When we were in New Zealand I absolutely fell in love with the hydrangea bushes. They were massive and covered in colorful blooms. They were like weeds all along thesides of the roads. Well I came home and the next summer planted 2 out in our back in a shaded area that gets some sun. Lots of green leaves but no flowers. 3 years ago I bought one of the Endless Summer ones for the front flower bed and when it was put in it had flowers on it from the nursersy. 2 years ago no flowers - last year none. The bush has grown huge and what to my surprise but one very large flower bright pink on the left bottom side. I looked all around and found 2 small ones on the right bottom. I heard somewhere that it can take a few years after planting for it to start flowering again. Hopefully if I have 3 flowers this year maybe 4 or 5 next. What an optomist. We planted the carefree rose bushes and they are blooming well except the Japanese beetles are after the leaves. I am going to the nursery tomorrow and buy traps. My daughter did and she said within hours they had hundreds of beetles in the bag. We have 2 window boxes in front of our dining room window and this year I went with pale pink impatience with darker pink centers so they wouldn't clash with the roses (and the 1 big flower) but I think they are too pale. Here are a few pics.

This has not been a good gardening summer here. It has poured almost every second day and the temps are cool. One week of hot weather then down again. My flowers have rotted in the pots with too much rain and the ones in the ground are just not spreading out like they usually do. Well there is always another summer - we hope.