Last year's Hydrangeas

The Zebra Hydrangea planted last year in the back is doing great, and blooming well. Another blue, which I think was a florist plant is growing and blooming, and there MAY be a surviving Shooting Star back there. The Shooting Star in the front yard is blooming and happy, finally taking on some stature, so that's encouraging, it's been a long time with that one.

This year's new additions, the Wedding Gown, Libelle and Endless Summer Hydrangeas are pretty good sized to start with, and may just need some pruning to make sure they're nice and sturdy going into next year. (Might change out the Libelle for an Incrediball.)

Redoing the Side Yard

It's stripped. It had become completely overgrown with ivy, blackberries, and some evergreen clematis mixed in. Old plantings had become smothered, and were gone.

We pulled the stuff up by the roots. All that's left is the Birch Tree, a struggling Japanese Maple, and the stub of a rosebush, that clematis, and a rhody. If they survive, good. If not, they'll be replaced.

The privacy between us and the neighbors is also gone, that overgrowth had been a nice buffer.

So, the redoing involves recreating privacy, and NOT including anything aggressively invasive like the ivy. Originally meant to cover the fence, it grew across the sidewalk and onto the house, and if not managed, would do so again. Ivy was a mistake, not to be repeated.

The neighborhood is replete with huge blue/purple hydrangeas. They're really beautiful - AND they grow tall enough to provide privacy. They're evergreen and make a good graphic statement in the front side yard.

So the replanting includes Hydrangeas in the front - Blue closest to the street, and white as it comes in to the Birch Tree and becomes the walkway to the backyard.

There, along the house, it's hollyhocks and foxgloves for height, which won't replace the climbing verticality of the clematis, but takes a stab at some height.

Lobelia and baby's tears carpet the ground, and I will add things in as we go. Not too much right now since the house will have to be repainted soon, and anything planted will be in the way.

Not sure yet what will go on the east side of that walkway, to balance the hollyhocks and hide the fence, and be low maintenance, and not grow into the walk... letting some time go by to make SURE the ivy and blackberries are eradicated. Maybe daylilies and penstemon, with a bamboo screen to hide the fence.

Libelle

SO, planted Double Delights Wedding Gown Hydrangea, Endless Summer Blue, Libelle (Hydrangea macrophylla) Teller White, a lacecap. What to underplant, we'll see, maybe daylilies. Hostas are often suggested but they don't do well here, the snails feast on them.

It's progress. And it is fun.
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Pruning Wedding Gown Hydrangea: This dwarf flowering shrub blooms on new wood, so you can do pruning in early spring, before growth begins. Branches can be left up during winter -- as can any remaining blooms -- to add texture and visual interest. But avoid cutting back Wedding Gown hydrangea in the fall. In addition, in autumn the branches of Wedding Gown hydrangea turn a rich burgundy color, which adds an unexpected and welcome contrast to other shrubs and bushes in the garden.

Complementary Shrubs and Plants for Wedding Gown Hydrangea: Since Wedding Gown hydrangea is a dwarf flowering shrub, it makes a bigger impact when planted with several -- three or five, for example -- of them together. To complement these flowering shade shrubs, try hostas or astilbes for color and leaf contrast. Or go with other reblooming hydrangeas, such as Endless Summer, to add color contrasts.... Source: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/trees-shrubs-vines/shrubs/hydrangea-wedding-gown/

Endless Summer blooms on both old and new wood, so it's ok to cut and prune anytime... it's 3.5 ft by 3.5 ft, not a large Hydrangea.

Libelle gets up to 6 ft tall and 8 ft wide, so it should go behind shorter plants.

Amazing colors for stained concrete

◼ Peyton & Associates: Acid stains come in a number of earth-toned hues (as shown above) and as illustrated in the Galleries on this website. The colors above are produced from proprietary blends of Kemiko stains. We are also skilled at using acid-etching stains from other manufacturers, including BRICKFORM, Butterfield, Scofield, Chemcoat, and HC Infusion, and are happy to apply these upon request.

If the dress fits...

The first of four Blood Moons

◼ There has been a lot of interest recently in an upcoming series of lunar eclipses that begins April 15. These are usually described as "four blood moons" and taken by some to prophesy upcoming disasters.

The total lunar eclipse of April 15 will begin a so-called tetrad series of eclipses...

Astronomers rarely if ever use the term blood moon. When they do, they are usually using it as an alternate name for the Hunter's Moon, the full moon that follows the Harvest Moon, usually in late October. The Hunter's Moon, like the Harvest Moon, rises slowly on autumn evenings so that it shines through a thick layer of the Earth's atmosphere, and is colored red by Rayleigh scattering and air pollution....What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.

What is unusual about this month's lunar eclipse is that it is the first of a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. Called a tetrad, such a series of four total eclipses in a row is a fairly rare event. The last such series happened in the years 2003 and 2004. It will only occur seven more times in the current century.

◼ APOCALYPSE NOW: Why a rare astrological event LAST NIGHT could herald the 'End of Days' - Express UK (image source)