New Hydrangeas Available Locally

This week, Lowe's has begun carrying 'new' selections of hydrangea from Kurt Weiss Greenhouses. At the forefront, are picotee-leaved specimens "Midnight Salsa" and "Sandy Summer". Sandy Summer most closely resembles Forever & Ever's Peppermint variety. Lowe's also has been selling various traditional florist hydrangeas from KW, however be careful since all of them have been categorized as wither Merritt's Supreme or Blue Danube; but there are many different breeds - see KW's catalog below to identify yours.

For more info, please visit KW's new website: http://www.hydrangeas.com . There, you will find a video highlighting their growing, and a PDF catalog that parallels the video.

Here is the Midnight Salsa I picked up. It most closely resembles H. serrata "Preziosa" in appearance.

Pics From My Garden, June 5, 2012 - Part 3

This is the front of my home.

This is the east foundation wall bed.

This is the west foundation wall bed.

Pics From My Garden, June 5, 2012 Part 2

This is the north bed, a 10x50' rectangle with a rear terrace wall! The general location is where the property begins to slope off into a series of deep valleys leading down to the Allegheny River. The woods are deeply shaded, mature, and uninhabited, except by some deer.When I moved in, this bed was all brush, thorns and weeds. It has since been primed for a nice load of trees, shrubs, and perennials! Click to enlarge the pics. They were taken at 7pm in cloudy conditions.

Hostas, Shasta Daisy, Zagreb Coreopsis, Roses of Sharon, Dwarf Barberry, Stella d'Oro daylilies, Spirea, Alice Oakleaf Hydrangea, PeeGee Pink Hydrangea (baby), Autumn Joy Sedum, May Night Salvia, Blazing Star, and more!

Red Knockout Rose, Little Lime Hydrangea, Zagreb Coreopsis, misc daylilies, and more!

Jane Magnolia (in yard, foreground), misc daylilies, Moje Hammarberg Rose, Mandarin Rose, Let's Dance Big Easy Hydrangea, Hydrangea Mariesii Variegata, Spruce tree, and more!

Close-up of Big Easy Hydrangea and Mariesii Variegata.

Annabelle and Bella Anna Hydrangeas, Liriope, Dooley Hydrangeas, PJM Rhododendron, and more!

Mexican Primrose, Butterfly Bush, PeeGee Hydrangea tree, Hollyhock, Zagreb, Rose of Sharon, Lilac.

Now for the east fence bed, paralleling my other neighbor's fence.

Butterfly Bushes, Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea, Limelight Hydrangea, Red Prince Weigela, Blazing Star, and more!

Wine & Roses Weigela, Liriope, Pinky Winky Hydrangea, Fantasia - Brestenburg - Merritt's Supreme Hydrangea.

Pics From My Garden, June 5, 2012

I've finally gotten around to using the camera on my smartphone, so I will now share the latest pics of my garden!

North-facing addition room bed. This wraps around the addition room at the rear of my house and proceeds  to follow my neighbors fence north toward the northeast corner of my property.

Penny Mac - Endless Summer - Merritt's Supreme hydrangeas, Mexican Primrose, Purple Coneflower, Burning Bush,,,

View of the wraparound walkway. Roses are off to the right as well as Great Star and Little Lamb Hydrangeas.

Addition room bed looking toward the front of the house. You can see Japonica, Mariesii  Perfecta and Zorro Hydrangeas, and tons more!

The following are of my west fence bed. This borders on my neighbors yard. She has a nice shed and decorative wooden well. Once again, I didn't picture the whole thing but it's loaded with hydrangeas, roses, hostas etc.

Big hydrangeas! David Ramsey on either side of Pink N Pretty, with some hostas.  The PnP will not bloom this year because of late Spring frosts.

Hostas, CL Blaze rose, Amber and Scarlet Carpet Rose, Quickfire hydrangea, and more!

Cooler Weather Doth Prevail!

So after my last post, it proceeded to rain some, and then cool off! If it's going to be dry, it might as well be cool. Make sure to keep your beds watered though, as dry, sunny, breezy days will dehydrate plants quicker than you might think. Only mist if you have to; these dewy mornings take care of that for the most part.

This would also be a good time for people out there to trim back evergreens, trees, vines, and get some more weeding done. I'm saying this for a couple of reasons. First, things have indeed had the chance to get quite large and expansive this Spring. By trimming these things back now, you can save a lot of trouble later in the summer, when things begin become crowded or tangled. Secondly, it's easy to do when it's cool out!

All this said, this is looking like the last chance to plant before Summer, as next week it's supposed to shoot back up near 90 degrees again! Make sure to keep your plants well-watered, or you will lose them when the heat hits.