hydrangeas

Janie B

I'm planning a new bed to run alongside a low wall. I would like to put in several shortish hydrangeas, probably the same variety. Any ideas as to what I could plant with them? I have other cottagey-garden type beds with mixed flowers, and I wanted this one to be a little more 'formal' as a contrast to other areas in my garden. Thanks

Fairygirl

A row of ground cover - something like Pachysandra would work, and then verticals in between the hydrangeas. If you have reliably moist soil, Camassias are good. Blue or white flowers.  The foliage is a bit messy, but they're tall, so would clear the hydrangeas. All shade loving, so perfect with hydrangeas. 
It really depends how much room you have though, and whether you want to keep colours simple. That works best with a more formal layout 

rachelQrtJHBjb

My friend has planted a formal parterre with Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lime' underplanted with Geranium Rozanne. It looks very effective and has a long season of interest. Augmenting the display with early bulbs will extend it further.

Janie B

Great ideas, thanks! I love the thought of tall white camassias poking through above deep pink hydrangeas... also love the idea of rozanne, as I have that in several other beds, so it could maybe provide a unifying link to the rest of the garden... (or maybe that's overthinking the whole garden design thing...!!!). X

Fairygirl

Even in a small area, a simple design is very effective. Small areas are actually harder than big areas, so it's an even better solution to keep the number of plants to about three.
Bulbs for spring will give a good succession of colour/foliage, and are particularly useful if you use something like geraniums. Again - stick to one type/colour to have the best impact