Hydrangeas and...

I planted two hydrangeas on the back side of my house. What other shrubs have you paired with hydrangeas? I would love to have something that blooms during the fall or winter. This part of my yard is in partial shade. I live in zone 7.

Clethra, Itea

Thanks for the great suggestions. I'm thinking of going with Summersweet, Sweet Pepper Bush 'Ruby Spice' (Clethra alnifolia). It has beautiful blooms and great fall folliage and i think it will thrive in the area I'm wanting to plant it in. A supplier I'm planning on placing another order with next spring carries it, too!

Sounds good, enjoy it!

I usually prefer to pair Hydrangeas with something evergreen since they look so terrible in winter. Something like Gardenia or Camellia could be nice for blooms and foliage.

I may add some Camelias as well. I don' t have much of anything that blooms during fall or winter right now.

Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha). It is a late summer/fall flowering shrub and in your area will probably attract butterflies late in the year, too. It is also on the "deer resistant list" (but remember, sometimes deer don't read that list!). It can handle full sun but also does well in your partial sun area, staying a bit smaller.

Shoe

The bush sage is definitely a beautiful plant, but I'm afraid it might get too large to plant right against my house. I've ordred some Yuletide Camelias that I'm hoping to get planted while it's still warm. I still need to find something else (preferable something that doesn't get very big) to plant in front of the windows.

The Mexican Bush Sage will stay more compact if in in-direct sun. Camelia bushes here get much bigger than the sage does, by the way. Is "Yuletide" a more compact version?

I wonder if Pineapple sage will fit in your area. It stays fairly compact and also flowers later in the year, nice bright red flowers.

Shoe

The description in Plant Files does say that the camellia can reach 6', but I've never seen one that large in my area. The bushes my mother and grandmother keep are cut back every year. I like really like the look of the Mexican Bush Sage, but in every picture I've seen, it appears to be growing rather uncontrolably and taking over everything around it. Of course, this could just be the way the pictures look. Is this the case in your garden?

No, I don't consider them to exhibit uncontrolled growth. By the way, how big (or small) of an area are you working with? That will help narrow down the field of choices.

Here is a pic of Mexican bush sage that is growing next to a building, semi-shade (from late afternoon sun) at my daughter's former school.

Shoe.

FYI Yuletide Camellia can grow 8 feet tall. I've seen an 8 footer with my own eyes. They are fairly compact growers so they can be maintained at about 4 feet if you want to. A dwarf like 'Shishigashira' or 'Showa no sakae' might be a better choice if you want to prune less.

That's really lovely. That's the first photo I've ever seen that the plant didn't look massive. The area I'm working with is actually about the same size as the school flower bed in your photo, but about twenty feet long. I don't mind some pruning, but I was afraid it might be too much to control. I think I may find some to plant next spring!