So many Hydrangea growers here, no one has a favorite combination? [g]

Gardenho - Thank you, I do like this combo. There is a lot around it at different points of time. There are two Hydrangea and one has more around it then the other. There are sedums in front of each and they bloom at the same time the Hydrangea do. I'm not sure about the timing with the Hibiscus. I have had a patch of Monarda, you can see it in the 2nd photo, it was tall that year, wow. I have it with a half a dozen lilies between the two Hydrangea, at one point there were also Coneflowers in there. It was pretty at that point but that may have been before I changed over to the two Hydrangea.

I've had a lot of probs with the rabbits. This year in between the Hydrangeas I'm down to ONE Lily from a half dozen or so. And I've had native milkweed grow here where I can't use it. So I'm considering digging that area over between the Hydrangeas to add something else.

Probably not something else with large leaves or blooms. I'm especially loving seeing a hummer every once in awhile. I keep thinking I'll remove the Monarda because it does travel and some years it looks ratty by the time it blooms for some reason. But it's in bloom right now and it's the Rasberry color Monarda and I just saw a hummingbird visiting it yesterday. I guess it doesn't care that they look ratty. [g] So I'm thinking about digging it all over and adding back in a new patch of Raspberry Monarda with some kind of companion the rabbits might leave alone and not the Lilies.....but I want to consider my options before I decide.

Hmmm what about some of the newer ’shorter’ phlox? I believe they have a variety of colors to choose from. I love phlox for its long bloom time. I’ll keep thinking….🤔

Well....I love Phlox too. I have tried them a few times. The rabbits love them. I am going to make an attempt with Plantkynd the spray that has been recommended here to prevent rabbit damage and if that works, I'll b a whole lot better off. I would love Phlox! I have ONE Nora Leigh Phlox with the variegated foliage. I lost them to rabbits a few years ago. They are very good about mildew. So I bought two more on sale last Fall and they ate one down to nubs before I even got it in the ground. I saved the 2nd one, that still had some growth at the base and I'm planning to put it in a high pot that they can't get in. I am going to buy Plantkynd and try that before I do any more renovations, so I will know if it will help or not.

Maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself and should figure that out before I try to add more to the bed.

PM, i think you have a bunch of unusually voracious rabbits. They sound very destructive. You can buy rhe ready to use spray Plantskydd but the granular is probably more cost effective. They recommend the spray for shrubs and trees.

when you go to their website they have a map of store locations. I find it impossible to use. Ended up buying from Amazon b/c it is easier to compare price per oz,no drive etc.

please let us know if you get those critters under control!

Whenever I have a plant that "does it's thing" in mid-late summer, I always try to have at least some plants near it that will carry the vignette through the other seasons. Evergreens come to mind first --broadleaf or conifer-- but other types of winter interst could also work: ornamental grasses, colorful berries, winter twig or bark color, etc. And perhaps some spring bulbs or the like, to pump up the area when dwarf Limelight is doing nothing.

Marie, I'm going to try the spray. Worth a try.

Art - Yes, I have grasses and Mums and had some asters before the rabbits took them down. They love asters. They will keep coming back and chewing it down to the ground until it stops coming up.

I have a small space there with full sun and not really room for an evergreen. I guess I opted to go without winter interest because I wanted so much for the other three seasons, I stuck with that. There are foundation plants behind that bed with a Holly, a Taxus and Itea. I also have a large Kolkwitzia to the left of that, which blooms in June. I have a lot of spring bulbs in that bed for the spring along with Basket of Gold

Do you have a preferred color?

Nepeta ’cats pajamas’ seems to be highly favored….I know if I were find it locally it would come home with me. I think I could find a place to stuff it in ☺️

So funny, PrairieMoon, I am inundated with rabbits. My fall asters went everywhere this year, and they haven’t touched them! ” Somebody” ate the tops off some, but they were eaten way too high to be the rabbits. Those little rabbits have certainly eaten lots of other things…every day i find something else gone.