You Want This Plant: 'Lady in Red' Hydrangea

As an added benefit of scouting nurseries, I get to really study cultivar differences within plant species. For example, over the course of a year, I see hydrangeas grown at nurseries and landscapes at many locations in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Over a month, I may examine twelve "crops" of Hydrangeas at twelve different nurseries.
What has been fascinating about this for me is noticing the differences in vigor, disease resistance and flowering is very consistant from nursery to nursery. So even with the variables of soil, fertilizer, irrigation and hardiness zones, certain cultivars always outperform the others. This is not just true for Hydrangeas- I see this in Camellias, Hostas, Roses and all of the other species we favor with wide cultivar selections.
Of the Hydrangeas, there is one cultivar that has been terribly overlooked by gardeners and landscape designers. I think that it never took hold because consumers have come to associate Hydrangeas with blue, volleyball-sized mopheads. 'Lady in Red' does not satisfy that description.
Introduced by Dr. Michael Dirr from the Department of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, Hydrangea macrophylla 'Lady in Red' has many qualities that make it unique and superior to many Hydrangeas on the market.
DISEASE RESISTANCE: Most Hydrangeas are susceptible to Powdery Mildew and leaf spots caused by Colletotrichum and Cercospora. These diseases not only impact the aesthetics of the plants, but also the overall vigor. Plants that become infected with these diseases tend to lose their leaves earlier in the season and have reduced flower size (over time).
'Lady in Red' is resistant to Powdery Mildew. If a 'Lady in Red' Hydrangea is growing in the center of a group of Powdery Mildew-laden Hydrangeas (let's say 'Claudie' which is one of the worst), it will not get diseased. The same holds true for the leaf spots.The foliage alone is reason to grow this plant.
FORM: The stems, which are a gorgeous wine-red, are sturdy and upright. This plant does not flop and fall apart like some of the traditional mopheads. The flowers are smaller, so they do not pull the stems down to the ground.That being said, understand that 'Lady in Red' does not have the LARGE flowers like a blue mophead. And I just know that this is the reason it did not become the blockbuster that 'Endless Summer' has become. We are not a nation of subtleties.
USE IN THE LANDSCAPE: 'Lady in Red' should not be planted alone. This plant is going to be most effective when planted en masse. Trust me on this. Just looking at this pictures taken at a North Carolina nursery (Fair View Nursery) and you see what I mean. You really want five or ten to really make an impact.
And these pictures were taken in late October! Just look at that strong foliage; Hydrangeas are usually slowing down and turning yellow by this time of year. (The fall coloration on this cultivar is a deep, velvety reddish-purple. Divine.)I could see this plant growing in front of a thick evergreen screen or planted near the foundation of a grey or stone building. Plant a large sweep of Black-eyed Susans or 'Autumn Joy' Sedum in front of the 'Lady in Red' Hydrangeas and I think it would be really impressive.
It is time to re-examine this cultivar.
I think it is a shame that it is not used more in the industry because it has all of the qualities we tell breeders we want: compactness, multi-season interest, flower, disease resistance. Fact is, if it wasn't a Hydrangea, we would all be using it. We've just got an image in our heads of what a Hydrangea is supposed to look like.....and 'Lady in Red' doesn't fit that image.
Love, love, love this plant. And you should, too.

Angels and a Cannon in Utterby

Lift up your eyes in St Andrew's Church, Utterby and you are in for a wonderful treat...

...a host of heavenly angels.



They are paper angels and were made by Martin Pidgen.



He is so talented.



Each angel has a different face, different hairstyle.



I couldn't help but wonder whether they were based on people or children he knows.

They are individually beautiful, but collectively amazing and fit so well into the church. He made them for Christmas, however, I hope they remain for a long time.

Over the years Martin has made lots of different sculpture groups - a group of carol singers, Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, Pocahontas and John Smith, Unsung Heroes, What the Dickens, to name a few. His artwork has also been displayed in Lincoln Cathedral, as well as other local churches.

He makes them up as he goes along - not following any design simply feeling his way with them, finding what works.

Outside St Andrew's the remains of the medieval cross can be seen...now just a three tier plinth. Quite unremarkable, you may think. But the story of the missing cross is quite interesting.

Local history says that this cross was knocked off its base by a misdirected cannon ball which was fired from the vicinity of the packhorse bridge (which I posted about here) by Cromwellian troops. The target, Utterby Manor, which lies directly opposite the church, was the home of a Royalist sympathiser.

Here is a little glimpse of the Manor house; opposite the church and less than a hundred yards from the pack horse bridge.

A Long, Long Time Ago...

One time, way back when I was in college, I moved all my stuff out of my boyfriend's house while he was away at work one day.
And I didn't tell him where I'd gone.
I'd caught him making out at a party the weekend before, with a girl who had both nipples pierced. When I approached them in the yard, at the party, he asked her to lift her shirt for me. So I could see that both nipples were pierced.
That summer, he'd been working at Nordstroms in men's suits. She'd been working across the aisle at the cosmetics counter doing makeovers.
I'd been upstairs working at J.Crew as head cashier.

