Tall or short, red, pink, purple, blue, white and shades in between, few shrubs provide the versatility of hydrangeas. Generations of gardeners have loved and designed their gardens using these showy shrubs as summer privacy screens, landscape focal points and beautiful cut flowers. Now, thanks to new hydrangea introductions, there are even more ways to use them.

Discover the Newest Hydrangeas

New types of hydrangeas are being introduced every year, and these showstoppers are fast favorites among both experienced hydrangea aficionados as well as newcomers to the hydrangea craze.

• ‘Endless Summer’
  Termed “the best new flowering shrub of the decade” by some gardeners, this cultivar has gained a reputation as the first “reblooming” hydrangea. Blooming from early summer to first frost on both new and old wood, it is unfazed by high heat or extreme cold. Now gardeners in colder microclimates can grow beautiful low maintenance 3-5’ tall and wide hydrangeas. The 8″ diameter mophead balls of light blue or pink flowers bloom the entire summer.

• ‘Bloomstruck’
  A dwarf ‘Endless Summer’ this hydrangea grows to only 2-4’ tall and wide with pink or blue 4-5″ diameter mopheads on upright red-purple stems. Perfect for containers, in smaller gardens or in the front of cutting beds, it also graces balconies and decks. In fall, red-purple colored leaves extend the beauty.

Color Tip: Change the flower colors of ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Bloomstruck.’ The soil pH affects the flower color of many hydrangeas. To intensify the pink color, decrease the acidity by adding hydrated lime. To intensify the blue color, increase the acidity by adding sulfur. Our staff can suggest products to help you determine your soil pH and the amount of lime or sulfur to use.

• ‘Quickfire’
  Also known as Hydrangea paniculata, this variety blooms earlier than most other hydrangeas and has flowers along an elongated stalk. The flowers, blooming on new wood, open as white, gradually turning to pink in the summer and darker rose in the fall. The soil pH does not affect the flower color. As one of the hardiest hydrangeas, this beauty grows to 6′ tall in most soils, full sun or dappled shade and tolerates drought conditions.

• ‘Little Quickfire’
  A dwarf form of ‘Quickfire,’ this tiny powerhouse has all the beauty and benefits of its bigger relative but in a small package. Growing only to 3-4′ tall with a slightly larger spread, this hydrangea makes a big statement in a little space when covered with blooms and can be an ideal choice to start out with hydrangeas.

• ‘Bobo’
  Another paniculata hydrangea, this variety creates huge drama for such a little plant. Growing only to 3′ tall and wide, it’s a thriller in containers, and easily won the Gold Florall medal for best novelty plant. ‘Bobo’s early season white flowers also bloom on new wood and cover the plant on strong overhead stems. Unaffected by soil type or pH, this hardy hydrangea steals the show wherever it is planted.

No matter how you use these newcomers in your landscape – larger varieties in the back of beds or as borders, smaller options in the front or in containers – their long-lasting flowers will make you think summer truly is endless.

There’s an unfounded rumor that raspberries are difficult to prune. This isn’t true if you understand the type of raspberry in your garden. Summer-bearing raspberries produce only one harvest per year while everbearing, or fall-bearing, raspberries can produce two harvests.

Raspberry Types

Summer-bearing raspberries plants bear fruit on one type of cane, a floricane. These large, thick canes grow fruiting lateral branches. Most of the purple and black raspberry varieties and some red varieties are summer-bearing plants.

Everbearing raspberries grow two types of fruiting canes, floricanes and primocanes. The floricanes are similar those of the summer-bearing raspberry. However, the primocane has no lateral branches. Instead, the fruit buds are located on the thick cane. Most red and yellow raspberry varieties are everbearing.

No matter what type of raspberry you grow, proper pruning improves production and the taste of the fruit, the appearance of your garden and makes it easier to harvest the delicious fruit.

Raspberry Pruning Tips

If you are growing summer-bearing raspberries, you will follow a cycle of pruning out the older floricanes, which already bore fruit. If you are growing ever-bearing raspberries, you will prune out floricanes and the top one-third of the primocanes where fruit developed in the fall. However, you can choose a second option for pruning everbearing raspberries. Simply cut the entire plant to the ground in early spring to produce berries from fall until the first frost. This sacrifices the summer harvest, but puts all plant energy into fruit production for fall harvest, creating a larger, more robust crop. It also protects the canes from any extreme winter conditions and reduces insect damage. Using row covers or greenhouses to maintain a warmer temperature easily extends the harvest season later into the fall.

To simplify the pruning process…

When you grow your own berries, you know exactly how they were grown, you save money, and best of all, they taste great, even with dirt under your fingernails!

You can enjoy much more than plants in your garden every evening and into the night, and in fact the right accessories can beautifully enhance your garden even as twilight falls. Consider these stunning accessories and accents to turn your daytime garden into a nighttime paradise.

Wind Chimes

Let gentle evening summer breezes play soothing sounds in your garden or patio. Choose from Bamboo styles or traditional wind chimes, and try different sizes and styles to find the tinkling tones you like best. Avoid using too many wind chimes, however, as different styles can have contrasting tones that may clash with one another rather than create a soothing melody.

Candleholders, Lanterns & Torches

Light up the night with lovely candleholders, lanterns and decorative torches to keep your summer evenings long and bright. Place appropriate lighting along pathways, deck edges and stairs to safely illuminate gathering areas, or use spotlights to create dramatically uplit trees and shrubs. For a whimsical touch, try kitschy strings of themed lights for a fun accent, or add elegance with multiple lanterns suspended from a large tree.

Tabletop Fountains

Erase your daily pressures by bringing the soothing, relaxing sounds of water to your patio or deck. A handcrafted tabletop fountain will add a soft, natural sound in harmony with your evening of relaxation. Consider fountains that may double as bird baths or centerpieces to do double duty during the daytime as well.

Tinkling Toadstools

Add enchantment to your garden with magical Tinkling Toadstools. When placed in groups, colorful glazed caps create a tinkling sound when the wind blows. Position them under a shrub or in a large, rustic container to add a fairy garden ambiance to your evening landscape, and be sure there is subtle light nearby to highlight their color and beauty.

 Ponds or Other Water Features

When the moonlight, candles and twinkle lights reflect on the water’s surface, there is an added glow and iridescence to the garden. Running water from a re-circulating pump powering a small spray fountain or waterfall provides a relaxing background sounds to the summer evening. Accent your water feature with floating lights, stunning water lilies or other creative options.

Egglites

Add nighttime beauty to ponds, fountains, statuary, landscaping and more with Cal Pump’s Egglite. These assorted colored, 10-watt lights are compact spot lights that can be used in or out of the water and are suitable for fresh, salt or chlorinated water. Position them unobtrusively and select colors that can magically enhance your nighttime landscaping.

With the right evening accents, you don’t have to stop enjoying your garden when the sun sets – just as temperatures cool off, the beauty of your garden can be heating up.