Also interesting to note how much the leaf margins have changed.

last picture

Oh my! I love it. The colors are so pretty together. You have done an amazing job, I bet your neighbors love it too!

Thanks for the update.

Linda

Beautiful landscape throughout the entire growing season.
At first the hakone grass echos the yellow of the Liberty margins. Then it goes into a lighter mode and the pinks work perfectly with that. I'm sure when the Limelight and Little Limes come into bloom, it will be another phase of coordinated colors.

This could challenge photos I've seen in Better Homes and Gardens or many gardening books. You are very talented.

WOW, the mass of Liberties fronted with those gorgeous pinks is breathtaking! Hard to tear my eyes from it.

Ruth, you're not the only one who feels Liberty is best appreciated en masse. Visited LOTG last month and the Millers had just created this bed with LOTS of little Liberties.

That is beautiful, Ruth! You have such good taste. The spacing and balance took some thought, and it really makes the design work. Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful plants. The colors work well together, and they really set off the brick of your house. Nice job.

Very impressive--wish I could see it in real life!

Have you thought about putting a couple Annabelles in there somewhere--for some earlier summer white. That way Annabelle would cover the first half of summer and the ones in your pictures would cover the second half of summer. There is also a pink Annabelle--though I have never seen one in real life. Just some suggestions for extending the wonderful display you have created.

Kate

Kate - those are Incrediballs (similar to Annabelle) on the left side. I have others in the front yard, out of the picture, for the very reason you mentioned.

Thanks, all for the kind compliments. I really think that Liberty is what makes it work! :-)

Thanks for the updated pictures. Every time I see this inviting yard it makes we want for more. The balance is perfect and I would bet that people going by stop, drool and take pictures. To have this would be my dream of a totally landscaped yard. Lovely!!!
Faye

That is so lovely and yes, stunning is the perfect description! :) I love the Liberty (Liberties?) with the hydrangeas. So glad this was bumped up since I missed it on the first go-round. Liberty is possibly my favorite and I may just have to create a similar massing/combination.

Jonnyb, LOL!

'Liberty' always is a great show. It looks very good in front of the house. I just bought a third 'Liberty', nice multiple eyes from Naylor. That one is now growing in between a mature 'Guardian Angel' and a nearly mature 'Guacamole' under a dogwood in front of the house. Bernd

Ruth, I should have known that anyone who planned out that landscape so carefully and beautifully also thought about including some earlier blooming hydrangeas somewhere in the design, shouldn't I have! My apologies--I wasn't trying to criticize. I just got carried away thinking how it would have been if I had designed that gorgeous landscape. You deserve all the praise this forum has heaped upon you. Thank you for sharing the vision with us.

Kate

Kate - no need to apologize!! I often think this forum could be renamed the "Nicest People on the Internet" forum :-) and didn't take your suggestion as a criticism at all.

Just lovely Ruth. I have purchased a Liberty but don't have it in the ground yet. Now I am excited to plant it. Hope mine is as lovely as yours one day!

OMG! Your front yard is lovely, I want to be your neighbor. This kind of landscaping took a lot talent and originality. It's is just perfect, I hope you are in a quiet street, or people might be so awed, they'd run into each other, I know I will! Keep the photos coming.

Ruth- your beautiful photos inspired me. Have a clean slate in my front and loved your combo of incrediballs and libertys. Went out today and grabbed 5 to go in front of my annabelles. Not sure if I grabbed enough. How many do you have in each cluster? Ignore the leaf puller in the corner.

I think I have five, at least in most of them. Your five look perfect to me! I'd love to see pictures when you get everything planted.

This post was edited by ruth_mi on Thu, Jul 24, 14 at 21:37

Well I planted them before reading this. Looks like I should grab some more. The annabelles are looking a bit rough since I cut off the first set of blooming flowers to promote growth. Hopefully when they fill in it will look better. This bed shape is the original and im not sure what to do with it. At the end is an Acoma Crape. Building a fence this weekend from the end of the house to the road and was then planning on rounding out the end where the Crape is. I realize this isnt the landscape forum, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A picture looking at the area as you're facing it would be helpful. Depending on sun and soil type, Annabelles can get large to huge. How deep is that bed?

At the small end, on left where the drive way is, it is 8ft deep. The windows start at 4ft and the annabelles are planted about 3ft away from the house. Ideally I wanted the whole front to be a hedge of annabelles. Was hoping hard pruning would keep them to about 4ft high. The sun is dappled in the morning, then full from 11:30-2ish and then shaded the rest of the day.

I think that the experts on the landscape design forum could give you better input. They'd want to see pictures of the whole house from the street, which is really necessary to balance everything...it's hard to design a bed in isolation from what's around it.

I really like your idea of a hedge of Annabelles across that section. The Liberty placement would, to me, depend on what's elsewhere across the front.

Makes sense. The other side of the house hasnt been touched yet because of a drainage issue that will be fixed in a month or so. Probably wont be planting anything there until next spring. The house is awkward, has a carport right in the middle of it. Im going to clip your pics and save them for reference. Hopefully next year, when the house can be done as a whole, I will have a better plan layed out.

