The 2013 Tin Roof Gardens Hydrangea Edition, Part 1

Our hydrangeas were amazing this year due to mild temperatures and lots of rain. We had so many blooms I decided to break the 2013 Edition into 5 parts. Above is the classic native American Quercifolia or Oak Leaf Hydrangea.

Another large foot long Quercifolia flower. The blooms are lightly fragrant and draw an unusual fly that we only see when they are in bloom. I'll try to identify it next year.

Our stand of Oak Leaf Hydrangea Alice bloomed beautifully this season.  The leaves of Alice are much larger and the flowers are short and thick. This plant is very different from the standard Quercifolia above. It's named after Alice Richards, a graduate research technician in the University of Georgia’s famed horticulture department by Dr. Michael Dirr.

This is a series of small Oak Leaf Hydrangea Alice blooms. 

As you can see, the Oak Leaf Alice blooms are large and stocky.

Another Oak Leaf Alice.

A closeup of the fuzzy Oak Leaf Alice bloom.

This is an odd Oak Leaf Alice bloom with different size petals. It reminded me of snowflakes.

This is Hydrangea paniculata White Moth starting to bloom. White Moth's blooms are the longest lasting of any hydrangea in our garden. They turn dark pink in the fall. 

Another series of White Moth.

Hydrangea Macrophylla Libelle is an uncommon variety that we found at an Amish garden center. The lacecap flowers are quite large (about 6 inches) and seem over-sized for the plant.

A Libelle closeup.

Hydrangea Macrophylla Regula is a German import. It started out pure white and then turned a very light pink blush.

Schizophragma hydrangeoides Moonlight is a Japanese climbing variety. This is its third season in the ground and it finally bloomed. Its now sending out 2 foot shoots and is climbing up the tree. They take a few years to get acclimated to their location and then come alive. They say it prefers a shady location but this one gets blasted by afternoon sun and doesn't seem to care.

An early Schizophragma hydrangeoides Moonlight photo before it goes "full fuzz."

A nice group of pink Hydrangea Macrophylla Nikko Blue. I just realized that all of the image above were white flowers.