Garden Photo of the Day

Hostas and Hydrangeas

Sarah Froneberger's garden in North Carolina is bursting with hydrangeas and hostas.

"Hydrangeas are a favorite in our zone 7B garden in Denver, North Carolina. There are many shaded areas in the back yard to grow hosta, ferns, pulmonaria, Solomon's seal, and other shade   
loving plants. The daylillies are beginning to bloom in areas of the garden that receive more sun."

Have a garden you'd like to share? Please email 5-10 photos and a brief story about your garden to [email protected]. Please include where you are located!

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don't have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.









View Comments

Comments

  1. user-7007498 06/08/2016

    Sarah: your garden is beautiful. The hydrangeas look so lush. I love the photo looking out over the lake. It is so inviting (so when are you inviting everyone down for a visit). I also love pulmonarias, but they can get a little ratty looking as the heat and humidity take over later in the summer, and that's in my zone 6b garden in Harrisburg. How does yours hold up in NC? They look so good now. Thanks for sharing your wonderful garden.

  2. User avater
    meander_michaele 06/08/2016

    Ahh, who doesn't love the wonderful hubba hubba world of hostas and hydrangeas and yours are beautiful, Sarah. Love the delightful mix of lace caps, snowballs and "ice cream cones" ...in blues, pinks and whites...all so lovely. Do you recall the name of the big leafed hosta variety in the 5th picture down?...that ones a special beauty. Your property setting looks magical...water views and tall shade giving trees...total perfection.

  3. NWAgardener 06/08/2016

    Good Morning Sarah - I imagine the view from your second story deck is breathtaking! What beautiful, healthy and varied hydrangeas. What variety is the deep blue lace cap hydrangea in the 4th picture from the bottom? Do you use amendments to influence the color of your hydrangeas? Thank you for sharing your spectacular garden!

    1. frankgreenhalgh 06/08/2016

      Hi Sarah - I like Susan (NWAgardener) am interested to know if you use amendments (e.g. epsom salt) to change the pH of the soil and colour of your spectacular hydrangeas.

  4. NCYarden 06/08/2016

    Good morning, Sarah. A nice break from the heat & humidity we are having this morning. I'm sure the plants are heaving a sigh of relief as well. They all look so fantastic...the colors of the hydrangeas are spectacular. Do you have problems with voles in your garden? Looks like you have a wonderful setting for your garden there on the lake. Thanks for sharing.

  5. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 06/08/2016

    Those are some of the nicest, healthiest hydrangeas I've seen! Looks great. Love the pine needle mulch and your hostas look so happy. What is the swing backing into? A Gardenia? If so, I'd sit in that swing until my nose went numb and I couldn't smell it anymore!

    1. sheila_schultz 06/08/2016

      Do gardenias really get that big, Tim? Heck, we could both sit in the swing and just swoon ;) or we could make a fortune, come prom time, and put together wrist corsages for all the young girls!

      1. User avater
        Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 06/08/2016

        Looking at Sarah's magical hydrangeas, if Gardenias don't get that big, she could probably coax them into overdrive!
        Or think prom portraits. Maybe we're giving Sarah some ideas to make a little extra plant money.....

        1. NCYarden 06/08/2016

          We have done prom photos in our garden. Darn, I should have charged a fee. Haha.

          1. User avater
            meander_michaele 06/08/2016

            We usually have a couple go rounds of prom picture groups each spring for kids of friends or friends of friends. I think by next year the links will be over as everyone will have graduated from high school. I'll miss seeing the girls all dolled up and striking their red carpet poses. They all look so much more sophisticated than I ever did at that age. The potential problem with money changing hands is the protection from liability and what that might do to home ins. rates.

          2. NCYarden 06/08/2016

            We never considered charging our neighbors and family. It appears we have possibly two rounds of prom pics left before our stream dries up too. Always glad to see the fancy youth!
            And so true about the liability, even so much I have been a little worried about even the garden tours that have been happening recently. I love to share the garden, but have been asking about this potential pitfall with larger groups.

          3. User avater
            meander_michaele 06/08/2016

            I so know what you mean about that little nagging worry in regards to today's litigious society. I love to do a walk about with garden visitors. It's such a treat to see things through fresh eyes and know that for that moment in time, I am going to give myself permission to not drop to my knees and start weeding like a demon. I am on hyper alert when young children are involved since it seems like some parents are very laissez-faire.
            We've had professional photographers try to tempt us with financial compensation so that they could return with clients we don't know. It just seems like it would be more trouble than it would be worth because of the ins./liability issues.

          4. eddireid 06/08/2016

            Spoils all the fun when you worry. If your visitors are guests then your homeowners insurance should cover them. If you accept money, the rules are different and you would require insurance as a business. Photographers would have some insurance but maybe not enough to protect you.
            Stick to guests!

