The Metamorphosis of a Limelight Hydrangea

Welcome to the 388th Metamorphosis Monday!

Happy Independence Day! Hope you’re having a fabulous one!

Thanks for sharing all your experiences in the comments on yesterday’s post about my Windows 10 update nightmare and the following scam telephone call I received. I learned yesterday from two different readers that someone actually sued Windows over the damage their update caused to their computer files. It will be interesting to see what happens from here out. Hopefully Microsoft will never do anything like this ever again.

I don’t have a major Before and After to share, just a small gardening metamorphosis that I have really enjoyed over the last few weeks.

You may remember the tree-form (Standard) Limelight Hydrangea I shared a few weeks back. I purchased one last year and kept it in a large planter all winter since I couldn’t decide where I wanted it in my front yard landscape.

Tree Form Limelight Hydrangea

 

This year I finally decided and purchased a second one along with two large, black planters. I placed each hydrangea between the windows on the front of my home where they are surrounded by boxwood shrubs.

Boxwood Shrubs, Traditional Landscape

 

The one I planted this year and placed on the left side of the house, is on a different blooming schedule. When I first put it into its container, it looked like this. Very few of the flowers were really open, yet you could see they had a definite greenish cast.

Limelight Hydrangea, Tree Form

 

When they fully opened, they looked like this, much whiter in color. I could not believe all the blooms!

Limelight Hydrangea, White when first blooms, then goes pale green

 

So beautiful! I was so surprised by how white they were since they had looked very lime green in color before opening fully out.

Limelight Hydrangea Starts with white flowers that turn a soft, light green

 

It has been absolutely spectacular all month since these photos were taken in early June. How does it look almost a month later?

Standard Limelight Hydrangea, white when first blooms

 

It’s now living up to its name and the flowers heads have turned much more lime green in color. It’s still absolutely beautiful! Love all the transitions it goes through.

Limelight Hydrangea, White when first blooms. then turns to a pale lime green

 

This photo is a good one to show how they start out more white when they first bloom, but gradually move toward more of the lime green color. Notice down in the bottom left corner–see the smaller flower that’s still so white? It’s much whiter compared to the two large flowers close by that have been open longer. Big difference in color!

Limelight Hydrangea blooms

 

I’ll share some updated photos as things grow and change out front. Right now everything is still doing well and just holding its own in the intense hot weather we’ve been having. I water the shrubs almost daily because we aren’t getting much rain and I know they’ll die if I don’t water often in this intense heat.

This is why it’s best to plant shrubs in the fall, if you can. It much less trouble to get them established when it’s not so blooming hot, plus they have a better chance of survival. I was busy transplanting the Japanese Maple from this area last fall and traveling a good bit, so this spring was the earliest I could add them.

Boxwoods and Hyrdrangeas for the Front Yard Landscape

 

I wish I had a place to mount a flag pole on one of the porch columns. I love round columns but haven’t found a mount yet that I think will work on one, and the flat parts of the porch are way too high up for me to reach.

If you know of a flag mount that works for a round column, let me know. I’ve been searching off and on since I added the porch to my home many years ago. I used to have a flag mount and miss being able to put a flag out front, especially for our patriotic holidays.

Have a great 4th!

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Comments

  1. Susan, Love the Limelight, ours are just starting to bloom! Happy Independence Day 🙂

  2. Beautiful! Your yards really becoming a show place. They’ll be asking to have your home on the next garden tour. Thank you for hosting.

  3. Your hydrangeas look beautiful! Happy 4th of July! Thank you for hosting. 😉
    Rebeca

  4. That’s a beautiful hydrangea, Susan, and it’s doing really well with your heat AND being in a container! I was skeptical. 🙂 Thank you for being host to us at Met Monday, always a pleasure to be able to join. It is raining yet again here in WV, where the reality of the floods of June 23rd are so raw. The help from all over this great country is an amazing sight to see, even on this holiday. It gives hope! Happy 4th!

  5. Diana Wilson says

    What is the type of “mulch” that you have around your plants? Straw-like. does it compact down?

