“Grass, Hydrangea, and Yellow Twig”
Heatherwood Late Fall
At times bright contrasts catch my eye. Other times a blend of subtle colors differences catch my eye. The browns and golds with their textural contrasts drew me to this vignette. As I walk around Heatherwood, I see various “pieces of art” scattered around the garden. They are always changing. Never do I see them the same way.
“Panicle Hydrangea – Lime Light”
Heatherwood Garden
Some views in our Heatherwood garden provide a glance through the garden to a borrowed scene of the surrounding hills. Other views, like the one above, provide a “stop dead” vignette of a specimen plant surrounded by companions and a deep background of color and contrasts. The ‘Lime Light’ panicle hydrangea is clearly the star of this image. In the summer, the blooms emerge bright white with a little lime green tinge. As the summer progresses they become even brighter white. In the late summer/early fall, they start to turn slightly pink. Later in the fall, the blooms turn brown and the leaves change into their fall color. Then in late autumn, the leaves fall, leaving the bare stems topped with spent blooms which provide a structural interest for the winter.
The companion plants provide depth and a stage for the star. The color and varying textures of the rudbeckia, Russian sage, yellow twig dogwood, and other perennials provide the frame. The grasses, various shrubs, and trees complete the background adding depth to the vignette.
As we walk through the garden, new and different scenes appear daily.
Oak Leaf Hydrangea
Heatherwood Fall
Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are my favorites with their four season interest. In the spring, their dark green leafs unfurl. Summer brings out their beautiful conical flowers. Brilliant fall colors surround the faded brown blossoms in the autumn. In the winter most of the leaves drop leaving their exfoliating cinnamon-brown bark and their brown flower heads. A light dusting of snow highlights their beauty.
Heatherwood displays several Oak Leaf Hydrangeas throughout the garden, including a few in the Oak Grove.
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Yakima Arboretum, Washington
The glow of this back/side lit expired hydrangea bloom stopped me in my tracks. It was like if it was a bright red stop sign signaling me to stop and pay attention to what it had to offer. Each fall, I face a hard decision to deadhead the spent blooms for a better bloom next year, or let them be to provide special winter interest. We solved the problem this spring by planting several additional plants in the lower part of the garden.