        2. 7thChild 06/09/2016

          I am pretty sure you can get additional "event insurance" that would cover you if you had someone filming/photographing at your property. It is short term coverage on top of your regular liability. Or make sure the photographer has adequate coverage. You can ask for a cert. of insurance from them.

  6. sheila_schultz 06/08/2016

    I'm with Susan (NWAgardener), the view from your 2nd floor has to be magnificent... that is definitely a 'room with a view'! Your shade gardens are definitely a party for the eyes, lovely!

  7. VikkiVA 06/08/2016

    Sarah, what stunning hydrangea you have! (Gosh, that sounds like something the Big Bad Wolf would say to Little Red Ridding Hood LOL, LOL) Hydrangea are my most loved flowering shrub. I have an Endless Summer next to a pine tree in a bed covered in pine mulch. The blooms are a variety of pink, lavender, cream & purple all on one bush. I'm thinking the pine definitely affects the color of the blooms. Would you agree? Your shade garden is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Vikki in VA

    1. User avater
      meander_michaele 06/08/2016

      Beautiful photo of your beautiful hydrangea, VikkiB. It seems deliriously happy in that spot!

    2. Cenepk10 06/08/2016

      I think so. I have 4 endless summers in the same bed, All planted at the same time - 1 seemed to be a runt so read on Pinterest to put coffee grounds around it. All the rest are deep blue & the runt ? Pale pale lavender & almost cream.

  8. DarliBarli 06/08/2016

    How lovely! My favorite flowering shrub! ANd really like the pine needle mulch...Well done!!

  9. schatzi 06/08/2016

    Stunningly beautiful woodland garden. And a lake too. Looks like heaven to me.

  10. edmalcolm 06/08/2016

    What is that variety of daylilly? Beautiful!

  11. perenniallycrazy 06/08/2016

    Such a festive and colorful shade garden, and with an awesome view too. Hydrangeas are always a favorite, wish I could grow more. How many varieties do you currently have? Looks like your garden is slug free too. Thanks for sharing.

  12. wGardens 06/08/2016

    oh, I love it all! And it is nice to see how your lovely home sets in among your great plantings. Your "head" planter is wonderful. Hope I come across one some time. And your view... Wowie!

  13. user-4691082 06/08/2016

    Positively yummy! I am also a huge fan of gardenias, sigh.

  14. anitaberlanga 06/08/2016

    your garden is STUNNING! I would love to grow that blue lacecap - alas, I don't think I have enough shade. Thanks for sharing this gorgeous garden of yours!

  15. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 06/08/2016

    Sarah, don't you just love Endless Summer. It's so unfussy, blooming on new and old growth and almost always surviving harsh conditions. It's funny, though, that that was our best in our WI garden
    ( probably because it was developed in MN) but in the PNW there are several other better performers. I'm also curious about that shrub behind the swing. Is it a gardenia because if it is, I'd like to know what you're feeding it:) You certainly have a beautiful yard and setting.

  16. Cenepk10 06/08/2016

    Gorgeous!!!! Love hydrangeas & hostas & daylillies !!!! Did I spy a lake in the background???? Love boats too. And the lake !!!

  17. amyfalise 06/08/2016

    What a beautiful garden! I see you are using pine needles for mulch. I also use them and think they are the best mulch. Your hydrangeas are so beautiful. I also use coffee grounds I save from work and I think the plants really like them (and so do the worms)!

  18. eddireid 06/08/2016

    Susan, this is a beautiful garden with gorgeous views. Love the pine needle mulch but can't find any near me. It breaks down nicely and provides a good soil balance. I rake up the pine needles under our trees and use that when possible - so much better than mulch.
    Love your super healthy Hostas and ferns. All gorgeous.

  19. annek 06/09/2016

    What a garden! Those hydrangea colors are breathtaking, Sarah. I also love your lady pot with her charming chartreuse hair and succulent bow in front. Your photos are charming!

  20. greengenes 06/09/2016

    Hi Sarah... a little late but sure want to say your hydrangeas are stunning! I sure like the pine mulch you use. We cant get that here on the west coast but i do scrounge around under our pine and fir to get the needles when planting rhodies or other acid loving plants. So great to see your gardens!

  21. oldww 06/10/2016

    Great display. Beautiful. If only..........we did not have a deer problem!!
    (in north NJ, 45 min out of mid-town NYC)

  22. akkipanwar12 05/01/2019

    Hi everyone if you are like the gardening and you are confuse how to start the gardening online bejeweled 3 and no more chance are there and you have start the any time and you are connect the right views.

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related Articles

The Latest