Shady Highlights: Summer Shrubs Part Three
If you think hydrangeas are limited to the perhaps over familiar pink or blue big-leafed kinds, be they the deservedly popular hortensias such as Hydrangea macrophylla "All Summer Beauty" or "Nikko Blue," or perhaps the lacecaps such as the exquisite H. macrophylla "Blue Wave," wake up because you are in for a real treat.
I love my utterly reliable and easy care white flowered "Annabelle" which is a named variety of Hydrangea arborescens, a North American native. It needs only to be mowed off very early each spring to grow and bloom profusely on the new wood in mid summer. Sometimes it blooms right into fall. It is perhaps ungainly, but so are most of the Hydrangea macrophylla types, so I don't count that against it.
Oak leaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), another North American native, blooms during the summer and then, as the flowers age on the plant the color gradually changes from a clean white to various shades of pink. This plant also offers a bonus of lovely fall color, exfoliating bark and some huge leaves, a pleasantly rough texture all around. Although it can get quite big in time, I don't expect it to here because in some winters it dies back a bit, in which case it may skip a year of bloom. Oh well. It still has excellent texture and so I continue to grow it.
Hydrangea paniculata (Panicle Hydrangea) is another summer bloomer but it needs lots of space as it grows quite large! However, this plant does not have much grace or merit in my mind apart from the summer blooms, shade tolerance and its tenacity under generally adverse conditions. So I include it in the "possibles" list: if you have a difficult spot to fill, this might well be the answer.
Next week: the one "rose" I grow a lot of -- Rose of Sharon!
By the way, in the meantime here is my newest Cottage Garden Link for My Link List: a well-loved garden and site belonging to a suite101.com member with a definite sense of humor! Romaine's Garden in New South Wales, Australia. The Kitchen Garden and Play Area, along with the opening photos of Emma-The-Boat resting with the fairies, convinced me this is one heck of an interesting place. You'll love it, too.
Recently, my daughter told me we/I won my very
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