The Oakleaf hydrangeas in Diane LaSauce's central Virginia garden are enjoying the December sunshine!
"I may be nostalgic about spring, yet I am still grooving on my Oakleaf hydrangeas. Drop dead hues play in December's sunlight. I cannot remember a finer year of display, and these specimens are open pollinated!"
Have a garden you'd like to share? Please email 5-10 photos (and a brief story about your garden) to [email protected], or tag your photos on Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Whether you've never shared before or you've been featured multiple times, we want to see your garden! You don't have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here!
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
Beautiful colors, makes me yearn for spring!
Rhonda, I am sighing a breath of relief for the few months of reprieve from the vigorous growth season (and biting insects) of central VA. The warm temps this month have coaxed many of my heirloom daffs out of the ground. Too early, too early I cry! We and our gardens require a dormant season...in order to flourish!
Once upon a time (in a galaxy far, far away), I didn't get the appeal of oakleaf hydrangeas...boy, are those days over. These beautiful pictures of yours, Diane, only reinforce why I now happily ride the oakleaf hydrangea train. I love the naturally occurring ones that are volunteers in my garden and I love the named cultivars which I have started to buy just to see how they are different from the ones that reseed. Your photos are wondrous.
Thank you for your kind words Meander. Until this year, the hydrangeas here were just so, so. So happy to capture their true essence during this month's warm, sunny snap.
Amazing photography and amazing subject to photograph. Love the beauty of Oakleaf Hydrangea. Vikki in VA
Thank you VikkiB.
Beautiful colors these oakleaf hydrangeas put out. This is a wonderful plant! Thanks Diane!
Diane!! Very nice study/portfolio of a single subject! Your photography has got this shutterbug-wanna-be thinking into new directions!! That light hitting those leaves and textures is magical! Glad you captured those beams and really glad you shared your trophies!!!
Thank you Jesse. I prefer natural light, as it is most potent, especially where intense hues are the topic.
It has been an excellent year for fall colour, as your gorgeous photos confirm, Diane. Thank you! I really cannot understand why I have never added this hydrangea to my collection. Now that will change.
Good news GrannyMay, the photos here are offspring of the mother. One of the six was especially outstanding this year. I could send seed if you like...Diane
Thanks, Diane. That is so thoughtful and generous of you! I'm old enough that I'd better start with a shrub rather than seeds if I ever want to see the blooms. Not that I'm intending to depart this earth anytime soon, but I might have to depart from my garden sooner than I'd like. Merry Christmas to you and all the GPOD readers!
You would be surprised, May (or, at least I was) at how quickly the self seeders grow. The first year, it is only one stem but then the second year, it seems it becomes a flowering bush. However, I couldn't resist buying two of the named 'Ruby Slippers' this past fall because they were such nice well branched plants. Ha, so I'm not immune to wanting instant gratification.
I should heed your advice, Michaelle, especially since I am looking forward to a seed delivery from you in the spring. Part of my new reluctance to start plants from seeds is that I now forget what I have planted unless I can see it! I'm hoping that the Pink Muhly Grass performance will outstrip my impatience.
I am so rooting for muhly seed germination of epic proportions for all my gpod fellow gardeners. Looking forward to being the "Johnny Appleseed" of muhly grass
LOL, these really grow fast!
Diane, I'm grooving on your H. quercifolia, too. Great shots and amazing color. Some of mine colored to the deepest burgundy black this year, and straight into a vase they went. Beautiful outside, super for a late fall/early winter arrangement indoors.
I went back again to see your spring photos from last week. Did you actually see that? It looks like only Michaele and I commented on it. An email did not go out and they are fabulous photos. Cheers.
https://www.finegardening.com/dianes-favorite-spring-blooms?tid=99
Tim,
Thanx for posting the link to the spring pix. I, apparently like so many, didn't receive that posting for some reason. Better late than never, however! Thanx for watching out for us!!
I'm both obsessive AND compulsive! :)
I KNOWED there wuz a reason I liked ya!!!
Hope this Holiday finds you with as many warm smiles, bright bouts of laughter and true feelings of Good Will as you can stand....and then just a smidgeon more for good measure!!
;-)
Thanks Jesse. Yes, Tim does watch out for us!
Tim, Yes, I wondered why that group of photos only appeared on FB. Many FG readers missed that post. Thank you for providing the link here...
I never thought to cut and bring indoors the H. quercifolia. I confess, I only have two houseplants...an ancient cactus and a scrawny vine of some sort, both I ignore for the most part. The symphony occurs outdoors from early March through December, and when I am not on my knees weeding, I am capturing images. I did press leaves of the Oakleaf and blueberry this month, as the vibrant colors had to be preserved to be believed.
Thank you for your kind comments. Photography, the garden, and local landscapes here in central VA keep me inspired. Have you checked out my garden blog at http://dianelasauce.wordpress.com?
Thanks for the reminder about your blog, Diane. It's been a while since I visited. So much cool stuff, so little time!
If I don't count my overwintering plants, I don't really have houseplants, either: a bonsai, some Tillandsia and some orchids. Here's a photo of the arrangement with the hydrangea leaves. I don't do many arrangements, either, because I don't like cutting things from the gardens, but I cut back my oakleafs, anyway. Hope you have a great holiday!
Wow Tim, I am really impressed with your indoor arrangement. Thanks for sharing! When I lived in DC, I joined the Bonsai Club at the Botanic Gardens and had a ball. My Japanese maple (bonsai) passed some years ago, and only my special pruning tools remain. I plan to use one to get at that five-trunked crape myrtle (Natchez) this winter. If I can get a ladder to hold still, the entire canopy needs a thorough cleaning out! Work is never done for this VA gardener. And thanks Tim, for joining my blog.
Wow Tim - this is gorgeous!
Thanks, Shirley. It lasted a long time. Surprisingly, those Miscanthus seed heads opened up, but never fell apart. Have a wonderful holiday!
Gorgeous vibrant colors, Diane, and beautiful photography. I am glad you are having good weather. Here in the PNW, it is officially winter - 15 feet of snow in the mountains and more coming. I am so glad I have no need to go over the pass to Eastern WA. We had a snow shower yesterday down here in the lowlands, but it was too warm to last, temp in the 30s.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Thank you for your kind words Shirley. Photography has always been a hobby, and having a garden offers endless image opportunities.
I lived in SW Portland and Lake Oswego in the early '70's and thoroughly enjoyed that experience. Learning to ski on Mt Hood, climbing Mt St Helens, and strolling the Oregon coast will always have a special place in my heart.
Enjoy your dormant season!
Late to the game but hopefully Discus will deliver. I love my Ruby Slippers, Alice, Snowflake, and Sikes Dwarf oak leaf hydrangeas! Certainly one of their best features is how long they hold onto their leaves! I love the color and texture your photos captured. I am impressed that Fine Gardening posted such nice photography. Your last photo reminds me of a painting. Really beautiful.
Thank you MD. The best part of gardening for me is photography. Having the ability to capture plants in their true splendor eases the pain of seeing them wane. Enjoy more of my photos on my garden blog at http://dianelasauce.wordpress.com
Happy Holidays!
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in