An Elegant Shrub for the Southeast

This is "Snowflake", a double version of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea. I photographed it this afternoon in the garden of my friend Mrs. George Rosenthal of Bellevue, Tennessee.

The Oak Leaf Hydrangea is native to the Southeast, and a stalwart in our gardens. It knows there may be no summer rain and that our winters may go to zero. It is not fazed. I never tire of seeing it, just as I never tire of seeing Crape Myrtles in bloom, even the watermelon pink ones.

The oakleaf grows in sun or partial shade, and when I see that someone has chosen it for their garden I see intelligence at work, or at minimum, good advice from a trustworthy nursery . Better one Oakleaf than a line of dumpy white azaleas whose blooms look like soiled dishrags as they fade.

The shrub whose blooms I photographed is six feet high and four wide- a princely specimen.