Happy Hydrangea Sunday
I am still enjoying the fruits of my labor with my gorgeous hydrangeas. The plants got so tall last year that I decided to cut them down to about 3” above the ground. I didn’t expect any flowers this year but low and behold, the plants grew back even taller and well, I took this picture two days ago and you see the flowers. I add aluminum sulfate to my soil to turn them blue, otherwise they are pink.
Have a great Sunday and thank you for being a part of my blogging family!
http://www.InDianesKitchen.com
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Categories: My Garden
Beautiful post
Their beautiful – my father had white and pink ones in his yard.
Thank you, mine are pink if I don’t change the ph in the soil. I love when I don’t water in the ph solution evenly and I will get pink, purple and blue color from one flower. I have never grown the white ones.
they are beauties!
Thank you Beth 🥰
Magnifique
Thank you Sheree 🥰
You did well cutting them down
I had no idea that would happen! I just wanted to make them shorter and they are taller this year than last. I must admit, I am happy to have the color in late summer when most of my other flowers are finished blooming except the mums are starting to bloom now too. Thank you Derrick!
I have a new hydrangea this year, so looking forward to the flowers…
I bet, how exciting! I never cut mine and bring them inside because I can see them from the entire north side of my house. They last much longer outside on the stem than they do in a vase. Beside that, I don’t have a vase that will hold flowers that big. Lol
I prefer to see them where they belong too…
Me too mine are glorious with having had 50+ inches of rain since June lol now to prune though I dread making the attempt.
I am so glad I am not the only one that hates pruning them. My arms bleed everywhere from all the stems!
🙂 It has rained so much here the blooms are bigger than my head on my Limelight’s and my Strawberry and cream are the same size as my forearm NUTS but gorgeous. 🙂
Well I never thought about all the rain making them so big! I usually have to water them at least every other day but they didn’t need much watering this year. I thought it was because I mulched them really well. 🤣 It sounds like yours were gorgeous Eunice!
🙂 Well here it was if I had an irrigation system watering daily lol I mulched 2 years ago with debris from a tree trimming company in the area who dumped here for me for free.
Nice!
Long time Diane n hope all is well. Hydrangeas we’re one of my mum’s favourites 👍😊
Yes it has been Margaret. What a beautiful flower to have as a memory of your mum, stay well Margaret.
It is my pleasure to be a part of your blogging family. I’ve learned a lot from you. Let’s keep this party going Goddess. Nice flowers too by the way. 🍷🍷🥰
I love that you are a part of my blogging family! You keep me on my toes. Thank you 🥰
😍
So pretty. I can’t get mine to bloom past August. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
You aren’t doing anything wrong. I think most of them stop blooming by the end of August. Mine are called Endless Summer Hydrangeas so they bloom longer.
Beautiful flowers, Diane! Still lots of summer left in your garden. 😊
Yes and the mums are just starting to flower.
That’s good to know. Thank you, I will look out for those.
Fab thankyou👌👍✨️
You’re welcome!
Hydrangeas are one of my favorite blooms – love the blue!
Mine too Mary, thank you!
There’s something about these flowers that bring a special kind of joy to my soul. I love’em!
I know what you mean. For me it is that the gigantic flower head is filled with so many tiny flowers and the way you can manipulate the color.
Thank you!
Just gorgeous Diane and so full of blooms. Mine are not as big and look a bit pitiful this year. Are these “Twist-and-Shout” Hydrangeas? I know the color of the blooms depends on the acidity in the soil. Mine are the same color but I don’t have soil additive.
Mine are called Endless Summer and they do bloom all summer. They are funny because if I don’t get all the soil wet with my mixture some will be pink and some even pink and blue. I love playing with the colors.
That is interesting that you can play with them like that – I didn’t have any additives, just went with the existing soil … Endless Summer. Will keep that in mind – still dwelling on what to do with the backyard next year. One thing at a time. Right now I am dealing with wildlife removal … a groundhog dug a huge hole and burrow in the backyard and I had a wildlife removal service set out bait and a trap … it did not catch the groundhog, but caught an opossum and I had to pay to have the opossum taken away and released in the woods. I hope I don’t have more opossums lurking about.
I feel for you Linda! Luckily we bought a trap years ago. So far this year we have removed 4 groundhogs and still have 1 left. Now that the garden is tore out he is eating my hosta plants. We have removed 3 moles and still have at least 1 left. After all the rain most of the runs are collapsing and we have open tunnels all over the yard and in my flower beds. I have decided to fill in the ponds since the egrets and blue heron ate all the fish. You can’t fight nature right? 🤣
Oh no, your beautiful ponds Diane – I feel badly for you. At least less work in the yard, but still. The egrets and heron are not going to stay away without the netting like you had before, which you then ask “why have the pond if you have to have netting?” Yes you can’t fight nature. This is not a rural area, so why we are suddenly getting raccoons, possums and groundhogs is anyone’s guess. So the pest removal guy took the opossum away Tuesday afternoon, brought back the empty trap today and baited it with more groundhog food pellets and about a dozen pieces of cantaloupe in the burrow and in the trap. I went out twice, but no groundhog. Sigh.
