First of all, thank you to everyone for the informative replies! Much appreciated! @MontysGal someone up my street has a row of exquisite hydrangeas in pots but the only hydrangeas I could see for sale locally were the usual (massive eventually!) varieties, so it's good to hear pots are working for you, too.
@Fairygirl , here is the tiny little front garden. It has been entirely neglected for about fifty years - the old man in charge strimmed the hedge and the "lawn", but as you can see, the space itself is a riot of weeds. The back garden was much worse ( dense brambles throughout, with nettles, bindweed everywhere) and taming that and making it beautiful have been my focus to date.
Now I want to make the front nice. I went though and removed a load of weeds, prickles and nettles a few times, but have never had a serious stab at improving it. There are nettles and whatnot all through the hedge ,but I can't remove the hedge as the old man is still alive and likes to come and see it- wouldn't want to hurt him.
The front wall of the house there is north facing and that tiny weedy bed under the window gets no direct sunlight.
The front corner of the garden where the two sides of the hedge L meet does get some late morning sun. The sunshine I think starts at about halfway down the lawn. I had toyed with the idea of putting a rose, hydrangea or other bush right in the centre of the grass but really the lawn isn't big enough for that.
I had thought about putting a hydrangea in the corner where house meets hedge, or possibly in pots on the concreted area under the window.
Any suggestions welcome. My heart/mind are occupied by my flowers in the back garden- but I'd like the front to look pretty. (The window will be done up by my husband during his upcoming leave.)
Hi @sarinka. If that was my plot, I'd take away that strip of grass [which would square it off with the bit on the left] and pick a nice hydrangea for there. Even if it overhangs the path and the grass a little, it wouldn't be a huge problem, and you can use a little support on the grass side. I do that with the one I have in the front garden and you don't see it, but it saves chopping flowers off when mowing. The other advantage is that you would be able to see it quite well from the window, so it would be a nice feature. You would still have enough access along the path for window maintenance too, which is important, even if just for cleaning them. The corner is very small, and with the hedge there, window access is already tricky, but you could always have bulbs/perennials there which wouldn't encroach too much.
Despite what others say, that isn't suitable for a hydrangea in my opinion. However, it isn't my garden, so it's down to personal choice
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hello @Fairygirl, sorry for the belated reply- I don't have the hang of the notifications on this site, if there are any. Thank you for your comments. x
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Thank you to @Papi Jo @Marlorena @amancalledgeorge @edhelka for the suggestions- all beautiful bushes, and interesting info about the species.
@Fairygirl it's hard to advise when I haven't shown you the space. Sorry! I am going to try to post some pictures now.
Now I want to make the front nice. I went though and removed a load of weeds, prickles and nettles a few times, but have never had a serious stab at improving it. There are nettles and whatnot all through the hedge ,but I can't remove the hedge as the old man is still alive and likes to come and see it- wouldn't want to hurt him.
The front wall of the house there is north facing and that tiny weedy bed under the window gets no direct sunlight.
The front corner of the garden where the two sides of the hedge L meet does get some late morning sun. The sunshine I think starts at about halfway down the lawn. I had toyed with the idea of putting a rose, hydrangea or other bush right in the centre of the grass but really the lawn isn't big enough for that.
I had thought about putting a hydrangea in the corner where house meets hedge, or possibly in pots on the concreted area under the window.
Any suggestions welcome. My heart/mind are occupied by my flowers in the back garden- but I'd like the front to look pretty. (The window will be done up by my husband during his upcoming leave.)
You would still have enough access along the path for window maintenance too, which is important, even if just for cleaning them.
The corner is very small, and with the hedge there, window access is already tricky, but you could always have bulbs/perennials there which wouldn't encroach too much.
Despite what others say, that isn't suitable for a hydrangea in my opinion. However, it isn't my garden, so it's down to personal choice
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Looking at all the hydrangeas available, the one most capturing my fancy is the slightly frivolous and non-dwarf variety "Hot chocolate" (https://www.sarahraven.com/flowers/plants/cut-flower-seedlings/hydrangea-aspera-hot-chocolate.htm?gclid=CjwKCAjwkdL6BRAREiwA-kiczO3KlOK5HlfF8-XvRJsQsdBSHjgV4Jjfva0YMPYU5eyT_H4oh0iRkhoCQ6QQAvD_BwE )
which I am mulling over a spot for somewhere in the back garden.