Also, Bungalow, give the direction your house faces.

What I bet the landscape forum tells you is to wrap that bed with a big arcing curve around the corner of the house, have a pencil thin tall evergreen on the corner, and go right around the corner with a "ball" shape ending the bed on the side of the house somewhere. It will have continuity, and not give the look of a western town with "false fronts" on all the stores. Don't stop the good look, keep it rolling.

One thing which you might reconsider is the choice of Annabelles which require severe pruning in that spot. Put them out somewhere in a free and open bed where they can live up to their potential. Sooner or later, all that severe pruning is going to leave you with tortured and gnarly stems, not the graceful plants you envision.

Get the Proven Winners hydrangea flyer and look at all the hydrangeas they have available. Knock down the mature size of your hydrangea selection, and I think you will be happier in the long run.

I just got through reading about this very same situation, which is why I suggest this to you, before the hydrangeas get rooted in place too many years.

Would like to offer my 2 cents, be aware that same plants grow very differently with the amount of sunlight they receive, I see you gave some shaded parts. If you are trying to get the symmetrical look without the same amount of lighting, prepare yourself... it mosy likely won't be how you envisioned. This I have experienced myself, wish I knew then what I know now! I had a similar plan with my hydrangeas, but see for yourself from the photos, same size plants planted at the same time but... Just look at the size of the plant and blooms on the first photo-Left side of the garden( gets full all day sun). I have tried to compensate for the lack of sun the right side of the garden, l tried everything- from fertilize, compost, more frequent and deeper watering, but still no improvement.

This post was edited by maow on Sat, Jul 26, 14 at 1:19

Right side of garden, photo was taken at 10:30 am, gets some dappled midday to full afternoon sun. Look how small the plant and sparse the blooms are on the right most hydrangea, that is the last plant to get the sun. It looks so sickly. Hostas seem to fair a little better. The 2 August moon hista flanking the Paul's glory seem to be almost the same size, but left one still has more blooms.

This post was edited by maow on Sat, Jul 26, 14 at 1:24

Annabelles take to pruning very well, but whether that will keep them to 4' depends on the amount of sun, type of soil, etc.

In addition to the direction your house faces, your zone would help too.

There are two places close by (a business and a condo entrance) where Annabelle is growing in pretty much full sun and has been in place for at least several years. The plants are 4' or under, not floppy, and look great. In my back yard, with more shade and heavier soil, it's a flop-fest.

I will say, though, that in a spot where I have them in a hedge, they've grown together and do fine.

Here are my Incrediballs from the front. There are a number of them planted close together and the ones on the left get a lot more sun. Yet they're pretty much the same height.

But I generally agree with maow's comments. I have three Incrediballs planted by my mailbox. They're very close together too, but progressively in more shade from a maple. The size and bloom difference is amazing, but I don't water much there. And I've tried to do "symmetrical" with other plants in my back yard and had the same disappointing results.

Bungalowmonkeys' shade didn't look too deep, so it may not be an issue, but it's hard to tell from the pictures.

I mentioned Proven Winners because I received my order of columbine and some other plants from a nursery in Zeeland MI. With the order they included a multi page color brochure about PW hydrangea selections. Impressive to say the least!

One that I especially noticed was the dwarf Limelight, forget what its name is specifically, but it is a honey. Besides the Annabelles and Limelights and such, they had a mind boggling variety to choose from. I had no idea so many sizes shapes colors were on the market.

I know I have that brochure here somewhere, I was just looking at it. Drats, I'd love to give you the info I discovered. I do not like to build in work that might be avoided with plant selection. Especially do I try to avoid pruning to maintain size. Sooner or later it will get out of hand, I will not be able to deal with it at the proper time, and I lose the look I wanted to achieve. Hydrangeas are very forgiving, but I think about lightening the garden workload whenever I can.

I notice that your house seems to be on a curving road at that spot, which is why I suggest curving the bed around the corner of the house in a wide sweep. And the Incrediballs out closer to the street to match the curve of the pavement, will be nice viewed from inside your windows. Perhaps if they get large it will serve to screen the headlights of cars, and also dull the sound of vehicles passing by.

My DH and I have different thinking concerning maintenance anyway. He likes it precise, looks at how it appears from the street. I look at how it appears from inside the house to ME.

Just downloaded a compass app and it would seem my house is facing east. That dappled shade goes away completly from 11-2ish, across all the hydrangeas. Hopefully that will help them grow the same. The dwarf limelights are probably called little lime hydrangea. They are beautiful. Limelights are my second favorite hydrangea. Also trying to grow a hedge of those in the back yard. The pic is one I grabbed from the first bloom. The full size limelights will get pretty large.

I agree about the round area at the end. We are putting in a fence this weekend and I drew up a path and front bed change that should work for this side of the house. Plus it will give me more area to plant some hostas. I'll post pics for input.

Maow love your garden bed. Are those the endless summer hydrangeas? I have 3 forever and ever white out hydrangeas in a back bed and they havent bloomed or grown as advertised. It is only year one, so maybe next year will be different.

Ruth those incrediballs are so beautiful. If I can find those around here next year Im grabbing as many as I can. They just dont sell them or the annabelles which, is so frustrating.

