Sustainable Gardening Blog

Also known as Gardenblogger Bloom Day 

Here’s a very deliberate combination of beauties that bloom at the same time: 2 lacecap hydrangeas, spirea ‘Anthony Waterer,’ and an assortment of astilbes.  There’s also closer-up photo of the hydrangea/astilbe combo over on GardenRant.

My other favorite scene right now has this oakleaf hydrangea as the centerpiece.  It’s also gorgeous in the winter, thanks to exfoliating bark.

Sustainability Report

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the garden porn as much as I have - and looking through dozens of photos was pretty trippy, I must say.  But we’re trying to be informative here, so it’s time to talk turkey.

These lacecap hydrangeas gets nothing from me all year except supplemental water during periods of drought, and the removal of dead flowers - only.  Other than that I spare them the Felcos because their spent flowers look good for months and I’d rather keep it around.

The spirea gets a lot less water - it’s a tough, adaptable plant.  Pruning-wise, I’ll shear and shape in a week or two after these blooms are done, and be rewarded with a very nice rebloom.

Astilbes are reportedly both thirsty and hungry, which would make them one of the higher-maintenance perennials.  But I grow a large variety that bloom just fine with no fertilizer except leafmold mulch every spring.  I leave their spent flowers alone unless and until their foliage goes crispy later in the summer, at which point I shear them to the ground.  That results in new foliage that looks fine for the season, but no reblooms.  I do give astilbes some supplemental water, though not a lot.

In full shade, oakleaf hydrangeas are as close to literally sustainable as any plant in my garden, including the large oaks.  It gets nada!  It’s indigenous from the Carolinas southward, I believe.