Dawn who is in Austin has a beatiful Christmas surprise in her garden. I won't tell you what it is after all it wouldn't be a surpise to you then. I will show you what is going on in my garden this christmas. My Hydrangea, Nikko Blue, is setting some buds. This is good but it is unfortunate in that they will be frozen off before spring.
This seems to happen year after year. My hydrangeas set buds and the get frozen off. I haven't had a good bloom from them in several years. I just don't know what to think about this. As you can see in this photo this bud is about frozen off and there is a tiny bud a little lower that is forming.
There are quite a few buds lower on the branches. I hope some of them survive the winter so I will have some blooms this summer. This past summer I was lucky to just have them survive with the severe late freeze we had. They only grew to about half the size they normally get during summer. I can hardly wait to see what happens in the garden this coming spring and summer. It is a feeling like the anticipation of christmas gifts. What will I get???
In the mean time I am like
Kim looking for some greens and reds in the garden, some kind of life. I am not totally disappointed. The only white we had at our christmas was the heavy frost that was everywhere. The frost was pretty while it lasted. We had such a sunny day.
This ivy has petite leaves, a bit of the green with varigation of white and some pinkish red on the edges. I don't know what kind of ivy this is. I bought it several years ago as a filler for a pot. At the end of the season I plopped it into the ground because it was so pretty and I thought it might last a little longer out of the pot. Well, lo and behold it has taken. It grows at the base of the maple tree where ithas formed a clump and is making its way up the base of the tree. It appears ais happy as an ivy could be. One of my happy little surprises.
This seems to happen year after year. My hydrangeas set buds and the get frozen off. I haven't had a good bloom from them in several years. I just don't know what to think about this. As you can see in this photo this bud is about frozen off and there is a tiny bud a little lower that is forming.
There are quite a few buds lower on the branches. I hope some of them survive the winter so I will have some blooms this summer. This past summer I was lucky to just have them survive with the severe late freeze we had. They only grew to about half the size they normally get during summer. I can hardly wait to see what happens in the garden this coming spring and summer. It is a feeling like the anticipation of christmas gifts. What will I get???
Nice surprises, for sure--how great to see some pretty greenery at this time of year. Hope all three of you had a wonderful holiday!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Lisa! Hope your hydrangeas have better fortunes this year. Same thing happened to my Light O'Day hydrangea last year--late freeze, no blooms, small size. Oh well, Christmas is a time of hope!
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely surprises...like you, I've been outside looking for greens and reds in the garden, and found quite a few (of the evergreen or berry variety, of course) before the cold wind drove me back indoors.
ReplyDeleteI too have had challenges with some of the macrocephala type hydrangeas, but the Paniculatas do fine for us here. and I do find that a couple of the lacecap types, 'Blue Bird' and 'Blue Billows' come along fine for us despite the cold. Maybe they've got enough protection from the wind that almost constantly blows here in winter.
Have you considered upending garbage cans over the Hydrangeas? I remember reading something about that on the Hydrangea forum on Gardenweb. It makes for a less-than-attractive winter silhoutte, but if you want flowers, it might be worth it. I usually just surround my Hydrangeas with chicken wire & dump leaves in over them.
ReplyDeleteI noticed in my travels around my property today some buds showing on my hydrangeas. I am also afraid that they won't survive the cold, and we will see no flowers next summer. :(
ReplyDeleteI was thinking maybe you could cover them too to protect them, or discourage them from further budding? It's a shame not to have those pretty blooms come spring.
ReplyDeleteMy plum is budding, but I haven't noticed any shrubs with unseasonable buds. Dawn's surprise sure surprised me too---and I live in the same city!
ReplyDeleteHi Nan, We sure did have a good Christmas holiday.
ReplyDeleteDavid it seems I am always hoping.
Hi Jodi, I have Blue Bird too. One of them bloomed last year. It was the one closest to the Maple tree so it was probably protected the best.
MRMcD, The plants are too big for garbage cans. I could do the wire with leaves. If I don't get blooms this year I will consider that treatment for next year and see if it helps.
Vonlafin we will have to wait to see what happens next summer. So far this winter hasn't been too bad but we have January and February to go.
Like I said Jayne I will have to wait until next summer to see what happens.
Pam, I think it would be such fun to go out and find a gorgeous bloom like Dawn has in her heated water feature. Lucky girl.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteMy hydrangeas are trying, too. It's a shame that they'll be bitten too many times before spring. Our temps vary here so much!
Oooh... I love that frost picture. Isn't it amazing how much frosted leaves look like sugared leaves? (Or maybe i just have too much of a sweet tooth.)
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