I’ve always wanted a hydrangea but never really had a place to put one.  But lo and behold, thanks to the addition we have lots of landscaping to do.  Not sure what we are going to do yet, but I know we have landscaping to do!

When I saw the beautiful hydrangea shrubs at Costco just before Mother’s Day I jumped up and down and giggled with delight when Jim said I could get one. Yippee!  I figured we’d find a spot to put it….

It’s been sitting in our front yard in it’s pot and I noticed it doesn’t seem to like the sunny 70-ish degree weather we had last week.  I watered it daily but it still seemed “burnt”.  Finally today I googled how to care for Hydrangeas in zone 8 climate….and it says they like light to moderate shade.  Ok then.  I need to find it a new home, because where it’s sitting right now is pretty much full sun!

I was originally thinking about putting it somewhere along the back fence where I can admire it. 

Problem is that is also full sun. 

So then I thought maybe around the gazebo somewhere.

(excuse the mess, we are still storing stuff all over the place!)

But both sides are getting pretty crowded and filled in already, no room. 

So then I thought someplace against the house…but I won’t be able to see it from inside the house, and those things can get pretty big.  I only have a tiny space between the house and the path.

So now I’m thinking along Bill’s fence or against the house outside our closet window or by the shed.  Hmmm….

I’m open to suggestions if you have any.  I don’t want it tucked around the side of the house where I’ll never see it.  If I can see it from the playroom door I’ll be happy.

Evergreen Clematis.

Last summer Jim and I spent big bucks on three Evergreen Clematis plants.  The middle one was thriving all summer long.  The farthest one wasn’t doing so hot, and the first one did just OK.  Fast forward over the winter months and none of them are looking good.  I think the farthest one is dead.  The middle one is not doing so hot any more, and the first one is barely OK.

Evergreen.  Supposed to have GREEN leaves.  And LOTS OF THEM.

I think the first mistake is that these guys love a lot of soil and I think we planted them too bare.  Secondly, I read today that they like full to partial sun.  I think the japanese maple may be providing too much shade.  The only sun they get is first thing in the morning.  Thirdly, the folks at Farmington Gardens told me that the base stems for these plants are extremely fragile, that even wind can aggrivate them and cause damage.  Ok then.  I remember raking around them in the winter and not being so ginger.  Oopsie.  I may have killed them.  I added more soil and I’ve been fertilizing and watering them hoping they will miraculously come back to life.  Time will tell.

Stay tuned to see what happens!