Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Little lime hydrangea update

Remember the Little Lime hydrangeas we planted along the front porch? Well, I couldn't be happier with them so far. I've tried to grow hydrangeas in the front garden a couple different times with no luck, so I am thrilled these are working out so well.

Usually when I plant something new I have to baby it for the first season with regular watering. These guys have been very low maintenance, they never wilt and do ok even if I'm a day or two late to water them. From my experience, that's pretty good behavior for a hydrangea.

You can see two of the three in this picture...they are still small but doing well.


The picture below was taken May 16th right after they were planted. It's cool to see how everything has changed since then.


And now they are getting ready to bloom like crazy. This makes me so happy!



One of the plants gets a bit of shade from the River Birch and it's doing just as well. It was smaller than the other two to start with.


By next year they should reach the floor of the porch...you can see just a peek of them through the purple cone flowers above.

I was so inspired by the Little Limes that I planted three Limelight hydrangeas along the newly built back deck. They are the grown up version of the Little Limes. We didn't have anything planted here before and the last couple years we knew the old deck was about done so we waited.


These will get quite large and blend together to form a hedge since I planted them close together. They are pretty leggy now but should look better after I cut them back in the spring.

My vision is for them to be huge and overflowing with blooms like this picture...


and this one...


and one more just for fun.

The last three pictures are from Deborah Silver

If they do as well as I hope, in a couple years we will be enjoying massive flowers from the yard and from the deck. Any Limelight lovers out there?


Joining Censational Girl's garden link party here.

27 comments:

  1. These are beautiful, I love them too, we have 2 huge bushes, well one big one and the Hubs cut the other one back in feb to about 2 feet high..hummm it has lots of leaves on it but we will see how big it gets this year...men! Mine are blue and once had a big pink flower, but mostly they are light blue the turn purple ish..I have heard you can change the soil ph and get different colors too

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  2. Thanks Kathy! I love any kind of blue flowers, they are so fun.

    Limelights are not affected by pH changes. They stay green until fall then turn deep pink.

    Good luck with yours.

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  3. Such beautiful landscape :)

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  4. They're gorgeous and your other flowers look wonderful, too! I love hydrangeas! I have an area where I have 3 or 4 close together and over the years they now look like one continuous bush. They are pushing out the blooms now and it's usually around this time that I go cut some for vases in the house.

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  5. it looks so sweet and pretty, and in a few years i am sure you will have large blossoms!

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  6. Oh, those are really nice! I had some gorgeous hydrangea bushes when we moved here. I was excited to see them bloom. The first year, beautiful. The next year, they died. Yes, I can kill a plant just by moving in! Love how your front looks. Does the front get alot of sun? I am going to try to find some of those.

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  7. Great job! Next year at this time, you won't believe how much closer they will be to the hydrangeas in the lower photos. :) Congrats!

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  8. Thank you for the beautiful garden tour You've just added some extra pleasure to my day through your garden share Annie <|;-)

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  9. How wonderful your garden is lovely and I have not seen these hydrangeas before, Love the image of your garden gate!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

    Come and join my fashionable Giveaway from The Shabby Apple!

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  10. Love those! I think that might be what i have planted in my front yard, but I planted them in such a haste, I didn't even pay attention to the name. I was just trying to fill in an empty flower bed before a bridal shower (this was probably four years ago). Now, they're probably my favorite plant!! Well, I'm so glad you got to plant some big ones in your back, too! The deck is looking spectacular! I hope you're going to give us the full tour!

    xo,
    Stef

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  11. Oh it all looks soooo beautiful ... love all of this landscape! Great choices!

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  12. What a beautiful outdoor space!!! Your yard and plantings are gorgeous!!

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  13. I can not wait til this fall when I can planr some bulbs and perenials that will bloom next spring around the new little house.
    I am waiting til everything goes on clearance and I will start planting! Everything looks beautiful!!!
    Have a PRETTY day!
    Kristin

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  14. They are looking so cute and pretty!! You make me want to plant...

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  15. Very very pretty!

    My Endless Summer just bloomed today! But the Pink Beauty is SAD. I had to transplant it because it was getting too much sun and I think it might be diseased. We just do not have a lot of shade here. Maybe when the Pink Beauty kicks it (I think it is hanging on by a thread) I will definitely get some limelight. We are thinking about planting a row of crepe myrtles and maybe they will have enough shade that we can plant some hydrangeas underneath. Happy 4th of July!!!

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  16. My favorite! The blooms are so delicate and look great in a vase. I can't believe how they have grown since May.

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  17. I am a great on for Hydrangeas myself. I buy them in the grocery store in the winter and enjoy them in the house, then I plant them around the property. I let them turn any color they want. Go look at my friend's website: Edmund Hollander, you will faint!!
    Best,
    Liz

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  18. Your garden is absolutely gorgeous! I love every single hydrangea ever made. I'm so glad you found a variety that works in your yard.

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  19. I have limelights planted for about 6/7 years now and I have trained them to be trees, small compact trees. Every fall after the blooms have dried I cut off all the thin weak branches and everything from the bottom goes. they look fantastic - only thing that sucks is living in Chicago I dont get blooms until at least end of july.
    Its funny Im doing the same thing to the front of my house as you are with the grey siding and a white "overhang" I was going to put up post but I think I might just do that instead - great minds think alike.

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  20. Ooooh - those are beautiful! I love flowers in a garden and wish everyone in our neighborhood wanted to put flowers in their front lawns!

    Your before and after photos are wonderful --- great job nurturing your plantings.

    Hi - I am Your NEWEST FOLLOWER via the hop!
    Looking forward to seeing other lovely garden pics!

    Happy Monday!

    Linda
    beachside cottage

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  21. I have the same one in my garden that is just getting ready to explode as well. I LOVE IT!!!! One of my favorite plants of summer.

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  22. Huge limelight fan. I plan to plant my dwarf English boxwoods around mine this fall, trying to get Deborah's limelight look.

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  23. I am so, so, so very jealous! Hydrangea is tough to manage here in Florida. Sadtown. PS...Love your playroom so much. The color you used inspired me to finish my daughter's finally. Thank you!

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  24. I don't think you could have too many flowers in a garden. Flowers are too beautiful.

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  25. Just found your blog searching for little lime hydrangea. I noticed its been a few years. Are yiu still happy with them? Are they in full sun? I have an Endless Summer that gets afternoon sun and is not happy. I bought little lime to replace it. Would love to hear how they're doing. Thanks!

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