HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

It's an amazing time in the garden. Plants seem to be growing with reckless abandon and we are at that stage when things look lush but not overgrown. Every day something new is flowering, but plants still aren't battered by hot sun or too much slug damage, although with the amount of rain we've had it won't be long before they are as big as toads.

The circle garden is all planted and is really starting to come together.

Thanks to many, many hours in the garden last weekend, much of it is looking pretty good, but there are a few areas still waiting for their primary clean out and I hope to get to that later in the weekend.

It's nice though, because this is a lovely little sweet spot in early summer.

How's your garden this week?

I never noticed how blue this part of the garden was untilI took these pictures. I like it.

The Blue Kazoo Spireas are blooming and the blossoms are some of my favorite flowers. They are  delicate,  almost lacelike, and then they get sort of fuzzy looking as they open more.

The climbing hydrangea is just starting to bloom. It's looking great this year, certainly in part because of the mass amounts of rain we've had.

Already the planters are growing in nicely.

Oso Easy Parika rose is in full bloom and is one of those plants that calls you from across the garden.

The skinny patio bed is starting to fill in nicely.

My first herbaceous peonies bloomed this week. I know the whole world had peonies weeks ago, but here they are just starting.

Tuff stuff hydrangea is just blooming its head off. I'm so impressed with this plant.

This isn't at my house, but I had to share this picture of my mom's amazing fringe tree.

THIS VINE IS NO THUG (NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY)

Vines can be misunderstood members of the plant world. We want them to grow quickly but not too quickly. We want them to grow in places where nothing else will grow, except there's usually a really good reason nothing else will grow there. We want them to boldy grow up structures but to respect those structures.

In other words, gardeners want it all. I get it. I am one of them. I don't believe there is such a thing as a perfect vine, but there are some that are pretty great.

And if you can get past a couple negatives, climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris) is certainly one of them. It has beautiful heart-shaped leaves that are dark green in summer and turn a stunning brilliant gold in fall. Large white flowers can cover most of it. It will grow in partial to full shade. And it gets big.

With all that going for it, what could possibly be wrong with it?

Well, for starters, it's slow. It takes a good three to five years for a climbing hydrangea to really get climbing (this is from the size you buy at the nursery to start). I've read more than one comment from gardeners complaining that their climbing hydrangea just doesn't do anything. But it will. Keep the faith.

Yes, this is one hydrangea, climbing up the west side of a local house.

It is also borderline aggressive. I would never call it ill-mannered (it certainly not like a trumpet vine that will move into your house with you and start charging you rent), but it is strong. It attaches to the structures it uses to climb with aerial rootlets that can get quite large and get quite a hold, so this isn't something you grow up a regular old trellis. You should think twice before growing it up the side of a house, although don't rule it out entirely. The most beautiful climbing hydrangea I've seen covers the entire west side of a brick house in town. A blogging friend told me the sad tale of a gorgeous one growing up her neighbors' house that was summarily removed by the people who moved in. The previous owners of the house simply peeled it back off the siding when it was time to paint, she said.

This climbing hydrangea ties a large ash tree in with the garden.

My favorite place to grow a climbing hydrangea is up a tree where it is sort of a sleeper. You plant it and sort of forget about it for a few years and then all of a sudden you look up one day and it's climbing up. It's the best way I can think of to bring height to a corner of a garden or easily connect a tall tree in the garden to the garden proper.

The climbing hydrangea growing up a tree next to the garden looks great in autumn.

I have a climbing hydrangea growing up an ash tree that will likely succumb to emerald ash borer at some point. If that does happen I'll cut the tree off on top of the hydrangea, rather than lose 10 years or so of hydrangea growing.

Although I love it when it blooms, I think I love it even more in fall when it glows against the deep blue autumn sky.

A couple years ago I planted another climbing hydrangea on the north side of the garage. I would love for it to cover much of that side of the garage and help it blend in with the garden there. Knowing that these climbers require patience, I've done nothing with it save for watering it and giving it a little fertilizer in spring, so it was a lovely surprise when I looked at it the other day and I saw it was starting to send up some longer runners. It occurs to me know that I'll have to be diligent about encouraging it to go out instead of up since I want the side to get covered and not the roof.

When I was in Mackinac Island a few weeks ago I spotted a climbing hydrangea making a huge statement on an arbor at the entrance to a house. I read later that this hydrangea is 30 years old.

Caring for these is easy: Water it to get it established (especially when planted at the base of a tree), give it a little fertilizer maybe once or twice a year and then forget about it. Seriously, forget about it. Because it will drive you nuts if you keep thinking about it. I have had a little bit of deer browsing on them from time to time, but nothing major.

So plant it, sit back, relax, and come back in a few years. I bet you'll be in love.

GREAT NEW PLANTS FOR 2016: SHRUBS EDITION

A couple weeks ago, I shared some new annuals for 2016, and today I'm sharing new shrubs that look interesting.

Some affiliate links have been used.

1. Petite Pillar Dwarf Boxwood: Plant producers are smart to be working on new boxwood introductions because I still think it's the single hottest shrub of the moment. This one grows in a naturally columnar shape, topping out at 2 to 3 feet. Buxus microphylla 'MonAlex': Zones 5-9, full to part sun, 2-3 feet tall x 2 feet wide.

2. At Last Rose: This apricot beauty is said to have the disease resistance and low-maintenance needs of popular landscape roses such as Oso Easy and Knockout roses, but unlike others, doesn't lack the rose scent. It has a lot of petals so it takes on an old rose look. I'll admit, I'm wary of scent descriptions, but if this one is all it is cracked up to be, it'll have a spot in my garden. Rosa x 'Horcogjil': Zones 5-9, full sun, 30-36 inches tall and wide.

3. Loropetalum Jazz Hands Dwarf Pink: I can't grow this little dark-foliage beauty, but I sure wish I could. What more could you want in a plant: gorgeous purple foliage, hot pink dainty flowers and all in a package that can fit in a container or at the front of the border. Loropetalum chinese 'Kurenai': Zones 7b-9b, full to part sun, 1-3 feet tall x 3 feet wide.

4. Lil' Ditty Witherod Viburnum: So many shrubs are being downsized these days, which makes sense as the popularity of small-space gardening grows. This diminutive viburnum is another front-of-the-border charmer with fluffy white flowers that can grow a healthy crop of fruit so long as a pollinating plant is nearby (Viburnum nudum 'Brandywine' is one). It's super hardy and, like most viburnums, a cinch to grow. Viburnum cassinoides 'SMVCDD': Zones 3-8, part sun, 1-2 feet tall and wide

5. Moonlight Parfait Winter Daphne: Foliage shrubs are way too often overlooked, but they are so important in a garden. The amazing variegated foliage on this daphne will brighten up any partially shaded corner. It does get sweet-smelling pink flowers, but honestly they are an afterthought when the foliage is this pretty. Daphne odora 'Monstrik': Zones 7-9, full shade to partial sun, 3-4 feet tall and wide.

6. Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea: You are probably impressed that I managed to get through this list with just one hydrangea on it. Gatsby Pink was my pick to win Shrub Madness and I was really wrong. It was out in the second round, but I still think it's a phenomenal plant. First of all, oak-leaf hydrangeas are lovely. They have interesting foliage that usually gets a nice color change in fall. The long flowers look like a combination of a paniculata hydrangea and a lacecap, and start white but quickly turn pink. Hydrangea quercifolia 'JoAnn': Zones 5-9, part sun, 6-8 feet tall and wide.


What new shrubs are you hoping to add to your garden this year?