Hydrangea blues

No I don't mean that I have lots of blue hydrangeas. I am supposed to but the hydrangeas in my garden are certainly not the hydrangeas of my youth. I planted quite a few different varities in our garden several years ago and I must say I am not happy with the way they have matured. Below you can see this Bluebird Hydrangea hardly lives up to its name. I probably should show you the entire bush. It looks pitaful. The blossom booms on old wood and it doesn't fill out very well.I have a Silver Blue Hydrangeas. They are supposed to have varigated leaves. Well, you guessed, they are about to revert to what ever they were bred from. They have very few varigated leaves and they hardly bloom either.

You would think the old standard Niko Blue would be able to with stand any types of soil and light conditions.

Even though these Niko Blue Hydrangeas have grown quite a bit since they were planted. They don't bloom blue as you might expect. The ph here doesn't allow blue blossoms. I get a sickly washed out rainbow of light blue, pink and yellow. Really odd, do you notice there are no blooms at the top of the bush. Most years I am lucky to have these blooms along the bottom of the bush due to late frosts. I have a couple of hydrangeas that I moved to where the pine trees shed their leaves for 20+ years. One is trying its best to live up to its name, Niko BLUE. I have doctored the soil around these hydrangeas for years but haven't had much luck getting them to a blue hue.
My very best bloomer and doer is the Oak leaf hydrangea. It continues to bloom and look amazing in all seasons. At least I have one hydrangea I can depend on. I mean these bushes have been here for 10 years this summer. It looks like they would be used to their environment. Maybe I just expect too much out of them. After all in my minds eye there should be big round blue balls that I could pick off and use as kick balls. Hmmm maybe that is why I remember them so vividly from my childhood. I got into big trouble for picking the neighbors blossoms.

A friend of mine gave me a start of an old fashioned snowball bush that was in her garden when they purchased the house. I have only had it a couple of years and it gave me its first bloom last summer. It is one that blooms later in the summer. I believe it is going to do well in its situation.

I also have this hydrangea. It is relatively new to the garden. It has only been here about 3 years. Don't adjust your monitor. It has a yellow varigation in its leaves. I sure wish I could tell you exactly what it is but I can't. I simply can't find a tag or any mention of it in my garden journals. Hmmmmm I do remember reading that it wasn't known for its blooms but is usually grown for its foilage which is what drew me to it. It does give me a couple of blossoms every year. As you can see there is a bud at this time.
Lastly in my hydrangea menagerie is the small patio pink. I have three of these out by the barn. They are in such deep shade that they do well to exist. This one however is situated up by the patio as it should be and it is generous with its pretty pink blooms. So on this happy note I will leave you with well wishes for the weekend.