Hydrangeas are much loved in the English country garden for their big blowsy flower heads and pastel colours. And there are so many to choose from. Hydrangea paniculata is a little different from your usual hydrangea, in that its flowers grow in a cone shape, not a globe. The flowers emerge in mid-summer with vibrant green petals which transform to a light pink blush in late summer and an even darker rouge-pink in autumn. It provides colour and a spicy scent into autumn, long after a lot of other flowers have faded. 

‘Switch Ophelia’ is unique among panicle hydrangeas for its particularly neat and compact size - making it perfect for container gardening in urban areas - and because it starts flowering much earlier in the year than other types. It’s frost hardy, is great for pollinators, and can even put up with polluted city air. 

Aside from keeping it well watered and fed throughout the growing season, to get the best out of this shrub you have to be cruel to be kind and give it a hard prune in early spring. Don’t be scared, cut back the previous season's stems to just above the fourth pair of buds from the permanent, woody framework of the plant. It will love you for it. 

Did you know?

Panicle hydrangea flower heads are made up of small fertile flowers and larger more showy sterile flowers, which attract pollinators. Clever trick, ey?