I hope you trap it Linda!
Hope so too Diane. Nothing today after all the cantaloupe he put out there Wednesday afternoon – now it is hot again and that’s not good – the fruit will rot out there. I already have the materials to put into the hole once it is caught. For any future groundhogs in your life, the guy told me to fill the hole/burrow with pea gravel as groundhogs don’t like the feel of it on their paws (and they know this info how????). Then put potting soil on top of that and smash it down. I bought more lava rocks to put on top of the existing lava rocks, though the original rocks have been there since 1985, so it will be a different color now. The pest removal service doesn’t work weekends, so tomorrow I’m going to call and ask him what happens if he is trapped/caught over the weekend. According to the pest removal guy, all wildlife captures in the trap have to be removed/relocated within 24 hours – that’s the law. The trap is on the cement patio, under the patio awning, so there is some shade but sun does pour in there on that side as does the rain if it’s heavy (it’s not going to rain).
That would be so cruel if you catch it and it stays in there for 2 days. Why don’t you move it Friday around 5:00 pm so the opening is against your house then put it back on Sunday around 5:00 pm? Terry said it should have a handle and if you pick it up and set it down gently it won’t go off.
That’s a good idea Diane … although he has positioned right at the burrow and put a flower pot in place on either side to ensure it doesn’t move. I had empty flower pots in the yard where the oak trees were removed in the 90s and the holes are deep. I put them there so when the guys removed the tree, they would not stumble and fall in the hole (while holding a chain saw) (thoughtful aren’t I but hoping not to have an accident out there). The tree cutters put the pots right where the hole is … I never moved them back. According to Chad (wildlife removal guy), the animals can’t be in the trap longer than 24 hours per the law, so I’m guessing that even though their company is closed on the weekend, that someone will come out. I thought it would be caught by now, but it now went back to my neighbors and dug a new hole under the slab where the A/C unit sits on … it’s such a big hole, the slab is tilting.
No way! The A/C unit needs to be level, another case of can’t fight nature! Let me know if it ever gets caught.
I knot – the pest control guy said the groundhog would dig another hole at Jeff’s house. As of this afternoon, no groundhog capture. He was either staying in the burrow or did not attempt to get out … he could knock those flower pots over easily. I asked the guy how long we wait before closing the hole … he said awhile longer … I don’t pay for him to re-bait it, it is part of the original service, but I hope he puts fresh bait in there if he thinks it is still around. I will let you know and if the groundhog is caught, I am going to write a post about it (you probably guessed that already). 🙂 I took pics of the hole/burrow, groundhog treat beat, the possum and the cantaloupe in the trap.
Awesome I can’t wait to read about it and see the pictures, hopefully with the capture of the groundhog. I set out a small trap tonight in my mums because now that we trapped the moles that destroyed my flower beds, there are chipmunks in them. Heck the tunnels are already there for them. 🤣 I don’t get mad anymore because it’s just to darn funny. I guess I should feel good that our property is so welcoming. 😉
The critters feel like you have rolled out the welcome mat for them Diane. I stopped feeding the squirrels around the house after one nearly got killed and that happened a few years ago – the nest is across the street and the poor squirrel went racing back to its nest and was killed by a car. However this morning I went outside and saw an unearthed peanut on my porch – it had some mud on it … was the squirrel sending me a message? No groundhog yet. You’d set the trap and get a critter faster than we will catch that groundhog … the guy has not put out fresh bait since last Wednesday, which might help a little!
How funny, that squirrel is going to make you nutty! Well I caught something the first night in the trap, a mouse! I guess they like oatmeal and peanut butter too. 🤣 I took it to a nature area and my granddaughter set it free. She wanted to keep it but I didn’t think her mom would go for that. Lol I put the trap back out tonight again. Maybe your groundhog left the area, wouldn’t that be nice. We still have one running around here, I saw him again tonight. He is too smart after seeing the rest of his family get caught.
Oh wow – a small mouse in a big trap, but it had a nice meal before being relocated. 🙂 The guy never came to rebait the trap for ten days. The cantaloupe was dried up. No groundhog and nothing else thankfully at $75.00 a pop. Saturday afternoon after I came home, the pest control guy came and put fresh, cut-up apples in the trap … nothing. I figure my groundhog is like your groundhog and has decided he is not falling for that either. 🙂
The chipmunk trap is very small, not like the ground hog trap. If I was you I would tell him to take his trap unless you see it again. Heck the traps are $60 and he uses them over & over! We are in the wrong business! I know for my small trap I wear gloves because I read they can smell your scent so they stay away. Terry didn’t wear gloves with the ground hogs but still caught them, until this last one. Lol I caught a sparrow on day two in my small trap. I guess they love peanut butter and oatmeal too. 🤣
So no groundhog capture yet and Sunday morning I saw apple chunks were in the back of the trap – I assumed the guy had been by, though they don’t work on weekends unless you have a critter in the trap and they have to remove it in 24 hours from capture. I figured he was in the neighborhood and put the apples in there. So this morning I returned from walking and my neighbor was in his yard and he said “I go to your house every day to check your trap and something small must have started to crawl in there and tripped the trap and it came down but the critter backed out and got free, so I reset the trap and cut up an apple for it.” So the pest control guy didn’t return! I’ll bet my neighbor didn’t wear gloves and I don’t think the guy had on gloves as I watched him sprinkle the groundhog goodies in the hole and the trap. I would be afraid to touch the area where the groundhog was and I would have to wear gloves too. I think it has moved on … peanut butter and oatmeal is a good combo. 🙂
Yes sounds like he’s long gone. Won’t be long and he will be tucked away for winter.
