Saturday, August 8, 2015

First Blooms: My Limelight Hydrangea



I'm so excited about this bush I planted in early May. It blooms on new growth in late summer and it's right on schedule in spite of the fact the deer ate a few branches. This is a lesson learned. Next year I will spray with deer repellent. They really did a number on the bush I plant in the front but there are still some blossoms that haven't opened yet. We are having a really dry spell and that's not helping either. It's supposed to rain Monday into Tuesday, fingers crossed. I caught up on all my mowing and trimming the last three days while everything was bone dry. Instead of using the weed whacker today, I used my small gas-powered walk behind mulching mower. It gets really close to obstacles like brick walls and large rocks and I finished with my hand clipper/trimmer. That was easier than struggling with the electric trimmer and long power cords. It went quickly too.  It will all look fabulous after next week's rain. xo

3 comments:

JudyMac said...

I do admire your stamina!

Gail, northern California said...

Jeez Louise, do you realize how lucky you are to receive summer time rain? Here in California we're at the point of wishing, no praying, for WINTER rain and we don't dare waste precious water irrigating plants in the summer. My plants are hanging on for dear life.

This is how ridiculous it has gotten for me. Instead of emptying the steam iron water down the drain, I poured it into a container and when it had cooled, it was used to water a house plant. I'm not kidding.

When I wash vegetables, the water is collected in a plastic dishpan and used to water plants on the outside decks.

And surrounded by forest fires. Crazy. Scary. If they can ship oil through a pipeline, might water pipelines be in our future?

Karen said...

Rosemary,
I would love to plant one of these beauties, but alas, the California drought is not the time to do it. I've planted very little this spring/summer and we're keeping things alive through reused dishwater and shower run off. We're expecting an El Nino which should bring us rain to start chipping away at the lack of water in reservoirs and such.
I hope you get your late summer rain. Rain does such a good job of cleaning everything and nourishing the soil.
xo,
Karen