Hydrangeas at Aldridge Gardens
Saturday, May 30, 2015 at 11:00PM Aldridge Gardens in Hoover, Alabama, is different from many public gardens where people walk through to see the beautiful flowers.
Today I visited the Gardens, and I was struck by how many persons were there to enjoy life. There was a wedding, a birthday party and an outdoor class. I saw someone reading a book under a tree. A couple were holding hands. Children were playing tag while their parents watched from a bench. More children were hanging over the railing at the boathouse, pointing out the big fish. A group who had just walked around the lake were trying to politely shoo the resident geese off the path. I heard laughter and music and bird song. Overall there was a spirit of peace, and it was a gorgeous day in the Gardens.
Of course, there were plenty of flowers to enjoy, and this month the wonderful hydrangeas have begun to bloom. The Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snowflake' is an unusual oakleaf hydrangea with double blooms, and this is the hydrangea that Eddie Aldridge patented and promoted. Now it is grown worldwide.
But many other types of hydrangeas also grow in the Gardens. Here are a few views of hydrangeas around the Gardens today.
Ok, I know this last shot does not have any hydrangeas in it, but the goose posed for me and insisted he should be in my blog post.
May this coming week be filled with beautiful flowers and other things that make you smile. Deb
You may also be interested in these posts: Hydrangea 'Snowflake', Oakleaf Hydrangea and Young Lovers at Aldridge Gardens.
Reader Comments (16)
This garden could well be in England Debs, lovely and even better that it's full of life, from plants and people :)
Wonderful hydrangeas, I especially liked the images with reflections in water, really beautiful.
It's a wonderful garden to visit via your pictures and would be doubly so in person, I expect. And of course the goose required required screen time - he's a handsome fellow! Early this year I briefly entertained the possibility of planting a hydrangea in my garden as I miss them but our new water restrictions make them even more of a luxury so I'll just enjoy your photos.
I visited Aldridge Gardens a few weeks back. I was so amazed with it. I would have never guessed that there was such a place in the middle of the city. That place is amazing. And the fish in that pond: HUGE!
Oh, how beautiful! This is my type of a garden - a lot of green and an outburst of color here and there.
I LOVE the arbor and bench pictures! And hydrangea's water reflection.... wonderful! Thank you Deb!
The sign that a park or public garden is successful is when it is filled with people. I particularly like that Oakleaf hydrangea. I have collected a number of hydrangeas over the last few years, but this type if still on my wish list.
P.S. I am not surprised that the Canada Goose posed and insisted he should be in your post. They are very brazen creatures!
When a bird poses for you, how can you resist :-)
Wow, I didn't even realize that Snowflake (the oakleaf hydrangea I have in my garden) is a double-flowered one. (I'd never grown any hydrangeas before, so I didn't have any reference point...) I wonder if that means (sadly) that bees are not as attracted to my hydrangea as they otherwise would be... ? (I know they are often less-attracted to double-flowered plants because - as I understand it - the reproductive parts of the flowers that they would visit have been turned into extra petals...)
PS -- What sort of tree is that in your post about mid-way down (just after the photo of the Hydrangea quercifolia alongside an arbor)?
Hello, everyone! Thank you all for your comments. Aaron, you are right. Snowflake is sterile, so the pollinators are not interested. The wild Oakleaf hydrangea with the single blooms does produce seeds and attracts pollinators.
The tree is a very beautiful, mature Japanese maple. Deb
I know I would like this garden with all the shady, peaceful places to explore. I love hydrangea but with having hot, dry summers, they are getting harder and harder to maintain in our area. It was never like that when I first moved here either. The big rabbits are a pretty neat feature too. Kids must adore them.
I need to revisit them. I have blooms on the oakleafs and lacecaps but the mopheads are not blooming. I am wondering if it was the cold winter.
Lovely photos and beautiful hydrangeas, I love all sorts of hydrangeas and sadly had to leave two mature ones when moving house – they were just huge and could not have been moved unless I had hired a digger! I have a few cuttings though so in 10 years’ time I might have something similar again :-)
You cannot refuse a goose....and I love that this beautiful garden is used by so many!
I love hydrangeas, but my sandy soil doesn't retain enough moisture to grow them -- so I have to enjoy them in other people's gardens and other people's blogs. Thanks for sharing these.
OK, those hydrangea are just showing off! What beauties. We grow them here, but the mopheads are not as reliable each summer.
The hydrangeas are gorgeous! I didn't know 'Snowflake' came from Aldridge Gardens. It's a beautiful hydrangea.