recommended for areas with heavy snow coverage as they are tougher since  they start anew each year.  Their stems are also less woody than the panicle type hydrangeas.

Personally, I prefer the panicle hydrangeas with their cone-shaped flowers and the lovely shades of pink through red that they turn in the fall.

This particular hydrangea, pictured below, is very late in coming back and I wonder how it is  going to fare this season. The winter was a very tough one, that might have something to do with the growth rate, or perhaps it is just a late bloomer. But since hydrangeas  offer so much for such a long time, holding their blossoms long into the fall and even through the winter months, I think they can be forgiven for however they come back.

                                      

This is a close up of the hydrangea that I planted yesterday - a Little Quick Fire. It has a lot of blossoms starting up and it should be covered with blooms in a month or so. I didn't realise that I planted exactly the  same type at the other end of the bed last year, so there will be two hydrangeas the same close together, but that is okay.

Front Bed Done

I have finished planting the front bed. Now it is a case of waiting for the perennials to grow.

View of the bed from the driveway. There are 2 hostas that were here, but were always eaten by the deer. Two panicle hydrangeas and one climbing hydrangea, a cinnamon fern, two fringed bleeding hearts, two lamium, a sedum, an aster, several Lady's Mantle, and some New Guinea impatiens added to give some colour.

At the far end near the driveway, I have 4 columbine in different colours. Right now, the yellow one is blooming and it is lovely.

A closer shot of the new hydrangea, this one is Little Quick Fire. It has blooms forming on it now, they emerge white and then fade in the fall to pink and then to a bright rosy red. It will only get 5 to 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide, so it can have this corner of the bed to itself. I have only put annuals close to it for now. This pampered shrub will get about 3 hours of morning light, the rest of the day it sits in bright light, but it doesn't get shaded until late in the day. 

Garden Progress

Some much needed rain, but not nearly enough. I had forgotten how dry Ontario summers can be, having lived for 3 decades in Nova Scotia.
This is a bed that is dedicated to annuals, in the back are cosmos, then a row of annual daisies, and in front some snap dragons that were started from seed.
Plans are to expand this bed bit by bit. Digging takes a lot of energy and I just don't have enough to get this done in big chunks.

This is a lovely begonia on the front porch. Glistening with the rain drops.

A new tree/shrub - a dappled willow. This is planted near the garage on the lot line between us and the neighbour. It only grows to about 6 feet tall and just as wide. It has the prettiest foliage, the new leaves coming out in blush pink.

The vegetable bed with leeks, carrots, peppers and lettuce. There were no weeds until I put in the carrot and lettuce seeds, then the weeds came on furiously. Makes me wonder what was in those seed packets.

The veggie bed with runner beans to grow up the bamboo poles, a few lettuce and the rest is tomato plants. The tin cans are to protect the young plants from cut worms. I should be able to take them off in a week or so.

The two clematis plants are doing great; I hope I don't jinx them by putting that down. I planted a lot of alyssum around them to shade their roots. In this location, they get about 5-6 hours of afternoon sun.
These are planted on either side of the clothes line pole to which I stapled nylon chicken wire for them to clamber on.

And another clematis planted against the chain link fence. In front are snap dragons which should shade their roots.

Hubby is giving some thought to how to water all these plants. He says we need to think up some method of drip irrigation that uses the rain water. In the meantime, I lug gallon after gallon of water around to all the new plants. I put in some petunias earlier today and was amazed to see that the bed was literally dust. I don't know how anything survives in this dry climate.

June 4 - the front bed

The front bed as seen from the new porch. Mulch not only helps to keep down weeds and conserve moisture, it makes everything look nicer too.
At least, what weeds are there are hidden and I can just see what I wish to grow here.

This photo is taken from the other end of the bed. The perennials are all small at this point, so I added some New Guinea impatiens near the steps, and two pots of wave petunia and yellow calibrachoa to fill in some colour. It will be a while before the perennials fill out and provide some blooms.

In this semi-shaded bed, I have planted a hydrangea, columbine, three lady's mantle, bleeding heart, fringed bleeding heart, climbing hydrangea, an aster, sedum, Japanese painted fern, cinnamon fern, and vinca as well as two hostas that came up from the previous owner's planting. It will be quite full once they all get going. And in the corner right near the porch, I am going to plant a panicle hydrangea. I think they give you the longest bloom time of any perennial.

One of my favourite flowers - columbine. This one is called Big Blue, it looks a little washed out in this photo, but it is gorgeous.  Such an intricate flower. There are four columbines in this bed all down this end around the plant pole.