Blooming Hydrangeas
Are the hydrangeas blooming where you are? Here at my farm, the hydrangeas are starting to put on quite a show with more blooms showing up every day.
My hydrangea border is located down the carriage road from my hoop houses and across from my chicken coops. It is home to a selection of colorful hydrangeas including mature mopheads transplanted from my former Lily Pond home in East Hampton. I added more hydrangeas in this area last year, planting both white and dark pink varieties. I also have hydrangeas growing around my tennis court, outside my goose and peafowl pens, behind my main greenhouse, and beneath the London plane and Cotinus trees in my middle field. Many of the newer plants are from the First Editions and Endless Summer Collections by Bailey Nurseries.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And have a wonderful July 4th holiday weekend!
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- I have long grown hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are one of the most popular ornamental garden plants because of their large spherical bloom heads that come in varying shades of pink, purple, blue, and white.
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- When I redesigned my East Hampton gardens, I transferred about 30-plants to my farm and have added many more ever since.
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- Hydrangea is a genus of at least 70-species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Mopheads are the most popular flower style of hydrangea.
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- In addition to the mopheads, there are also hydrangeas that bloom in lovely lacecaps.
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- The lacecap is very similar to the mophead, but instead of growing round clusters of showy blossoms, this hydrangea grows flowers that resemble flat caps with frilly edges.
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- They produce florets, surrounded by small flowers that look like closed buds.
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- This is Hydrangea ‘Eclipse®,’ a dark bigleaf hydrangea from First Editions. Its blooms are bold cranberry or amethyst depending on the soil ph. In extending the hydrangea border, I planted these along the carriage road heading toward my Japanese Maple Woodland.
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- On the other side outside my tropical hoop house, I planted FlowerFull hydrangeas also from First Editions.
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- These stand out with bold white blooms and sturdy upright stems.
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- FlowerFull can bloom from summer to first frost. The abundant white panicle balls turn green as the season progresses.
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- In general, mophead and lacecap leaves are relatively thick and crisp, shiny, and often heart-shaped. They range in size from four to six inches long by three to five inches wide.
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- And look who’s admiring the flowers here – one of my handsome “blue boy” peacocks. I planted a selection of hydrangeas around the bird enclosures. It’s always important to do research before planting. Make sure to consider the plant’s mature size and light needs when selecting a space. And remember, perennials grow slowly the first year, faster the second year, and then usually reach full size in the third year.
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- All of these are BloomStruck® Bigleaf Hydrangeas around two sides of my peafowl and goose pens, where they could be seen from the carriage road. When mature, these hydrangeas will reach two to four feet tall and three to five feet wide.
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- The name hydrangea originates from two Greek words – “hydro” meaning “water” and “angeion” meaning “vessel” or “container.” Together, the rough translation is “water vessel” which refers to their exceptional thirst for water.
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- Most hydrangeas are shrubs, but some are small trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
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- Hydrangeas are long-lived, and extremely vigorous specimens that offer lavish and varied blooms. The most common garden hydrangea shrub is the Bigleaf mophead variety, Hydrangea macrophylla.
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- Mophead blooms measure 3.5 to 5 inches across. They bloom in rose-pink or violet blue, depending on pH of the soil.
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- Here’s a flower still waiting to bloom. Blooms appear all summer long on both old wood and new growth.
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- This beautiful white panicle hydrangea is growing outside my tennis court.
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- Last year, I added to my collection in this area. Surrounding the court itself are Little Hottie® Panicle Hydrangeas from First Editions. They are just starting to bloom. They are compact, mid-sized white hydrangeas with large, full flower heads that bloom from the bottom to the top of the plant. The flowers start out lime green, then turn white in the summer and eventually to an antique white in the fall.
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- The blooms on this compact Summer Crush® hydrangea are intense, deep raspberry pink. These hydrangeas are from the Endless Summer Collection by Bailey Nurseries. These are growing beautifully in my middle field under the allée of London planes and smoke bushes.
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- These hydrangeas will reach 36-inches tall with a spread that’s 18 to 36-inches wide. They add such a nice bold color to this long allée.
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- I hope you can enjoy the gorgeous colors of the hydrangeas where you are. And I hope you all have a very joyful and safe July 4th holiday weekend!
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