Hi & welcome to Gardenweb. The missing pic is not your fault, just a quirk of the system. After you've browsed your pic, then click preview, the picture info is no longer in the browse box. So if you edit your comments and click preview again without RE-browsing your pic, the pic is not included. So you can click back to edit, or re-browse your pic. When you're ready to click submit, if the pic is not on the screen, it won't be in your message, browse again to include.

Hi George and yellowgirl! I also agree that I need something between my property and my neighbors'. What my photo did not show you though, was how this area in question looked from the driveway. It's actually directly looking at the end of bed on the left. In fact, it is not such a wide area. This area needs something pretty and not so big. A conifer like Picea orientalis will be too tall for this area as it is too close to the house, and the base of the mature tree will be even wider than the width of the entire bed. That's why it will not work. I am choosing something like the Sugar Tyme Crabapple because it has a good size and upright habit for this area, and it's so gorgeous in spring! It is actually going to look spectacular from the driveway. Also, the persistent and very bright red fruit during winter will look absolutely stunning with the snow during winter. Another thing is, since there is no other evergreen tree in this woodland setting in my backyard, would it not look odd to have one single evergreen there in this island? In any case, you have given me a lot more to think about, which is great! Thank you. I will certainly take a look at some evergreens at the nursery this weekend before I decide on the crabapple or something else. BTW, I have a Prairifire Crabapple in my front yard, so having this white flower crabapple in this backyard area visible from the front is going to look very nice.

Check this website - it may help in your search for answers: http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/identify.html Go down to the description of arborescens (Annabelle) and see the paragraph that says: "It is very difficult in pictures, to show differences between the leaves of 'Annabelle' and those of the common mophead. But they are not alike. (I hope to get better close-up pictures of the leaves this year.) The leaves of arborescens ('Annabelle') are generally heart shaped, thin, and floppier than the mopheads (macrophylla). They have a matt surface and a courser texture than the smooth leaf of the mophead. The leaf stems (petiole) are long and hold the leaf away from the main stem."Your description sounds like some kind of macrophylla.

Over the years I've tried a few things to effect hydrangea colors and vigor. Not fertilizing too late in the year and using balanced not higher nitrogen work (eg 10 10 10 over 12 8 8) helps blooming. Higher phosphorus fertilizer eg 7 12 8 can help blooming (but unless really acid soil normally giving blue colors can go purple, pink or red -- because phosphate can tie up Aluminum ions). Lower release fertillzers work best (eg pellet ones or organic ones breaking down and releasing over 2-4 months). Then we've all read about or used the pH tricks and aluminium availability tricks to get blue through red flower colors at will. Really works!One of the most amazing effects I found is with composted manure (I get bags of steer manure at local Home Depo for well under $2 per bag). I make a 4" deep x 12' wide ring around the drip line of each bush. I do tbe treatment in the late summer or early spring. Doing this for instance Nikko Blue (and my and several other hydranges) leaves get 25 - 50% more surface area and the flower heads get similarly larger or add side flower branches so get 2 to 4x heads! The leaves were lush and green from this and thicker. I later read that the past President of the American Hydrangea Society did a composted manure to all his hydrangeas each year!Now my questions: (bkg Sometimes we see fresh hydrangeas with unusually dark bronzing in the leaves and extra color density in the flowers for varieties that we don't usually see this naturally, and the color is not due to extra sunshine.). Are they using some kind of chelated iron or micronutrient addition in their fertilizer mix?What other fertilizer tricks do you know?Photo: Hydrangea macrophylla 'Blue Wave' (mariesii 'Perfecta') new and past prime late fall flower colors with acid soil, aluminum sulphate, and steer manure treatment. The whole 8' bush was covered like this!