Gimme more hydrangeas

I had such a great time staging these photos of my new hydrangea babies.

Last year I shared how excited I was for the hydrangea situation at our Martha’s Vineyard home (see here). I also shared that there were some disappointments. So this year I set out to improve my hydrangea season.

It started with a trip to Mahoney Jardin in Vineyard Haven in late May. I had purchased five new hydrangea plants (the “sophomores”), which we planted in the driveway island in 2020 and thought I would like to add 5 more this year. Instead I bought 14 new plants (the “freshmen”)😆 (don’t tell my husband).

Of the 14, 10 were the small 3 gallon “Endless Summer” variety, which Mahoney puts on special each year for $29. My landscaper assured me it was fine to start with that size since they would grow pretty fast. Once I got them home though, rather than fill up the island area, I decided to use them to add a row in front of my inherited ones (the “alumni”) to beef up the space directly in front of the house.

I had my landscaper remove two unruly shrubs to make room for more hydrangeas.

How fun is a blue convertible filled with blue hydrangeas?!

With everything planted, I set about learning how to ward off the deer. After all, they had been responsible for my woes last year. I did NOT want it to happen again. My Instagram audience sent in lots of deer repellent suggestions: from wolf urine to dog hair to Irish spring soap. And I honestly cannot tell you which one worked, because I tried everything, all at once (except for the wolf urine. That sounds scary!).

Almost two months later, my plants are holding up with no sign of deer nibbling. In the meanwhile, the alumni are definitely still late bloomers, while the sophomores are making momma proud, and the freshmen are sprouting new blooms (I deadheaded some of their old ones).

Here are some closeups from around the property. Patience, trial and error are the rules of engagement. Here in my second summer, I finally have some pretty blooms. It is pretty fun to watch them develop, like a multi-year science project. (Once I see some prolonged success I’ll get into the actual science of soil acidity and fertilizer preferences, etc.). For now this article and google are our best friends.

Purchased these two 7 gallon Endless Summer hydrangeas for my porch pots. I will have them planted in the fall.

I’ll keep you posted, both here and on Instagram , where I give weekly hydrangea updates in my stories. Do you enjoy hydrangeas? How are they blooming in your area? Talk to me in the comments!