Hydrangeas!

I planted two beautiful 'Big Daddy' Hydrangeas last year on either side of my steps and they produced beautiful, huge blooms. I enjoyed them all summer long!!! I carefully mulched and covered with styrofoam cones last fall. They were supposed to be hardy with 'winter covering'. So far... the southwest has not presented any growth. The southeast has new growth, but there aren't any buds on the 'old' growth, which is where the blooms comes from.

I'm giving up on the Big Daddy's and planting Endless Summer - "Orginal" this year...

I love the beautiful blooms of these macrophyllas... and I won't give up completely.

I've got some Annabelle's that I've had for years... very, very hardy in Northern Indiana (Zone 5B) Annabelle is a large white bloom that is very forgiving. It will bloom if you cut it back... it will bloom if you don't cut it. It doesn't require 'wintering' and it dries beautifully! The arborescens is a taller shrub - not as compact as the macrophyllas and the blooms aren't quite as a big. Annabelle's are white - and the color isn't manipulated by the pH of the soil, as macrophyllas are.

So, here's to dirty fingernails and mud between my toes!!! I love my garden ..... and I love my hydrangeas! I love the smell of dirt and watching night crawlers scurry as I dig holes for plants.

I love summer!!!

http://endlesssummerblooms.com/