I was just a Motel 6 in a string of groundhog burrows but I’m not leaving the light on or welcome mat out. I think the guy has forgotten about me … not been here since September 20th and I’m hoping we can fill it soon.
Thank God! Ours was here last night and he is huge! He was eating the grass in front of the cabana for about 10 minutes.
Your critters are out to get you Diane – the heron feasting on the pond fish, a groundhog stripping away the grass by the cabana. What’s next?
Nothing I hope! My 9 year old grandson spent the night last night and he helped us take out the two ponds. Then he helped me stack the rocks I had around the ponds into the openings that went under the cabana where the groundhog thinks he lives. Lol
Ha ha – that’ll thwart that ol’ groundhog. Thank goodness for your grandson helping you guys out. In the Spring fill the holes with pea gravel then cover the gravel with dirt. The pest control place says the groundhogs don’t like the feel of pea gravel on their paws (and the groundhogs tell them this????) It’s three weeks since I saw the pest removal guy when he came to retrieve/release the groundhog. I hope I can fill the hole soon.
The cabana sits on a concrete pad, there are three large boards under the floor so a huge lift (like a gigantic tow motor) could get it off the truck and move it to our concrete pad. There is about a 6” high gap running the length of the cabana that the ground hog keeps hiding under. When it was delivered I asked if we should close off both ends, I was told animals don’t want to live on concrete, they dig in the ground! 🤣 My son even told me the same thing, men!
Ha ha – it is you, the nurturing mother and grandmother, who could prove them wrong Diane! Funny you mention that because my neighbor next door with the three groundhog holes/burrows figures it has something to do with the neighbor behind because after his garage and fence burned down after the downed wire and fire last December 2nd, this neighbor built a new garage and put up the new fence himself. I didn’t pay attention to it as he did it during the late morning/afternoon while I was inside at work. I understand he broke up his cement patio to make a double garage. So my neighbor told me that maybe the groundhog lived under the cement patio and the guy destroyed his burrow, so he came to our houses.
OMG I bet you are right, that makes so much sense Linda!
Sure, it’s a woman thing … the nurturing.
Well, this morning I had a big opossum in the trap so I asked the pest control guy if we should consider the groundhog gone and can fill in the hole – he said yes. Poor opossum was sleeping soundly when I found it in there – took a picture of him/her, then went on my walk only to find it still asleep when I returned, so I talked to it to wake it up. Got a snarly face for my efforts. Pest control guy fed it and was to release it five miles away – glad this is over!
Oh thank God Linda! Time for these animals to hibernate anyway.
I am happy about it too Diane … I asked him when I left the voicemail as who knows what might like to bed down in there for the Winter plus we could keep trapping opossums non-stop at $75.00 a pop to remove/relocate them!
Right get that cage out of there since they will be attracted to the food now and you have spent enough money.
Yes, thank goodness the ordeal is over!
I bet the pond was drawing a lot of the critters so it will be interesting to see what happens in the spring. Once we fill the holes in, I am making it my bird watching area. I will move the bird bath to the center, leave my bench there and put the oriole feeders there in the spring.
Wow! I hadn’t heard the aluminum sulfate trick. They are lovely in both colors.
Our soil ph gives me beautiful pink flowers but I love to change them blue. Thank you
They are beautiful!
Thank you Nancy!
Gorgeous!! I love hydrangeas.
Thank you! I keep saying I am going to let one be blue and the other pink but I don’t. I just love the blue color.
A treat for the eye.
I sure do love looking at them and even after their peak of color they continue to look good. Thank you Bernadette.
Hydrangeas were my grandmother’s favorite flower. I even got a tattoo of a hydrangea in honor of her. Thank you for your post as it reminded me of my grandmother.
That is special to get the tattoo, you can think of her everyday, so cool!
Just lovely!
Thank you!
Those are gorgeous!
Thank you Tierney!
Thanks for the tip re: aluminum sulfate. I didn’t know that!
Your flowers are so beautiful, and what a treat to enjoy them still, this far into September.
You’re welcome and thank you Ruth! I will cut them down again this year and hope they are just as beautiful next year.
Oh, I wish I could like your post 10x! Hydrangeas are such beautiful flowers. We used them as decorations on our guest tables at our wedding 27 years ago. Well done on changing the colour!
What perfect decorations for the tables! Our soil PH leaves them pink and I just love the blue. Thank you Corna!