Little Lamb Hydrangea

 I have had a Little Lamb hydrangea planted for 3 years.  After the first rain when it has blooms it looks like this:

This happens every year.   In May I used Espoma plant food, hoping it would help to make more sturdy stems, but it has not helped.

 I really hate having to tie plants to keep them upright, but I went out today and did just that.

I would not recommend Proven Winners 'Little Lamb'.  Do any of you know the secret to growing Little Lamb?  I would LOVE some advice!

Whiskey Barrel Containers are Getting Humungous!

 

Everything is now blooming.  This one is at least 3 feet wide and over 5 feet tall.

This is my current favorite container on the deck:

The red canna bloom is almost the same color as my favorite new dahlia around the bottom.  The petite dahlia is called Pulp Fiction.  It only gets 10 to 12 inches tall.  I love the fiery red flowers with the dark foliage. The huge green leaves are calla lilies. They are yellow and have already finished their bloom.  I love that the green leaves last for weeks after the flower fades.

Here's a close up of Pulp Fiction (I got it from Breck's):

I changed the bicycle centerpiece to something very neat and tidy:

Stems of Sedum Autumn Joy still in their green stage and balls of golden marigolds.  I added a little sprigs of the blooms from my Japanese Bottlebrush shrub. This should look good for at least a week before the marigolds dry up.  The sedum will probably be fine for much longer.

A Few Shots of my Limelight Hydrangea in the Main garden

I believe that I planted this Limelight seven years ago.

Here is the view a few feet further back.

I think the speedwell in front is 'Sunny Border Blue", but I cannot remember for sure.  I removed an aggressive perennial behind the speedwell and have not yet found anything to substitute. I am leaning towards a big patch of pink coneflowers.   The tall poofy purple plant is phlox.

Deck Containers are Really Filling Out

 I call this one the Pelican Container. The Tropicanna Gold does not have a bloom yet, but those gorgeous striped leaves still gives me pleasure.

This is the first container you see when you step onto the deck.  This is the full corner planting:

Planting under the whirligig:

Same area viewed from the glider:

A couple more containers that I am enjoying on this beautiful August afternoon:

A few new deck container blooms

First canna lily

Natal dahlia (new this year)

American Dawn dahia is in the same big container as the Natal