    • We have a lot of pine trees here in Georgia, so pinestraw is a very popular mulch. It falls from the trees naturally. If a person doesn’t have pine trees in their yard, pinestraw is available to purchase in many places like Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc… The Lowe’s in my area had some of the prettiest straw this year I’ve seen in a while. I prefer what’s called “long needle or long leaf”, not “slash.” Pinestraw lasts about 6 months to a year (depending on how much rain we get) before it has to reapplied. It doesn’t compact down, just slowly deteriorates until it’s gone.

  6. Happy 4th of July, Susan!
    Oh, your lime green hydrangeas look exquisite! They must love where you’ve planted them. Your landscaping looks so pretty.

  7. Wow, how I love the look of hydrangeas! They are beautiful, wish they grew well in my neck of the woods.

  8. Donna P. says

    Beautiful front yard! I have a question- what is the size of the columns on your front porch? I have round columns too but the proportions do not look as aesthetically pleasing as yours. Would love to know or at least the diameter of the column. Thank you! Happy fourth of July!

    • Thanks, Donna! Well, there’s a little story behind those. I told my contractor I want good-size, chunky columns, not skinny ones. He and I argued back and forth over the size because the ones he was suggesting looked too small to me when I saw them in the store.
      He asked if I’d let him at least bring out the size he wanted to use, promising he would return them if I didn’t like the size.
      He brought them out and they looked too skinny to me, so he returned them and bought the size I had first suggested. That’s the size that’s on the porch today.
      I just measured one since I couldn’t remember the dimensions and they are 26 1/2″ around at the top and 31″ around at the bottom. It’s hard to measure them across, but they appear to be around 10-11 inches across.

  9. I love how you are softening your formal outdoor exterior. It looks wonderful! Happy Fourth of July!!! Lani

  10. Wow, your Limelight Hydrangea are looking fabulous in your newly created front beds. I planted two Limelight bushes last fall and they are just beginning to bloom. Hydrangea are so easy to propagate. I have rooted several different hydrangea by placing a brick or rock on a portion of a low growing branch that I covered with soil. In a few months the branch will have grown roots at which time I cut it from the mother bush and plant it in my garden. You can also take cuttings from a standard bush such as yours. I have not tried that but it does not look difficult. Here is a quick video with easy instructions. I love Hydrangeas and have about a dozen in my garden. Vikki in VA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMVtbn7iYA

  11. Thanks, Susan, for all that you share and that we so enjoy. Have a happy day.

  12. Gwen Healy says

    Susan such a lovely informative article again. Kudos to you! I also have posts like yours and would love to have flag flying from one of them.Will watch for future updates from you.Happy Independence Day! Gwen.

  13. What Linda said. 🙂 That is a really happy hydrangea.

  14. Susan, all those sore muscles you had are paying off. Your yard looks incredible! No rain here in NE GA either, all my plants have to be watered every other day. Trying to use washing machine rinse water for non edibles to save water. My limelights just starting to bloom, maybe not enough sun? Yours are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing, Happy safe 4th!

    • Thanks, Jae! The one I purchased last year that’s on the other side of the porch, is just now getting close to blooming. I think this one is blooming now because I just bought it this year and I guess it got different lighting wherever it was before. I was kind of disappointed that they weren’t going to be on the same blooming schedule, but then I realized I’ll have new flowers to enjoy soon and hopefully for a bit longer. 🙂

  15. Happy 4th, Susan! Your yard looks fabulous! All your hard work paid off,
    and the limelights are lovely! Haven’t hydrangeas been glorious in the south this summer?

  16. Susan, we have round columns and have a flag holder. Sorry I don’t know the make but I got it at a store that sells everything for flags, banners, bunting, etc. your hydrangeas are beautiful. Mine are doing well too!

