flowers — Page 272

Gardening With Hydrangeas From The Endless Summer® Collection

May 19, 2014 at 6:29 am by Claudia

I love gardening. When spring arrives, I am outside most of the day, weeding, planting, mulching, pruning, taking photos, and generally sighing with happiness. We’ve lived on this property (my first ever house that wasn’t a rental) for almost nine years and in those nine years, I’ve added perennials to existing garden beds, created 4 new garden beds, and if I could, I’d add even more! There are roses, catmint, poppies, sedum, hosta, boxwood, bee balm, phlox, day lilies, butterfly bush, peonies and two versions of one of my favorites: hydrangeas. Oh, those hydrangeas! Dependable, large, lush. Such beauties they are! So when BlogHer and Endless Summer® Hydrangeas asked me if I would take a closer look at their collection of re-blooming hydrangeas, I jumped at the chance. I don’t know about you, but I see their distinctive blue pots in my favorite nurseries and I’ve been hankering for one of my very own.

We’re talking gorgeous color here. Some information for you on this collection: “The Endless Summer® Collection is the world’s first and best assortment of re-blooming hydrangeas. They are easy to grow, requiring a low investment in time, money and effort for a big reward. They are beautiful for gardens, containers and in cut and dried flower arrangements. No matter which variety, their beautiful big blooms enhance any outdoor living experience.” How could they not? BloomStruck_Logo_CMYK

The hydrangea that was graciously sent to me by Endless Summer is their new BloomStruck™. I counted the days until it arrived on my doorstep. With every garden bed already full around here, my husband and I decided that we needed a hydrangea on the outside of what we call the Dog Corral and adjacent to a little funky patio that we love. It will definitely add some much-needed beauty to a utilitarian chicken wire fence.

Bailey'sEndlessSummerpot

I dug the hole, which should be one and a half times as wide as the size of the pot. Well, I should be honest here. When I got tired, my husband took over. He’s got more arm strength than me! Scout, our Border Collie, supervised. Isn’t that hydrangea stunning?

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By the way, Endless Summer includes lots of information as to soil and when and how to plant and everything you need to know about your hydrangea.

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Our soil has its share of clay, so I amended it with some garden soil, adding it to the bottom of the hole. That’s what works in my particular soil. Your soil may need different amendments. I loosened the bottom and sides of the root ball, then I made sure the crown of the plant, where the base of the stems meet the soil, was even with the ground. Then I refilled the hole with soil.

Bailey'splanted

All of our garden beds are edged with rocks that we’ve found on the property, so we did the same thing here. (Oh boy, do we have rocks on this property!) I can’t wait to watch this grow. If you’re unfamiliar with hydrangeas, the color of the blooms is directly influenced by the pH of your soil. If your pH is acidic, the blooms will be blue. If they are alkaline, the blooms will be pink. You can easily run a pH test if you’re interested and there are products you can add to the soil to change your soil’s pH. In fact, Endless Summer® offers two products that will do that for you. Color Me Pink™ and Color Me Blue™ are safe, all natural and organic. As for me, I like the element of surprise, so I’m going to watch and wait. Pink or blue, I love this plant. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit the Endless Summer® website. If you leave a comment on this post, you will be automatically entered in a contest to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. Leave a comment with an answer to this question: Do you grow hydrangeas? Tell me how you use them in your garden! Happy Planting,

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 05/19/2014-06/22/2014.

Be sure to visit the Endless Summer brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Rambling

May 17, 2014 at 9:28 am by Claudia

waterdropsonhosta

I just realized the other day that this is the first time I have been home for an entire spring since 2008. Starting in 2009, I was away all or most of the spring on coaching jobs. The good news? I am really enjoying the opportunity to watch everything grow instead of witnessing it via the occasional photo Don would send my way. I love spring.

The bad news? I need work.

Ah well. I’m choosing to be grateful.

We had very heavy rain all day yesterday with high humidity. It was bit tropical-rainforest-y around here. Today the sun is out and it’s a bit cooler. We’re hoping to take another trail walk later in the day.

daffs

Oh pretty daffodils, I love you. Of the two kinds of daffs on this property, this one is my favorite. I love the white flower with that delicate yellow and orange center.

biggesthosta

Our biggest hosta is well on its way to filling this bed – which it will, believe me.

