I Love Hydrangea Pinky Winky
Name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Dvppinky’ aka Pinky Winky Hydrangea
Type of Plant: This is a very hardy shrub that flowers in mid-to-late summer and into fall. The large flowers are cone-shaped, a bit lacy and totally upright. A trouble free shrub that’s hardy in Zones 3-8.
Why I love This: Pinky Winky not only has flowers that are upright, but they turn pink from the bottom up. So for part of the flowering period the blooms are pink on the widest end, with white tips. I also like the fact that the branches are upright, making this a narrower shrub than many paniculata varieties. This is a wonderful plant for a mixed shrub border, privacy screen or the back of a flower garden.
A Word to the Wise: Don’t plant this in a place where you want a shrub to stay small. Yes, if flowers on new growth so you can prune it heavily in the spring if you need to. But it’s crazy to fight a plant’s genetics, and Pinky Winky’s genes are telling it to be 6 to 8 feet tall. Frankly, I suspect that it could grow a great deal larger and would ultimately grow wider as well.
Here you see my Pinky Winky on the left, next to the tall ‘Lemon Queen’ Helianthus. Another good companion for Pinky Winky is a purple-leaf Physocarpus such as Center Glow or Summer Wine.
A Garden Geek’s New Year’s Resolutions
I will only purchase the seeds that I absolutely need. (Fortunately, seed catalogs arrive or are available online in early December, so I’ve already placed several orders before this resolution will take effect.) I won’t stop at the garden center “just to see what’s...
Ordering American Grown Flowers
Did you know that the percentage of cut flowers sold in the USA aren't grown in the United States? More to the point, however, is the following question: did you know that you have the ability to order flowers that are American Grown? In many parts of this country you...
I Love Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Golden Mop’
Name: Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Golden Mop' aka Gold Mop cypress or gold mop false-cypress Type of Plant: An evergreen with golden, thread-like foliage that grows well in full sun or part-shade. Easy to grow in zones 5 through 7. Why I Love This: Color and texture 12...
Eggplant with Figs and Fennel
As I was planning a garden-to-table menu for the Winter Solstice I knew that I wanted to use roasted eggplant from the freezer, but I couldn't find a recipe that I felt worked well with the rest of the menu. So many eggplant recipes involve tomato sauce, and they just...
Celebrating The Seasons
In the rush and hype of Christmas and New Year's, the Winter Solstice gets left in the dust...or perhaps lost in the dark would be more appropriate wording. In the northern hemispheres, however, this is an important time as the days will begin to grow ever so slowly...
I Love Goldcrest Cypress
Name: Cupressus macrocarpa 'Goldcrest' aka Goldcrest cypress or lemon cypress Type of Plant: This is a dwarf evergreen in areas where it’s hardy – zone 7-9. It has a columnar growth habit and lime-green, fragrant foliage. In the Northeast this plant is sold as an...
A Gardener’s Letter To Santa
Dear Santa, It's been a great year in the garden...as I'm sure you've noticed, the beds have been filled with the usual mix of naughty (mugwort, bindweed and crabgrass) and nice. Especially good this year was the Anthriscus that has self-seeded in the shade garden,...
I Love Weigela ‘Rubidor’
Name: Weigela florida ‘Rubidor’ Type of Plant: A shrub that’s hardy in zones 5-9 that brings a large dose of “POW” to the garden. This variety of an old fashioned shrub has brilliant yellow leaves, bright pink (some say rose red) flowers, and a fairly large,...
Newsletter Signup
Order Cocktail Hour Garden
Order Coffee For Roses from Amazon