  17. Just a suggesting if you can not find a flag pole holder….you can get a cast iron Torch Holder and use with Flag standing beside your door or column. I bought my Torch Holder from Walmart. Love the Limelights! Happy 4th

  18. Your gardens are looking absolutely gorgeous – all your hard work is certainly paying off, Susan!

    Hey – how about putting your flag in the middle of the porch area on top between the columns? To be honest, I have flat columns and we have a flag up but the big flag looks too low – has bothered me for 14 years now, haha. And the fact that it isn’t balanced. Why not do that? You will need a ladder to put your flag up but then (as long as you splurge and get the better anti-wind flag gear) you will be all set. I think with your set-up you’d be very pleased how it looks.

    Happy Independence Day!

    • lol Well, one time I did get brave enough to get on a really tall ladder to hang bunting and it was pretty scary. It’s much higher to that flat area than it looks. I didn’t have the most stable place to plant the ladder and it felt like it would fall over at any time. So I decided to never do that again, just too high up. I wish there was a service that would come around and hang a flag for you and remove it a week or two after a holiday. I should google and see if someone offers that. Think the guys/gals on Shark Tank would help me get it started? 😉

  19. Thanks for limelight tips. I love how pretty yours is. I’m envious.
    I FEEL your pain about the scammer. You handled it well. Thanks for alerting us to these problems.
    Thanks for hosting. You are a jewel.

  20. I have never heard of limelight hydrangeas. I will have to check at our local nurseries. Might get too cold for them here in PA. We also have round columns on our porch, six on each side with six feet of railings beween them and ten feet of railings on the side. I love to have a flag flying all the time, so we put a tall flag pole in the middle of our front yard. I found a solar light that attached to the pole and keeps the flag illuminated at night. We usually replace the flag every two years.

  21. Lovely! I have never had luck with hydrangeas of any kind. I had one flowerless plant here for years, then I dug it up and gave it to my sister who lives literally a block away and it blooms prolifically for her!! Go figure! 😉

  22. Susan, the hydrangea looks lovely. All the new landscape seems to be thriving and I look forward to seeing them a year from now.

    Random thought, have you ever considered painting the pole upon which your beautiful birdhouse sits, black? I don’t have photoshop, but it might be interesting to see how the black would look. You have the black shutters and benches, and the lovely birdhouse with its copper roof might really “pop” with a black pole. As I write this, I think I am just remembering that you have a light post and depending on the location the birdhouse pole might be better white. So, this might just be 4th of July ramblings. MM

  23. Susan,
    The hydrangeas are stunning!! Thanks so much for hosting!! Happy 4th!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

  24. I’m a terrible gardener…..I pretty much kill everything (from neglect), but my limelights are gorgeous. We planted one by our house high in the NC mountains, and while it was beautiful in the summer, I was shocked when we returned a few months later (in October) they had turned a gorgeous shade of pink, then a pinky rust. Set it and forget it, my method of gardening. I had forgotten I’d cut a few and stuck them in a container in the house, winterized and 7 months later, we opened the house (in late May), the blooms had dried beautifully. Cant wait to see what the bush looks like when we return next month.

  25. I experienced the same delight when I first planted my limelight hydrangeas. I love how they change as they bloom. If you love these plant an “Annabelle” hydrangea. They are wonderful too. They make a great cut hydrangea for drying. I love how these look by your house- great idea!

  26. Susan, I love your hydrangeas. They are beautiful. I have been thinking about planting some in pots and placing them on my porches. I think I will have to try this. Also, thank you so much for hosting the link parties. I have met so many wonderful people through your parties and seen so many great ideas by talented people. I hope that you have a very Happy Fourth of July and a wonderful week!!!

  27. The hydrangeas look gorgeous, as well as your landscape! You did an amazing job! The limelights in my yard are just budding. They are a favorite.

    Sorry about your scammer! So scary, I almost fell for a scam once, I’ve been in high alert since!!

  28. Those are gorgeous blooms–excellent choice for the front. It will be interesting to see if they bloom together next year. I hope they do really well and all your TLC pays off. Happy 4th!

