Where is August going? I feel the tick-tock of the back-to-school clock already … and I haven’t even gotten to the Minnesota State Fair yet. (The State Fair, by the way, is a pretty big deal for my office – I will promise to blog a bit about all the ways we (wait for it …) “talk turkey” to fairgoers. Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. All this State Fair pre-prep we’re doing does that to me.)

For now, I’m keeping it simple. If you’ve seen my previous garden posts, then you know that I love, love, love zinnias. But another favorite of mine is the hydrangea – and oh my are there so many wonderful varieties! I have five so far around my landscape and while some of my other flowers are showing their age as summer winds down, the hydrangeas are just starting to show their gloriousness. (Is that a real word? Well, I don’t care of it isn’t. It fits. It just does.)

This a PeeGee Hydrangea in tree form (although you can't see the tree). The petals will eventually turn an antique-y rose-pinkish color this fall.
This a PeeGee Hydrangea in tree form (although you can’t see the tree). The petals look white right now but they will eventually turn an antique-y pinkish rose color this fall.
These are the very first hydrangeas I planted at our house - Annabelle. I love how big and huge and round the blooms are - perfect for drying and using them in the house over the winter months. You can see it from this picture, but most of the north side of my house is filled with these globe-like flowers.
These are the very first hydrangeas I planted at our house – the classic Annabelle. I love how big and huge and round the blooms are – perfect for drying and using them in the house over the winter months. You can’t see it from this picture, but about half of the north side of my house is filled with these globe-like flowers.
These blooms are from my Limelight Hydrangea, which is huge - taller than me with blooms all over the place! The petals are this cool lime color that turn more rose-like as we get into fall.
These blooms are from my Limelight Hydrangea, which is huge – much taller than me with blooms all over the place! The petals are this really cool lime color that turns more rose-like as we get into fall.
This is a dwarf variety of the Limelight Hydrangea - "Little Lime". This may be new favorite in the landscape, actually. We added it last year around our new four-season porch so the plants are still small but the blooms are abundant. I love this lime color, too.
This is a dwarf variety of the Limelight Hydrangea – “Little Lime”. Cute, right? This may be new favorite in the landscape, actually. We added it last year around our new four-season porch so the plants are still small but the blooms are abundant. I love this lime color, too.
Okay, here's a typical epic fail of mine - I can't exactly remember what kind of hydrangea this is. And of course, I can't for the life of me find the tag that was on the pot when I bought it. I think it might be a Pinky Winky Hydrangea??
Okay, here’s a typical epic fail of mine – I can’t exactly remember what kind of hydrangea this is. And of course, I can’t for the life of me find the tag that was on the pot when I bought it. I think it might be a Pinky Winky Hydrangea??

So there you have it … my hydrangea heaven! 🙂 I actually used to have an “Endless Summer Hydrangea” that was quite gorgeous, but it was a bit finicky after the four-season porch construction nearby followed by the long, cold, awful winter we had, so it never quite recovered. That happens sometimes in Minnesota. If I find the right spot, I might plant that variety again just because it reminds me a little of all the pink and blue hydrangeas I admired when I visited Ireland and England.

Do you have a favorite hydrangea that you love?

by | 0 comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.