Again this year, the yellow-leafed ‘Little Honey’ hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Little Honey’, below) will not flower. Several years ago, it was moved from a sunnier spot where its leaves grew smaller, with brown edges, to this more shaded location where it grows splendidly near two oakleafs that flower, though more sparsely than others in more sun.

Undoubtedly, the quest to find ideal places for each of the garden’s plants will never end, but the yellow foliage brightens this shaded path, so the irregular flowering will be accepted. Other oakleaf hydrangeas make a glorious show in early summer.

The garden’s collection of hydrangeas is a tiny fraction of ones available with no plans for expansion, though I will continue to replace bigleaf varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla, above) that flower only on last year’s growth that is regularly winter damaged. One long-established hydrangea that rarely flowered was dug out and discarded earlier this spring, replaced with a lace cap (below) that flowers on old and new growth (remontant). Two other hydrangeas will eventually be replaced with alternatives that flower reliably.

While neither native nor non-native hydrangea are exceptional for pollinators, the varying degrees of showy, sterile, and tiny, fertile flowers are fascinating. Fertile flowers are rarely evident on mophead types, but they are abundantly displayed on lacecap and oakleaf hydrangeas.