A Surprise Perennial....our White Cone Hydrangeas

When we moved back to Maryland after living in the Hudson Valley part of New York for four years, I had no idea how my garden would look.  We didn't believe we were coming back south, we thought we were New Yorker's now and we were staying put.  That's not what the Universe had planned for us.

Back in 2008 when we built our house near the United States Naval Academy, we didn't have a plan for our front garden or the back.  We had no plans other than two precious buns in the oven.  I was pregnant with twins and awaiting their arrival in the winter of 2009.  Actually my baby shower was planned and a fence installed.  Yes, yes I wanted a fence for the backyard!  Pronto, get on that!  In the winter I knew I would cherish the water views of the Naval Academy and the Severn River;  the river that pushes into the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.  On with nesting.

Those were the plans. Build the house, move in it, baby shower, put up fence, and nest.  The gardens were an afterthought.  We built the house to our specs and a friend of ours that knows landscaping helped us out by picking and planting the perennials.  He choose builder grade this and that.  It's sad I don't know the name of those this and that's because the green leaves turn a gorgeous red in the fall and this variety is quite hardy so it's a shame I don't know it's Latin name or even it's American origins!

A lovely addition to the side of our house!

The rest of whatever we might of planted were my solid go-to favorites: the hydrangea.  Ever since I saw the film "My Fair Lady" in my 20's I've been hooked on hydrangeas.  I remember thinking they look like snow cones and who doesn't like a snow cone!  Hydrangeas are gorgeous and those blue and purple blooms!  In the early stages of my pregnancy in May-June 2009 I remember choosing two hydrangeas, one for each baby.  They would bloom each year as a reminder to care tenderly for the plant, never water at night and nourish with special plant food (sounds a little like parenting a little one).  My special potion for the special plant: banana peels and coffee grinds in warm water, right out of a rinsed coffee pot.  I love it and they do too.  :)

What I didn't know those few years ago is that I choose the White Cone Hydrangea variety.  The interesting part about this choice was I don't remember doing it-pregnancy brain maybe?  I came back to our home in Maryland and saw two very different bushes when I arrived in January 2014.   I thought they were dead, gone, the roots growing under the front stoop, not salvageable-sad.  I wasn't sure what type of plant this was-there was no undergrowth or buds as we moved into Spring.  My husband and I decided to dig them up as the branches were running wild at the entryway-ouch!  We moved the two anonymous plants to the side of the house, added local Maryland compost (yeah!) and watered them lovingly.  We staked one and waited.

Thank goodness we didn't do away with these mighty ladies.  They are so sweet and add a freshness to the house that wasn't there before.  I cannot wait to see what they mature to as the years progress (if were still here!) Happy Gardening until then and just wait.