Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Will you plant those hydrangeas...?

Here is a photo of our old oil tank from a few years back. It took us several years until we switched from the original in-floor oil furnace (heated one spot really well, really noisily, rest of the house not so much) over to electric baseboards. It was another year before we got around to having the old tank hauled off (as scrap metal). 


I took this right before the scrap metal guy picked up the tank. Mike had tipped it up to drain the remaining oil so that we could dispose of it properly. 

What instigated the next photo is something I wrote on one of my infamous 'to do' lists one weekend, shortly after the oil tank got hauled away. 

It read, "Plant hydrangeas by basement door." 

This task was aimed at Mike for one very good reason...

A thick concrete slab had to come out before the hydrangeas were planted! Loud and heavy machinery had to be rented. 


After he broke up the concrete,  he hauled it away for recycling.

Concrete removed. There was a foot of gravel under the concrete, so next up was an infusion of soil and compost. Eventually the siding will need some touching up (on another 'to do' list). Those  vents you see in the two photos above are from the old California Cooler. This was the only section of the house that didn't get resided, thus the old vents are still in place. 

Endless Summer hydrangeas planted. xo. This is the best hydrangea bed in the whole yard. They love the full shade. I was lucky to find these at our local nursery for just $17 each, which I thought was a great deal considering their size.

 The only original windows left in the house are the basement windows, of which the laundry room window is shown here. These basement windows were an old blue for a long time until we had the chance to paint them white one day. They look much crisper now. 

More blossoms are on their way. 


They'll keep the limelight hydrangeas on the patio company. The limelight are getting bigger each year. I'll do a patio post on them soon (it's on my 'to do' list). 

This fall I'll prune them back as they are getting a tad overgrown around the stairs and reaching out into patio a bit too much. 


43 comments :

  1. Yet more beautiful hydrangeas! - you are so fortunate with your climate to be able to grow such beauties. I've loved hydrangeas since I was a little girl - and my grandmother's garden had a huge back of hydrangeas down one side. Unfortunately, the only time I've had outdoor space to attempt them myself was when I lived in Queensland - and they didn't like the tropical climate. I'm hoping that when I next have a home with a little patch of garden it will be somewhere that hydrangeas will love to prosper...and in the meantime, I'll drool over your photos!

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  2. You did a great job. They look lovely. Are those your twins? I have twin girls. They were so much fun to watch grow up. You will be tired a lot. But it's so worth it. Mine are now 21. They are still every close. Every time I think of them as toddlers I have to smile. They are great young women, but I do miss those days.

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  3. Hi Trina
    The hydrangeas look beautiful!...it's lovely to see how your 'to do list' idea came to fruition...
    ...you've inspired me to bury our sightly oil tank and plant something as lovely in its place.
    Great to have found your blog xo

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  4. Trina, you sure are lucky to have Mike! Such a hard worker he is. I can hear most husbands saying, "Sorry, but the concrete stays." A question about your windows: what type of material are they and what brand? Are you happy with them?
    Claudia

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  5. They 're beautiful! None of our hydrangeas bloomed this year due to the draught. I was so disappointed!

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  6. I do believe you married a workhorse! That was quite a job but it looks great! I love all your hydrangeas. I have a few, but for the most part, my yard is too hot & sunny. Your place is beautiful!

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  7. Such a gorgeous oasis you have there Trina and it's so inspiring to see that you two are doing it all yourselves.
    xo~
    T

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  8. Claudia,
    All of our new windows are by Marvin. They are listed under the resource label in the right hand margin. We opted for the clad on the exterior and painted wood on the interior. We love them!
    Trina

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  9. Everything you post these days, I mark to read again. This is all research now :)
    I have already added Hydrangeas to my list of flowers we must have. I just wish I could find 2 little matching sweeties like you have .. that would make this just about perfect ~

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  10. Wow! What an eyesore..I bet you're glad that it's gone and something beautiful is now in its place. It's a good thing you have such a hard-working husband because you're too busy taking beautiful photos ;-)

    Best,
    Tim

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  11. SO SO AWESOME!!!!

    (And those babies are just too beautiful for words!)

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  12. Great job just like all your projects!!!!have a great day and week

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  13. I love my Marvin windows too. I just wish they cam painted on the inside.

    I'm really loving my Limelights. They look great up against the gray house and are really standing up well to heat and drought. I'm thinking of ripping out the cottage garden and going much more simple. Larger masses of a fewer things that last longer than two weeks.

    It's great to see Mike painting the windows. At least we know he got to sit down for the few minutes!

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  14. You are blessed,that is for sure.

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  15. Looks beautiful! I think you get such a bang for your buck with hydregenas! Love them!

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  16. Beautiful!!: Big Kudos to hubby who is so talented and who works your "to-do list"!!! Sheree

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  17. Thanks for answering my question about your windows. That Resources section on the right side of your blog is a great idea!
    Claudia

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  18. I JUST LUV MY HYDRANGEAS ALSO, I HAVE THEM ALL OVER THE PLACE & IT SEEMS THE MORE I CUT THE BETTER THEY GROW & SPREAD.