  29. bobbi duncan says

    You may have luck finding a handyman to hang bunting from the flat portion of your porch roof. I have a guy that will come out for small jobs that I don’t want Michael to tackle because height is too much for us oldsters. Yard looks fabulous!!!

  30. Your hydrangeas are gorgeous! I hope to add some to our new yard and I’ll consider some of these limelights!

  31. Thank you for hosting. I hope your 4th was wonderful. Your hydrangeas are gorgeous. I’d love to be able to get them to grow. Have a wonderful week.

  32. Cyndi Raines says

    Very pretty Susan. Yes, we need rain also, down over 1 1/2 inches. Hopefully, we will get some this week. I was going to suggest a bunting – we have them and I love them. BUT, you said too high. O.k. so since you are going all out, you just may have to install a lighted flagpole in your yard and then you can fly the flag all the time unless bad weather comes. We have one and I love it, especially at night when the light shines on it. 🙂 Happy day after the 4th!

  33. Do you feel like you have less weeds with the pine tree mulch? I want to put either a mulch down so weeds can’t grow or artificial grass down. In the place I’m renting they had rocks but still get lots of weeds. I want to make it easier to maintain as well as nice for the dog to sunbathe.

  34. I really love your hydrangeas in the pots. How/where do you maintain them during the winter months?

    • Hi Joy,
      I haven’t been doing anything special. I live just north of Atlanta in Georgia and our winters can be pretty cold with the occasional snow. The two tree-form (Standard) Hydrangeas on my deck in back have done fine and I just water them occasionally during the winter.
      The Limelight Hydrangea on the right side of the house was purchased last summer and it made it through the winter in a planter okay. Again I just watered it occasionally. So I hope these will do okay as long as I keep them watered. Occasionally we get ice storms, hope they will weather those okay. We didn’t have an ice storm last year, so time will tell.

  35. Susan, just retread my earlier comment and apologize. Sometimes email takes on a “tone” that wasn’t intended. Anyway, I was not suggesting you paint the wonderful birdhouse, I just wondered what the pole would look like painted black. But, your yard is beautiful as is and I should have just admired! MM

    • Oh, no…don’t apologize. I appreciated your suggestion and thought it was very sweet of you to leave that. I always love suggestions and appreciate them because sometimes I’m so deep into a project, I can no longer see the forest for the trees. 🙂 So don’t you worry one bit, always appreciate suggestions and ideas! I learn new things from the lovely folks who visit BNOTP all the time and really appreciate it! 🙂

  36. They are gorgeous Susan…mine are at the white shade stage now…hoping that they survive and turn green!

    • I bet they will, Shirley…bet they will be gorgeous! I semi-abused the first one I bought while I was trying to figure out where to plant it. I kept it in a little pot for months and kept forgetting to water it. Plus, it kept getting blown over in high winds, lost count how many times I found it laying on its side.
      It survived all of that and is HUGE and blooming up a storm now. So they are pretty hearty! I’ve become a huge fan of hydrangeas this year. 🙂

  37. Samantha says

    Hi Susan! Like you, I’m planting shrubs in containers, in the front of my house, in the Deep South. This side of my house gets blasted by the afternoon sun (west/north west orientation), which hadn’t bothered my concrete container plantings. But when I brought home two faux-lead, fibreclay (nearly black) cylindrical planters for my holly topiary, they were so hot from the sun I could barely touch them as I moved them from the car to front porch!! Do you find that to be case with your dark planters, versus your lighter ones? I’m concerned about the soil temps becoming so hot in my new containers, that, when watered, will effectively “steam” the roots of my hollies!
    Oh, and regarding your flag/column situation: are the columns solid or hollow, and what material are they?
    Sammy 🙂

    • Hi Sammy, These are the first black containers I’ve had and they are on the north side of the house, so haven’t had any problems so far with that, but that’s a good point to consider. I hope you don’t end up having a problem.
      I think the columns are probably hollow and I believe they are fiberglass. I know they came from Lowe’s.

  38. Gloria Bashnan says

    Love the limelight hydrangea! Just planted one for the first time! Thanks for sharing

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