IN THE FIELD: One Last Hurrah
Back in August I wrote a post about one of our Limelight Hydrangea bushes that was struggling to stay alive during the summer heat wave. After some nurturing from us and much needed rain, it bounced back with full vim and vigor.
When these flowers first open in late spring, the flower petals are pale green. Later in the summer, they change to a creamy white. And in the autumn season, the flowers turn a vivid pinkish tone, then fade to a light tan as the colder weather approaches. These are wonderful shrubs for the landscape and offer four season appeal. They do grow quickly but are easily managed, by trimming them back in the spring.
The flower heads are quite resilient to heavy weather and most of them will remain on the bushes throughout the winter. Rather than trim off the flower heads after they dry, we like leave them on the bush for some winter visual interest.
I took this photo late in the morning a few weeks ago. I used a tripod, electronic cable release, and the camera settings were f5.6 @ 1/125th.
Nice capture. Going to miss flowers
Thanks T, It’s time for all of us to dig through the archives for florals…or head to the local greenhouse!
Oh this is a very pretty color.. And details are just wonderful!
Thanks Nandini, I think I caught this bloom at just the right time, we’ve had some nightly temperatures below freezing and the blooms have faded.
Excellent photograph… Thank you dear David, love, nia
Thanks Nia, it was a pretty morning that day and the light was wonderful.
Great composition: colour, repetiton of shapes, DOF, rule of thirds! Now that the weather has changed, a welcome respite from the present dullness.
WOW! Thanks Jane for the wonderful kudos!!!! I’m due for a venture over to the greenhouses to brighten things up. I wonder what they have blooming…hmmmmmm
Great idea! A nice respite from all the white and grey that I am experiencing-snowing the last 3 days, but beautiful!
The colors are absolutely brilliant, David! Vibrant colors like these are very much welcomed this late in the Fall.
The light was beautiful that morning….I’ll see what I can due about more color to brighten things up!
This is beautiful – I love the subtle colouring. Lovely lighting, too!
Thank you Jo, there was a very light breeze that morning and when it would calm down, the sunlight would peek through the tree leaves above me, and allow just enough to brighten the flower head.
How pretty, and how late in the year it is blooming!
I really like these shrubs…the blooms last for months and change color for added interest. Sadly, they have begun to fade to tan and light brown due to the cooler temps. We do have two others that are sheltered more and still have some color. Maybe this weekend when it warms up a bit I can get a few more shots
Very pretty – and a welcome colourful sight!
With all the storms we have been having lately the color was short-lived this year. But, there is always next season!
I’m with you about leaving the flowers on the bush. Love the color!
We’ll leave the flower heads on till the spring…although by late winter there won’t be to many left. We basically live in a wind tunnel here and find them all over the yard LOL.
There are not much left of mine from all the Nor’easter’s that we get during the winter either.
Lovely capture! These last two days have felt like winter. We got pounded with snow!
Thanks Fergie, a little bit of fall color before it’s gone till next year. I did see that you guys got a huge amount of snow. I wonder if that is a hint of what’s coming later…
Wow, this is a Limelight? I had no idea they changed color like that. Fantastic!
We fell in love with this variety…planted three in one of the front beds and three others in the bed alongside the driveway. This year they changed color more than ever before!
Dazzling!
They sure are pretty…during ALL four seasons!
wonderful plant! I bet it makes you smile everytime you look at it
It sure does! The flower heads have all dried and are crispy, but they are still enjoyable to look at. They will hold out through the winter till spring.