HYDRANGEAS AND ROSES

'P.G.' HYDRANGEA AND 'KNOCKOUT' ROSES

HYDRANGEAS AND RUDBECKIAS

Saturday, 8:45 AM.  58 degrees F at the ferry dock, 56 on the back porch.  Wind variable, calm with very light gusts. The sky is overcast and it is still raining lightly, after doing so most of the night. The humidity is 91%, the barometer 29.86" and beginning to fall.  A chance of rain is predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday, then clearing and cooler.

   Hydrangeas, in the Saxifrage Family, are mid-summer to fall blooming, large shrubs that have long been used in landscaping, and with good reason, as they are massive bloomers, with very large flower panicles.  Almost everyone is familiar with the old standby H. paniculata ''Grandiflora', or P.G. Hydrangea. Hardy to Zone 3, it grows in full sun to partial shade and is virtually trouble free.  The flowers bloom white, then turn pinkish and finally tan with age.   Modern introductions are more colorful and diverse.
   Most of our hydrangeas are of Asian heritage, but there are North American species hardy further south and west.  Many hydrangea varieties bloom pink or blue, depending mostly on soil pH, but the blues are hard to use without appearing garish.  Nonetheless,  hydrangeas can be an important part of most landscape designs.

TOGETHER WE CAN DO IT!