Maintaining My Hydrangea Shade Garden and Mini Tour of What It Looks Like in Spring

[@gardeningonthewestforkwith8994]

Spring is alive in your lovely yard!!

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thank you! We love this time of year!

[@quailhollow7955]

I am a huge ajuga fan too. Mine is purple, and I love your blue variety. The hydrangea garden is one of my favorite parts of your garden. It feels park like. So naturally beautiful. You and Ray did a fabulous job on that. Love the fountain planter. ❤️❤️❤️

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thanks so much Quail! We enjoy it so much : )

[@jeane561]

Nicole Everything is looking so good especially the creeping phlox. I really love that birdbath planter. It is gorgeous with the different colors and textures ❤️❤️❤️

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thanks Jean! I’m so happy with the fountain too and very surprised at how many years those plants have remained happy in so little soil, no fertilizers and just a thin layer of compost. The more I garden, the more I realize that it’s perfect drainage that plants love best.

[@melindamoore9449]

Love your planted fountain! The flocks are glorious. Everything looks wonderful! Lucky you 60 hydrangeas.

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thank you so much Melinda! I seem to have a hydrangea habit but they are so wonderful in a mostly shade garden.

[@d.wilbur5164]

Everything looks lovely! Being in Georgia, my azaleas have finished blooming already and my phantom hydrangeas are already more than six feet tall and look beautiful! My Annabelles are already covered in flowers. Such a great time for gardens. I have the same mower as you and love it! I too mulch my leaves with it although I don't use the bag attachment. I will definitely use it this year to spread the mulch where I want it. Have a wonderful weekend!

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Oh wow! Your garden sounds so lovely!! We had a cold spring so things are just beginning to get going now here in NJ. I also alternate between bagging and not, I try to grab all the last brown matter for my compost piles and beds before it's gone. I hope your weekend was good!

[@bluebirdhomestead]

I love that fountain cherry! It adds such pretty height to the space 😊

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thank you! We almost took it out because it was struggling but since the makeover of this garden it's really doing well and getting the added attention it needs.

[@bluebirdhomestead]

@@planttasticcookinggardenin1561 I am glad you kept it! 😊

[@evitaslittleparadise]

Hi Nicole! Everything looks beautiful. The fountain garden is gorgeous! I love azaleas and rhododendrons but they don't like our soil. I tried several times but they died. Have a wonderful weekend🙂

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thanks Evita! Sorry you can't grow Rhodos in your garden. I've tried Lady's Mantle 3 times and every time it dies on me...I guess we all have something lol.

[@marilynmourdock3688]

So pretty, especially the fountain garden! How did you alter the drainage to do that?

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Thank you Marilyn! We drilled several holes in the bottom tier of the fountain for drainage.

[@gardeningjunkie2267]

The cardboard is covered with mulch and breaks down, you shouldn't be able to see it at all. It works great for weed suppression. The first year I gardened, I put down weed barrier. I still find pieces every so often and the soil underneath it seems very compact and lifeless.

[@planttasticcookinggardenin1561]

Two reasons why that may have happened...one, if you leave the fabric down to long and two, if you don't put down compost and organic material underneath it before laying it down. I have never had an issue and my soil is definitely not lifeless. I tried cardboard once and hated it. You need so much mulch to hold it down and cover it in our windy climate and it's a pain to plant through. If I use paper, I only lay down 2 sheets of newspaper and that's all it takes to suppress my sod (see the mass grasses video). It's gone in 30 days. I know a lot of people like using it, different strokes for different folks! Thanks for sharing your methods!! : )