So I left.
I moved into a house, up in the hills with a gigantic backyard in the eucalyptus trees, with three guys. One had his weiner pierced, one was an artist with a pet rabbit and a turtle and one was still in school majoring in philosophy. And after a few weeks we decided that we all got along ok enough that we'd make a go at having a garden out back.
And maybe make a few bucks while we were at it. Because my new $6 an hour job at the local latte' shop just wasn't cuttin' it.
So we planted our garden in the back yard. We watered the garden. We sprayed their little leaves and we sheltered them. We named them. We transplanted each plant into it's own pot. We fed them perfectly mixed nutrients and we waited and hoped while they grew.
And then one day while I was alone, there was a knock on the front door. And there were three men in utility suits standing on our front porch.

There's a sewer line on the top right side of your yard and we need to do some maintenance, they told me. We're letting you know that we're going up into your yard.
And before I could stop them, they'd walked around to the side of the yard and were proceeding up the side stairs straight into the plant area.
I went back into the house and opened the sliding glass door to the yard and let our two large and threatening dogs out into the back yard. And then they laid down on the patio to watch the festivities and lick each other.
And then I walked out to the side yard to greet the utility men while they walked through all of our "potted" plants. I stood in the middle of our carefully manicured forest while they made their way through them, looking around in wonderment.
And as the last of the three men passed by me, he pulled his sunglasses down to the edge of his nose to look me directly in the eye and he smiled big at me.
As they climbed our hill, I stood there, with my arms folded. And when they got to the top, they called down to me and waved and pointed to the sewer area as if to say, see, there really is a sewer line here. And then they lifted the cover and chatted a little and placed it back and chatted some more and then left down the side of the house still chatting.
And then I went inside and locked all the doors and smoked a bowl.
By the time my roommates starting returning a few hours later, from their daily activities, I'd already pulled every single one of our "plants" into the house to safety.
And then I sort of forgot about what happened and made myself a liverwurst sandwich and sat down to watch Welcome Back Kotter, when the first roommate arrived home.
What the fuck he said. Yeah, what the fuck I said.
And then we made the executive decision to shred them all, with the exception of keeping two each. With that, we reasoned - as we statistically evaluated the probability of at least 1/3 of the plants actually being female, we'd still have something in the end.
So we did. And we ended up with better statistics than the 30% ratio we'd predicted. And then I bought myself a neat little old red karman ghia.

And then one day on the way to my new job of selling flowers, I got out of my newly purchased karman ghia with my new boyfriend and ran into my old boyfriend. And I said hello to him and introduced him to my new boyfriend Jeremy, the one with the pierced weiner.

Where streamlets meander

Ozzie's Turn

Ozzie here! FINALLY! I take ballet lessons from a neighbor two doors up. When I do good, I get a shrimp!
Now, as every kitty knows, after a meal of shrimp, it behooves one to administer a self-spa treatment.
First, examine nails and paws. Turn up the stereo. Next, check out tail and tummy. Bathe scrupulously.
Ahhhhhhhh. Now demand dinner from the peeps. And keep that golden sis away from your supper dish - hisssssssssssssss. (Ask her if she can perform a grand jette!)

Reunion and a Bike Ride

Didn't do much in the morning. Breakfast buffet at the hotel with army buddies. Visited in the hospitality room. Today was the day the most folks are arriving.

HAD to get out for a bike ride. Headed to Boulder City to ride per bike shop suggested. Had some problems getting out of the Strip are - which streets go through, or goes under/over the strip and I-15. When I got to Boulder City had to stop at a gas station for direction to the bike trail parking.

Where I parked, I could ride down hill as far as I could see or up hill (where I could see for about 1/2 mile). Started down hill to see how steep the hill is. Steeper than it looks.

Decided to turn around and ride up. Did not want to ride up hill at the end of the ride to get back to the car. Topped the hill at about 1.5 miles from the car. Could have ridden on down the a casino - but did not want to climb back up. Photo above was taken while riding back downhill to the car. Interesting mile markers on the trail.

With a little research, I found out the trail I was on was the River Mountains Loop Trail. From the mile marker, I a thinking the mile 0 was at the Casino at Railroad Pass.

Guessing the hill was 4-7% grade. Most at or above the grade across the Bob Bridge (at max 4.9%). Legs were tired by the time i finished.

Back at the hospitality room for a whole. Looking for food. Buffet was $17 and more food than I wanted. Same with the pub in the hotel. Checked another restaurant on the strip - almost as much $$ than the buffet. Ended up at Denny's - chick-fried steak, fries, and salad. Just about that I needed.

More of the group arrived. Visited for a while. All were getting tired - early "get-up" to shoot the golf tournament.

Return of the prodigal

I have returned from New Zealand after an amazing tour of the North Island. I thought I had seen everything on the South Island, but the North managed to produce vistas and scenery that was so different that it was difficult to believe I had returned to the same country. Those who haven't been to New Zealand really should make a point of visiting, as it is truly an amazing country. I took a lot of pictures, so it will probably take a while to get them all uploaded (I still haven't finished writing the narrative).
In the meantime, I have returned to insufferable heat, but at least my usual riding patch is still looking green after some apparently fierce thunderstorms while I was away. One of the things about being away for a while is that I always come home and want to catch up on my local rides, having done none of them for a few weeks (months in some cases). My body also craves endorphins on a regular basis, having just cycled over 1,800km in three weeks. Keeping those under control wasn't helped by receiving the Audax calendar for the upcoming year recently. I also have plenty of places to explore in the Mt Jerusalem National Park to the south.
Too much riding to do and too little time.