Hydrangeas are, next to Pansies, my very favorite flower. My mother had a whole side of the house with nothing but hydrangeas, in pinks, whites, lilacs, blues and corals. It wasn’t until just recently that I realized it was not merely luck that made these hydrangeas so lovely…….it was location, location, location! It was the perfect soil mixed with the perfect amount of shade and sun that made these flowers so perfect. And each year, they would come back with ease and little work by my mother…..only bigger and more vivid with color. She even put some in large pots and they were also a success. The Hydrangea, common names Hydrangea and Hortensia, is a genus of about 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America.
Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn. They grow well in flower beds, but I have also had much success with them in large pots. I have not, until recent years, had much success with Hydrangeas. My memories of my mom’s beautiful flowers lead me to a quest to find the perfect location in the many homes I have lived in over the years Alas, I have found a place in the home I live in now. I have them in pots and in the ground. Obviously. the large oak trees that they share their space with, have given them a perfect home. My automated sprinklers give them a drink of water every other day and they get only morning sun. I am careful to “dead head” them regularly and I fertilize them every couple of months with Color Star . This year I had one pot that boomed all winter long. I brought it in and put it on my window sill until the flowers seem to begin to wilt. They are beginning to bloom again this spring and they will give off beautiful blooms until the Fall and if I am lucky again this year, may have a few that will last through the winter.
I am adding a rain chain in the little corner where my hydrangeas seem to flourish. I will put a basin under the rainchain. Rainchains add so much charm to the garden. I have them in my back yard, and now, I am putting them in my front flower beds, also. I even have a partial chain hanging from one of my Crepe Myrtle trees.
Rain chains make a perfect gift for yourself or for a fellow gardener. With the arrival of Spring, which brings Easter, Mothers and Fathers’ Day, birthdays. graduations and weddings. you could not give a more perfect gift. Also, do not forget our Gift Certificates, which can be given in any denomination. How much easier could gifting get?
Check out our other blogs for ideas regarding rainchains and many types of plants and flowers. We even have a blog for container gardening.