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  19. Yikes concrete slab. The things we do to our husbands. Rob has taken a shovel and hit the sound of tin many times while I've looked the other way and he has given me a look like "really? are you hearing this?"
    Oh well, we are lucky gals. Beautiful photos.
    xoxo
    Lisa

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  20. Such beautiful posts! If you find that the Limelight hydrangeas continue to grow too large, you might want to transplant them and replace with the dwarf Little Lime variety. I just planted some this year and they are now changing from the soft green color that gives them their name to a pink fall hue.

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  21. I have mopheads they were gorgeous
    in the spring but the heat really got to them now its time to prune them as well. Your home and garden are so lovely.

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  22. How fortunate you are to get all those "honey-do" lists done. I love hydrangeas best of all.

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  23. You are so lucky to be able to grow such beautiful Hydrangea's. They can be tricky to grow in Alberta Canada. We are a zone 3 and in certain micro climates in a yard you can have zone 4 plants survive. I have a huge Annabel Hydrangea in my front yard, but would love to be able to grow one with a color flower as well. I have experimented with a few different kinds. So far the limelight came back this year but is still quite small, There seems to be new varieties each year that say they are good to zone 4. I always have to buy them to test if they will work.

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  24. Congrats on turning "ugly" into "beautiful". I'm planning a new hydrangea garden myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  25. Ahhh, the "infamous" to-do list!!! or lists! Dan's been very excited that since we purchased iphones I can simply email him his to-do list :):) not!!! This is so something that would be on Dan's list too (sweet husbands) and if said like it's a simple little job I find the husband appreciates that too!!
    Love the post and love the Endless Summer. I bought one last month as Dan really loves the blue and I thought this one has such a beautiuful hue. Damn thing is blooming pink- I'm so annoyed. In fact it's on my "list" for today;) to see if I can find the one that was blooming at Home Depot. Of course I didn't buy that one, chosing the larger one that said Endless Summer instead.... lesson learned.
    Hope Mike knows how much he is revered in blogland (and probably hated as the wife constantly shows her husband all the things Mike does around the house!!!:)
    Love this photo of the sweetpeas!
    xoj.

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  26. Your hydrangea's look beautiful. I have hydrangea's in my garden too and they bloomed so beautifully and full this year.

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  27. dear trina... when we have to go thru all of that to plant "endless summer" (i love and have in my yard as well)
    it is so worth it... even more than if the soil were perfect and you just dropped them in... years of chuckles and relief of beauty now ahead!

    and the bundles??? beyond PRECIOUS..... xoxoxox

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  28. The day the oil tank went away (we went with geothermal) was a very good day. I haven't tackled plantings for that spot yet, but have plans to extend the flower bed. It's a shady spot, so hydrangeas might be a good choice. Fortunately, our tank was just on patio slabs, so no loud and heavy machinery required!

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  29. Hi,
    Quick question: do you leave the white wicker chairs outside all season? How are they holding up? Thanks!

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  30. what a great 'this old house' progression. the limelights look surreal.......just lovely
    debra

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  31. they so belong in that corner..lovely
    Bec x

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  32. Hi Tracy,
    They have held extremely well. We store them in the basement from fall through late spring so they're only out during the summer months. They've been great.
    Trina

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  33. Wow that is a dramatic improvement. Hydrangeas do really well here in Ireland. Lots of people in Connemara have them planted as centerpieces in their front yard, they grow about 6 feet tall and 8 feet around!

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  34. Who knew planting hydrangeas could be so hard! I have started becoming a list person over the last few years--I don't know how I ever got along without making them before. Your limelights are beautiful--I just planted some this year and hope they look like yours in the coming years.

    -Lane

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  35. I so wish I could plant hydrangeas some where in my yard, unfortunately, we don't really have a shady spot, plus it's just so hot here in Texas. I think I will have to move to another state so that I can have a garden full of hydrangeas, I just have to sell that to my husband ;). LOVE your yard.

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  36. You have a very beautiful garden here and I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to link in with some photos...either current or past (during the dormant seasons) to Flaunt Your Flowers on Friday with me. Many absolutely gorgeous gardens participate in this party, and yours would be a welcome visit for them all to make!
    I have enjoyed my visit here today...happy gardening!
    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
    ¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

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  37. Love your hydrangeas. I dont think they would grow here!

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  38. Lovely pictures, I have pink hydrangeas by the front of the house and I love them.

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  39. I love before/after stories. Really enjoyed this:) Whose growing faster, the babies or the blooms?

    Keep sharing. It inspires us!

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  40. Good work! Hydrangeas are so satisfyingly fantastic.

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Thank you for leaving your thoughts. Kind regards, Catherine

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