I need to weed. I haven’t put down any mulch since I’m on a strict budget. That means I’m going to have to weed a lot more. Some of the garden beds will eventually be full of perennials and weeds will disappear, but right now, as they are filling in and filling out, I have to be ruthless.

Or not.

lilacbush

The little lilac bush that could. I planted this a few years back and it’s growing, for sure, but very slowly.

clematis

The clematis has taken off this year and is winding its way around the porch railings.

Oh right. I need to clean the porch railings – a job I really don’t look forward to.

The catalpa, usually the last of our trees to leaf out, has tiny leaves now. The shag hickory has leaves. The maples are fully leafed out (now I’m wondering – is that a legitimate term?) as are the ashes and the black walnuts and the elms and the oaks. Don and I sometimes consider counting all the trees on this property. We have a lot of trees. And here’s a question: if one counts the trees, are saplings part of the count? Or just fully grown adult trees?

Where does one draw the line?

The other day, I was once again wrangling with the brambles (you can see the evidence of the battle on my hands) and was clearing some from an area near the woods. As I cleared out a bunch of the stuff that had been strangling some bushes, I noticed a young tree with blossoms on it.

dogwood

Hold on there…we have a little dogwood tree! I had no idea! It’s sort of blocked by another tree and unless I’m right down there in the thick of things, I can’t see it. It’s so pretty!

There are always surprises on this property.

Thursday was a bit hard for me as the mail arrived and I saw an envelope from my dad. I knew it was coming, but I realize now that I really wasn’t prepared to see Mom’s death certificate.

What can I say? It’s so final.

More tears.

I’m off to explore what’s happening out in the gardens.

By the way, a book I recently reviewed and loved, The Moon Sisters, is on sale right now (eBook/Kindle version) on Amazon for $1.99 through May 25th. That’s a great deal for a wonderful book! If you missed the review, you can find it here. So if you didn’t win the giveaway and have it on your list of books to read (and if you use eBooks) hop on over and buy it!

Happy Saturday.

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Let’s Take A Walk

May 14, 2014 at 8:36 am by Claudia

Let’s take a little walk around the property and see what’s growing and blooming in this late-to-get-going Spring.

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The wild honeysuckle that grows all over this property is blooming, much to the delight of the bee population.

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The climbing hydrangea that I planted about 6 years ago is taking over the shed. It’s supposed to start blooming after 4 or 5 years but nary a bloom has been sighted.

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Until now. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In fact, I had just finished a sentence that included the words, “I guess this will never bloom,” when I saw these. Only two, but who cares? A small victory.

wlilacs

The lilacs have bloomed. I walk over to that side of the driveway several times a day and inhale. What a glorious scent.

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Our woods open up to this big field, which is owned by my fellow blogger Breida and her husband. I walk through our woods daily and always take a moment to stand and gaze out at this vista.

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To the left is the back of our neighbor’s property. He’s been busy stacking enough wood to last him through the apocalypse. Check out his beautiful lilac bush.

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This tree is on the edge of my other neighbor’s property, which also abuts Breida’s field. Isn’t it pretty?

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The flowering quince is still blooming.

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My delicate yellow tulips are open. These were planted long before we moved here, as were the daffodils and a couple of the hostas and sedum.

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The big garden bed on April 30th.

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On May 7th.

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And on May 13th. As you can see, the trees have really filled in, there’s green everywhere, and the perennials are much bigger.

I planted lots of morning glory seeds the other day, as well as zinnias. I haven’t filled my barrels or my galvanized planter with flowers yet – my budget is very, very tight – and I haven’t bought any hanging plants for the porch. Those things will have to wait a bit. Waaah! I want them now!

whihoparking

When my friend Heidi’s shop (which was called Hi Ho Home Market) closed, she gave me one of her signs, which we have placed in front of the birdbath – right where we park our car. Sort of perfect for the funky patio area, don’t you think? We love signs and if they can be used with a sense of humor, all the better.

wtowelsdh

I made some towels for the dollhouse bathroom by using baby washcloths, a tip I picked up somewhere on the Internet. I think they look neat but they’re too bulky at the moment. I’m going to trim them down a bit.

Today I have to mail off all the items I made for the swap. I spent most of yesterday morning wrapping each item and figuring out how to pack everything so that nothing is damaged. Can’t wait to see what everyone else has created!

Happy Wednesday.

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Gardening With Hydrangeas From The Endless Summer® Collection

Rambling

Let’s Take A Walk

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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