Dwarf French Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia')

Dwarf French Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia'
(hy-DRAIN-juh) (mak-roh-FIL-uh)
Hydrangeaceae (hy-drain-jee-AY-see-ay)
Synonyms: 'Piamina', 'Comet', 'Winning Edge', 'Pink Elf’

This is from the Brooklyn Botanical Hydrangea collection. The collection itself wasn’t that big nut it had some interesting members. I hadn’t seen this dwarf before and I thought the flower color was outstanding. Some research revealed some problems with this plant including reverting to a tall type and leaf spot. I still would try anyway as the size and color make it look like a worthwhile garden denizen.





This Variegated Hydrangea was marked ‘Lemon Wave’ but it wasn’t as yellow as some of them I have seen. I liked the flower color which was a nice pale lavender. The little splotches of yellow on the teeth of the leaves was interesting. You might miss it if you didn’t look closely. The plant itself was also compact.



This is a shot of the Lotus Pool. The pool and the garden surrounding it was my favorite part of the garden. I shot this with my Point and shoot camera. It is a
Nikon Coolpix E8400.



I hadn’t had it out in awhile but Karen was using her D80. I have the 8400 set to a 3:2 aspect ratio (instead of it’s normal 4:3) which I like a lot better.

Pink Elf Hydrangea and Bubblegum Petunias

Dwarf Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia'
(hy-DRAIN-juh) (mak-roh-FIL-uh)
Synonym: 'Pink Elf’
Today’s Flowers

After seeing this Hydrangea at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and posting about it here I decided to try a couple in the new garden we installed last year. It made it through the winter and is now in full bloom. There are a couple of things I like about ‘Pia’ including its small stature and flower color. The garden is full of blue Hydrangea so it a nice contrast to have a few pink ones. They are planted in front of some blue ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangeas and they look good together.


Hybrid Petunia
Petunia 'Supertunia Vista Bubblegum'
(peh-TEWN-ya)

A lot of our Petunias got either too wet or eaten by the slugs this year. However, this variety has been outstanding. It has just been a carpet of color and is vigorously spreading. I wished I had just used these instead of some of the other types of Petunias. Proven Winners introduced this Petunia in 2005 and I have the feeling it is going to be around a long time. The other Supertunias have been doing okay but not like ‘Bubblegum’.

For more flower pictures from around the world check out:
Today’s Flowers . The links open at 1400 GMT.

Pink Beauty Hybrid Hydrangea

Pink Beauty Hybrid Hydrangea
Hydrangea 'Preziosa'
(hy-DRAIN-juh)
Synonyms: Mophead Hydrangea

The color on this Mophead was unusual to say the least. It was a very elegant pink. I have not been growing this one but it seems like it would be a classy plant to have in the garden. One garden that I supervise has about 50 Hydrangea but most are the traditional blue type but the Dwarf Pink (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia') we planted a couple of year ago have done fabulous. They are an interesting foil to all the blue ones.

Today I am doing something I hardly ever do and that is go to some of NYC’s outer boroughs for a few pictures. It’s going to be a public transportation type of day. Check back to see pictures of my journey.