This is probably going to be an unwelcome comment... my apologies, but the house triggers my roofline obsession again...! This is a perfect example of a house that could be so much more than it is and no amount of landscaping and porch addition is going to fix the fundamental problem. The problem is the addition looks like a separate house attached to the main one rather than an integrated part of the whole. The main reason it doesn't fit together is because the addition roof did not continue the line and style of the main house's roof. So there's this big void on the left above the addition's roof that no amount of landscaping is going to fix. It would have been so simple for whoever renovated it to have built it right! If this was my house, the first priority for significant inprovement would be to modify the roof of the addition. I'd probably have an architect draw up the plan for a 'false' roof - i.e. build out over the existing roof rather than tear off and rebuild from the walls up. A good contractor could likely do it without the involvement of an architect but I'd want to make sure ventilation was properly addressed as well as consistency in style and balance of lines; I'd rather trust a good architect on that than just a contractor. It wouldn't be difficult and shouldn't be too expensive to do but it's likely not a priority for spending if you're in the process of financially 'digesting' the cost of the new house. Changing the roofline would make a big improvement in resale value - a lot of people might not be able to identify what it is that is 'wrong' with the house as it is but would shy away from it because it looks 'odd' somehow. With the right roofline, it would look large and attractive; very marketable. (I agree that a porch would be nice. If the roof of the porch had the same pitch as the house roof - a good idea - and extended out to match depth of the extension, the roof would start probably about halfway down the second story windows. The windows would cut into the roof sort of dormer-like.) If you plan to stay there awhile, think about changing that roofline at some point. I think you'd love the improvement it would make to the house and its resale value.

If you live in the northern climates (zone 5 for example), you will find that some hydrangeas can handle full sun. When you get somewhere around zone 6/7ish then it depends on the variety but you cannot fail if you put them in part shade. Here in Zone 8, it is a NO-NO; they always have to be in part shade. You do not display your USDA Zone by your user name so I will mention that most macrophyllas are not bloom hardy in zone 5 without some serious winter protection. For information on winter protection, do a SEARCH for Hayseedman's thread on Overwintering hydrangeas. For information on planting and fertilizing, go to the link below. Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Planting and Fertilizing Hydrangeas

Hi, As a general rule the two that you mentioned do best in partial shade. Too much sun is hard on most hydrangeas, especially those in the mac family, which I believe those two are. Lisa

Nothing wrong, they are suppose to look like that at this time of the year. Make sure to winterprotect them. GE is not a reliable bloomer in z6, less so in z5. I have 3 groups of them and those that are planted by the side of the house blooms every year, two other groups sometimes blooms and sometimes not, though I don't protect any of them.