I’m not very proud of my garden now. We’ve had a lot of company this summer, the gophers have moved in, and we are still constructing a new addition to our house that will be a kind of garden room. Tree leaves are dusty, the tomatoes are diseased, and vegetables are past their prime.
So early this morning, in the mist, I took my camera in search of beauty. And, as usual, I found it. The mophead and lacecap hydrangea are in full bloom, the Shasta daisies are as “high as an elephant’s eye” (opps, that’s corn, isn’t it), roses are still blooming and the garden is full of wildlife and animal activity. I promise to share some of these sights in my garden blog in the next few weeks to honor the summer and natural beauty that surrounds us.
This morning, I was astonished with the delicacy of the lacecap hydrangea cultivars (H. macrophylla var. normalis) that are in full bloom. I have about six of these plants tucked in among some Japanese maples. They receive only morning sun and need shade in hotter climates. Lacecap hydrangea flowers have an inner ring of small, fertile flowers surrounded by an outer ring of large, showy flowers in pink, blue, or white. Growing 4 to 6 feet in height and width, lacecap hydrangea can be used as specimen plants, in mixed borders or in mass plantings.
I grew these lacecap hydrangeas from cuttings that I got at Hearst Castle. When we first moved to Cambria 10 years ago and lived in a rental while our home was being built, I volunteered at Hearst Castle once a week for a year where I pruned, watered, and got to know the grounds of the fascinating landscape. One of the perks at the end of the day, was taking home (with permission) some cuttings to propagate plants for my own garden. The lacecap hydrangeas are a result of those efforts.
The Hearst Castle is always looking for garden volunteers in the garden. I truly enjoyed my hours spent in the hills overlooking the ocean. If I didn’t have such a large garden of my own to maintain, I’d be up on the mountaintop this very day.
My garden may not have a castle in its center, but the lacecap clones growing outside my bathroom windows are a piece of borrowed beauty from the hilltop ranch.
Dear Author,
Would you be able to to send me some cuttings from your plant? Im also in California.
Because I got a few cuttings of these as a “thank you” as a “volunteer garden worker” at Hearst Castle, I’m sorry, I don’t give away or sell cuttings from these. They are pretty and delicate, and if you ever get the chance to go on a tour of the Hearst Castle garden, you’ll see them growing around the edges of the main terrace near the pond.