Thanks bungalowmonkey, it's a never ending project. Those photos are at all frpm my backyard, they are blushing bride hydrangeas- it is a very light baby pink color, no matter the pH of the soil. I have 3 limelight hydrangeas behind a semi circle boxwood hedge in the middle between the 2 beds- notice thr the limelight on the tight?, smaller and lesser blooms, so frustrating, ugh.... If you put the 3 photos together that is my backend of my backyard.
I do have the endless summer hydrangea in my front yard. I guess I must have added too much lime to the soil to make sure they turn out pink as that was my original ideas 3 years ago, but.. now it is too pink! .. I am switching them out tomorrow. I will move the 2 puny blushing bride ones from the right side of the backyard to the front. Not sure what to do with them yet, am very much loving blues and lavanders at the moment. Dig dig dig....I am in so much body pain from the major overhaul this summer. Ughhh.

This post was edited by maow on Sat, Jul 26, 14 at 22:03

Front yard endless hydrangeas.

Wow! Amazing pictures. Ruth, your front garden is stunning! I've been of changing up our front entrance way a bit. I really like your plant combination with the "Liberty"hostas - how big do they get? Also, does your front entrance part sun or full shade? Oh, and one more question regarding your "Endless Summer" hydrangeas - how long have they been in the ground and how big do they get in your yard?

Well, thank you. I have Limelights, Incrediballs, a few Little Limes (they've stayed short but get less sun/water since they're under a crabapple) in addition to the Endless Summers. The Incrediballs get 5.5 - 6' tall, the Limelights are taller (and I prune both back), and the Endless Summers are probably about 3' (but would like to be taller). I'd guess that this is the third or fourth summer for the Endless Summers. I cover them in winter for an early spring bloom.

I had to remove a very large, half-dead Pin Oak early this year, so my Libertys got more sun than they're used to. I cut out some of their leaves, but there's still a fair amount of brown showing. But from a distance I guess I don't think they're too bad for this time of year.

The house faces east, so gets morning sun. The right side (facing the house) gets more sun because of the taller Japanese maple on the left. (Yes, I know that it and the crab apple on the right are horribly placed, but hey, they're right where the 30-years-ago landscape plan said to put them and I hate to chop them down...even though I took down three HUGE maples -- also placed according to the same plan -- from the left side.)

I just stepped outside and took this since it shows the difference between the beginning and end of the growing season.

Your front yard looks beautiful this time of year, too! Your Liberties still look good from this vantage point. Nicely done.

Ruth, your front entranceway is stunning! Thank you for sharing such beautiful pics. BTW, what are the pink flowers next to the hostas?

Ruth, Love the look! Sorry to distract you from the main topic (hosta). How do you cover your Endless Summer? Do you trim them a little bit in the fall then cover them? Do you leave the cover on throughout the winter? Are yours bloom well this year?

Mine have not been blooming well this year. One of them did not have any bloom this year! Some people said it is due to the harsh winter and the old woods died. But they are supposed to bloom on new woods too. I have them for at least 6 years and this is the first year they did not do well. I never cover or protect them.

Thank you.

Vivian

The pink flowers are Vista Bubblegum petunias.

I cover the ES by bundling the branches toward the center with masking tape, super-thick yarn, or strips of old sheets. Then I encircle them with green plastic "hardware cloth" and fill that will shredded leaves. (I find houses in the neighborhood who put them on the curb.) The hardware cloth isn't as high as the plants, and most of what sticks out of the top dies back, but they still bloom a lot.

I usually uncover at the very end of April, and put the shredded leaves into large plastic lawn/leaf bags so I can move them to the back and use them for mulch and composting.

Ruth, Thank you for sharing the details on protecting ES. I need to protect mine this winter to get more blooms. Vivian

Ruth m Your Liberty Hosta are still one of my hosta I got because of your beautiful yard I may have to move them so I get to view them more as I planted the three I got behind my waterfall garden and I would wish to see them so maybe next season they are on the move , Thanks again for the inspiration.

Thanks for resurrecting this old classic thread with these Liberties.

It's such an inspiration

Bumping for the Liberty eye candy in @Ruth_MI ’s gorgeous gardens!

My Liberties on the front enty walkway…just a couple of hours of morning sun.

I have saved these pictures of Ruth’s Liberties since she first posted them. I thought they were stunning then, and still stunning today.

Is Ruth still around?

I just loved this and Ruth is the reason I had to have 3. So impressive to see

@Ruth_MI you are still here! Awesome!

Here are some Liberties that you inspired me to plant several years ago - and these were moved here three years ago from our old house. I love them. In north central Missouri z5B.

So sorry they suffered damage Ruth! I imagine it will only be a short time before you would never know they had taken a hit.

I know what you mean Ruth, I am in Windsor, just across the border from you and my Liberty suffered from leaf damage too from a cold snap this spring. i hope yours recover nicely!

@Little Bug, those pictures are beautiful! @hostas_for_barb, hope yours recover as well, and @peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada, thanks for the encouragement.

Must be time to bump up this posting that has inspired so many of us . I still have nothing that has inspired me more