In Your Garden with Jenny Watts Summer Beauty in the Shade

The big, round, pink ower clusters of the well-known hydrangea have decorated summer gardens in California for decades. These long-blooming bushes are ideal for shady areas of the garden, as they bloom for most of the summer.
From their home along the rivers of China and Japan, hydrangeas were brought to Europe by plant collectors in the 1800s and now are popular in many parts of the world.
The name Hydrangea gives us a clue to the main needs of this plant. It comes from the Greek word Hydro, meaning water, indicating its need for plenty of water in the summertime. Hydrangeas prefer moist, humus-rich soil with good drainage. So when planting, add peat moss and compost to the soil.
Hydrangeas cannot tolerate hot sun. It will burn their leaves quickly. Plant them where they receive only early morning sun. The north side of a building is usually a good location. They need regular watering and should not be allowed to dry out. Plants wilt if they get too dry but will recover soon with a thorough watering.
Pink hydrangeas can be made to turn blue by making the soil more acid. This is done by working aluminum sulfate into the soil around the plants in March. Flowers may turn blue naturally here where the soils are acidic under conifers. It you want to keep the owers pink, apply lime around the plants in the springtime.
Hydrangeas are deciduous shrubs which lose their leaves in the winter. They can be pruned when dormant by removing spent owers down to a healthy pair of buds. This should be done in spring when they rst start to show new growth.
There are many kinds of hydrangeas besides the common one. The lace-cap hydrangea has ower heads that are made up of a cluster of small owers surrounded by a ring of large ones. They may be white, pink or blue and add a dramatic touch to the shade garden. Some have variegated leaves which add color in shady areas.
There are several new cultivars including Endless Summer, All Summer Beauty, and Glowing Embers. They add some variety to the sizes and colors of standard hydrangeas.
Hydrangeas grow quite large on the coast, but usually stay under ve feet here. They give us some of our best summer color. Good companion plants include hostas, astilbe, columbines and bleeding hearts. Planted with pink, lavender or white impatiens around their base, they will bring life and color to your yard all summer. ! Hydrangea paniculata is the most cold-hardy hydrangea. It is a big shrub growing 8-10 feet tall. Large creamy-white owers, which are borne in 6- to 12-inch tall ower spikes, are produced in mid-summer. They take more sun than the regular hydrangeas, but like protection from the hot sun in our climate.
Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla Strawberry blooms continuously for many weeks, with owers that change color as they mature. They begin creamy white but turn pink two weeks later and then become strawberry red or even burgundy, retaining that shade for about 34 weeks. They are spectacular in fresh and dried arrangements.
Light up your garden with some of these summer beauties.