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Monday, April 17, 2006
My Hydrangea - Week 1
Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that my favorite flower is the hydrangea. When I bought my first house in 2001, I was determined to grow my own. After much trauma - Brad running over it with his car, sweet Samuel picking the flowers off to give to me and his mom, my neighbor mowing over it and weeding-eating it to death - I gave up. It wasn't meant to be; I am not a gardener.

Last year, at our friends' wedding, the centerpieces were potted hydrangeas. The person at each table with the sticker on the botton of his/her seat got to take the hydrangea home. Guess who won!? After some research on hydrangeas, Rob and I found the perfect place to plant it. It made no progress during the first summer.

I have checked on it occassionally this spring with no success, but I am finally seeing some green! I bought some Miracle-Gro specifically for "acid-loving" hydrangeas. We'll see how it goes.




Day 1











Edited to add a picture of the nice couple who gave us the hydrangea - Hi Amy!
 
posted by Suzanne at 4/17/2006 01:25:00 PM | Permalink |


10 Comments:


  • At 2:05 PM, Blogger Nicole Seitler

    Anyone who knows me pretty well knows that my favorite flower is the hydrangea.

    Yes, and anyone who's lived with you is subject to catching that passion as well. Everytime I walk past a hydrangea for sale or see someone's bushes in bloom I think of you...and long for a garden. :)

     

  • At 2:33 PM, Blogger Zoanna

    I thought you were going to say you love 'em cuz you CAN"t kill 'em. That's been my experience. At our last house, there was an old hydrangea just beneath the kitchen window, just to the left of the back steps on our tiny plot of backyard. I liked it, my husband hated it, and we both wanted a grill there instead. It overgrew the sidewalk.
    We tried cutting it down to a stub. It grew. Tried hacking the roots into bits. It grew faster. Tried tying a chain to it and pulling it out with a half-ton pick-up truck. Stubborn thing didn't budge. My husband finally spent an entire day digging deep beneath the roots (about 6 feet and 3 feet deep after 50 years of growth) and then up went the victory flag. The next day he plopped a square of plywood down over Hydrangea Hole and topped it with a shiny gas grill. How relieved I am that you have researched where to plant your beloved flowering bush!

     

  • At 11:18 PM, Blogger Kristie

    Yeah, so 50 years from now someone like Zoanna can try to kill it! ;)

     

  • At 11:24 PM, Blogger Zoanna

    Hey, in my defense, I was submitting to my husband. I would've been content to just keep cutting it back and put the grill somewhere else. The thing is, "somewhere else" doesn't exist when your backyard has the dimensions of a shelter magazine.

     

  • At 12:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous

    I was so excited to discover my house had a large hydrangea when we bought it last fall! I love them too. Good luck with growing yours!

     

  • At 3:02 PM, Blogger Resa

    Well, I ran outside to check mine as soon as I read your entry...(I love them too and battled to keep my first one alive all last summer)...and it still looks dead--no green. Hmmmm...

    I've been meaning to comment on your blog too--ran across it reading trumpspot a couple months ago. You're boys are such cuties and can tell you are an awesome Mommy!

    So here's to knowing each other better through the fab internet! And gooooo SEVENS!

     

  • At 3:22 PM, Blogger Suzanne

    Amy - it was a very nice couple. Maybe you know them. :) (I actually had your names in the entry and it got too wordy. ;)

     

  • At 5:04 PM, Blogger Laurie

    The people who lived in my house before me landscaped with hydrangia in the front. It is very impressive, I'll have to take photos. I feel like such a green thumb when I drive up, even though I had nothing to do with the beauty of it on any level. :)

     

  • At 10:52 PM, Blogger Zoanna

    Oh, even though I may now be known on your blog as Hydrangea Hitler, please know I do love the plant! And all things gardenable (is that a word?) One note of care: cut them back severely on March 15th and Sept 15th. If you don't see any buds yet, it's not too late. Cut it to about the height of your knee. Seriously! They take off like crazy after the first pruning. Then cut it back again as it starts to wilt in September. Its roots will go deeper and not have to work so hard above ground. You'll have a happy, hearty hydrangea within a year.

     

  • At 7:04 AM, Blogger Suzanne

    Zoanna,
    I don't think of you as the hydrangea Hitler. :) A grill is definitely better than a hydrangea plant.

    Good advice on cutting it back. I will do that for sure!

     
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