Oakleaf Hydrangea for All Seasons

Oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, is the official state wildflower of Alabama and can be found in every part of the state. I have heard that there are more oakleaf hydrangeas in Alabama than anywhere else on earth. I believe it. I have plenty of them in the woods surrounding my house, and I planted none of them.

It's a great, low maintenance shrub for year round interest. There are a number of beautiful cultivars, but most of mine are the native shrub. The white summer blooms persist for months and turn deep rose in late summer. The plant is deciduous, and the oak leaf shaped foliage assumes wonderful shades of red and burgundy in the fall. Oakleaf hydrangea also provides winter interest, with dried seed heads, arching structure, and the peeling bark of stems and branches.

Oakleaf hydrangea grows four to eight feet tall and wide, in zones 6 to 9. It does best in partially shaded, naturalized areas and has average water needs. It may need pruning every few years, and you may want to remove the old seed heads before the new growth starts in the spring. Mine seem to do well even if I don't do this, but I am lucky my neighbor Betty likes this chore and usually snips mine while she is doing hers. She is a good neighbor.

Propagation is easy by root ball division, which is the quickest way to a new plant, or they can be grown from seeds or stem cuttings. 

If you can't find oakleaf hydrangea growing in your area, come to my state for a visit, turn into the first woods you see, and no doubt there will be one growing right in front of you!

A Perfect Day in November

Another perfect day. Sixty-eight degrees, clear sky, fresh, clean air. Spring is my favorite season, but fall is a close second. I watch as my garden puts itself to bed, and there is beauty and peace in this place as winter's rest approaches.

In my last journal entry, a walk through my garden, I posted a photo of a Japanese maple with golden leaves. Look what happened to it overnight.

 In the woodland garden, a blue hosta, which was about three feet tall in its prime earlier this year, is yellow and wilted with age, but still beautiful as it composes itself against the remnants of an old stump.

I love old stumps, as long as they are where they belong and not in the middle of my lawn. They provide shelter and nourishment to little woodland creatures, and I like the look of them when they are covered with moss and lichens.

This old stump, near the lady garden, is host to variegated ivy.

What else to share with you today? There is so much out there. A lot of it I have planted, and a lot of it I have not. I am blessed with some great native plants, including oakleaf hydrangeas. I have heard that there are more oakleaf hydrangeas in Alabama than anywhere else in the world. It is our official state wildflower. I have plenty of them in my yard. After the leaves have fallen, the seed heads will persist through the winter. 

As the days are shortening and the nights getting cooler, the hydrangeas in my yard are putting on their final show.

 

One kind of hydrangea I did plant is Hydrangea arborescans 'Annabelle'. This was my mother's name, so I planted a half dozen in her memory. They have smooth green leaves and huge white flowers through the summer. Now the flowers are shriveled and brown, but this morning's sun caught one of them and gave it a golden glow.

I hope the sun is shining in your heart, wherever you are, whatever the weather may be. Have a great weekend.