Dried Hydrangea

Elisabeth — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:46:00 GMT

When I was growing up we had a decorator friend who could not get through the holidays without a can (or two) of gold spray paint. Everything looked more festive sprayed gold, from Rose of Sharon seedpods from the garden; to a collection of old sheets and styrofoam balls, which our friend fashioned into a trio of gilded angels, using toothpicks and a can of gold spray paint.

I thought of this recently as I considered my own holiday decorations. Like many people, we are cutting back a bit this year, but want the house to look festive. I thought of all those peegee hydrangea flowerheads that I meant to hang and dry two months ago, while they still had their wonderful dusty pink fall color. Other chores intervened and the flowerheads are still on the plants. They are tan now, but they remain big and beautifully shaped. I'll combine some of them with gold and russet mums or carnations for the Thanksgiving centerpiece. The can of gold spray paint will be put to good use when I spray many more of the hydrangea flowers for holiday arrangements. Some of the gold hydrangeas will also be wired to evergreen wreathes or used to decorate the Christmas tree.

We gardeners have always known that you can find just about everything you need in the garden. That is even more true over the holidays.

Shrub Garden

Elisabeth — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:50:00 GMT

Much has been written about creating lower maintenance gardens by cutting back on annuals and perennials in favor of flowering shrubs. If you choose your shrubs wisely, with thought given to heights, foliage textures and bloom times, you can create a lovely layout and even have plenty of flowering branches for indoor arrangements. The following three genera (groups of related shrub species) are among those that should be key players in any flowering shrub landscape:

Viburnum: This large group of plants is indispensable for summer flowers, fall and winter fruits and sometimes, autumn color. I love the intensely fragrant Viburnum carlesii (Korean spice viburnum), with intensely fragrant white spring flowers and shiny black fruits. A smaller carlesii, V. carlesii 'Compacta', has all the wonderful characteristics of the larger variety, but only grows to be three feet tall. Viburnum trilobum, sometimes known as the American cranberry bush, is another great plant. It also has white flowers and bright red fruits that attract birds. The foliage colors up in the fall, turning red as well.

Hydrangea: There are all kinds of hydrangea out there, and more seem to arrive in the marketplace every day. I especially love the quercifolias or oakleaf hydrangeas (above). Their somewhat conical flower panicles start out white, age to pink and look good fresh or dried. The leaves, which really do resemble oak leaves, turn a gorgeous crimson in the fall. Most everyone also loves the mophead varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla), especially the newer hybrids, like 'Endless Summer', that bloom on bothnew and old wood. Some of the more compact mopheads are perfect for containers or the front of the border. If you have vertical space that needs attention, try Hydrangea petiolaris or climbing hydrangea.

Rose of Sharon: I started out my gardening career with a definite dislike of Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Now I value the contribution the hollyhock-like flowers make to my garden in August and early September, a time of the year when little else is blooming. There are lots of Roses of Sharon on the market and most can be grown as shrubs or clipped into standard or tree form. You do have to prune them back at the end of the blooming season so they don't get leggy, but it's a small price to pay for a large amount of loveliness. I especially like 'Diana' (below), a newer variety with pristine white flowers. Grow 'L'il Kim', a dwarf variety, in smaller spaces. 'Kim' has winning white flowers with purple centers.

Growing Wise : hydrangea

Dried Hydrangea

Shrub Garden