There is so much to be done in the garden this weekend. But before I head out into the humid heat, I thought I would just share a few updates from the garden.
June is hydrangea season around here. The two Nikko Blue hydrangeas situated at the back of the house are heavy with blooms. I’m grateful that the one you see on your left is finally blooming.
Nikko Blue Hydrangeas
Two years ago I had some landscape workers here to move around some large shrubs. There was a monster butterfly bush situated between these two hydrangeas and I asked them to relocate it to behind the potager. I was inside on conference calls while they worked. Later that afternoon after they had left and I was finally liberated from the telephone, I went outside. Rather than moving the butterfly bush from between the two hydrangeas they had moved the hydrangea on the left! The butterfly bush and the hydrangea on the right were left squeezed together with a big gaping hole on the left!
I ran back to find the wandering hydrangea. It was sagging from the move and in the heat. Yes, I broke down and cried.
Of course, the workers apologized and moved the hydrangea back to where it belonged. But I nearly lost it. I certainly lost two summers of blooms from it.
Endless Summer Hydrangeas
I have friends who call the Endless Summer hydrangeas Endless Bummer hydrangeas. I can’t agree with them because although they haven’t reached the impressive size of the Nikko Blues they do put on a stunning display.
Rigorous cutting of the blooms helps the plant to regenerate, so the shrubs will continue to bloom throughout the summer. And the house is filled with hydrangeas to boot.
Sarah with Microgreens
Finally, what is a blog post without a photo of a cute little dog? So, here’s Sarah posing with the microgreens.
Now, off to tackle the long list of garden tasks!
Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
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Wow. They are stunning. Can’t grow them here though. How nice to have that color in your garden when it’s getting so hot.
Well, those are stunning! They have such an intense blue I don’t think I would mind at all if they didn’t get bigger.
These Hydrangeas are gorgeous!! Do you think they would grow in Central Florida? I live in Orlando area.
Thanks,
Debbi
Hi Debbi,
The Nikko Blue hydrangeas are hearty to Zone 9, which I believe includes Orlando, but no hydrangea is particularly drought tolerant, thus the “hydra-” in the name. You should ask at your local independent garden center to see what would grow well there.
Robin
Robin, That’s a marvelous blue…I agree, no way could that be an Endless Bummer! …and yes, we must always have a photo of a cute dog to admire.
Lovely blues, you obviously have the right soil PH for them. And your dog is such a cutie too
Amazing blue colour so vivid!
That’s a great dog.
Ces hortensias sont magnifiques. Bonne journée.
I enjoyed reading this blog post. Sounds like you are very passionate about gardening. You have done a great job with the garden. Keep the good posts coming!!