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Pruning 'Summer Crush' Hydrangea in Late Summer or Early Fall

Hydrangea 'Summer Crush' in June... in September Pruning can be a complicated project, especially when it comes to hydrangeas (I can think of one more plant that causes pruning headaches - clematis). That said, if you grow many hydrangeas, especially different types, once you get the hang of it, it begins to come naturally. I used to rarely prune my hydrangeas because I had more space. Now, with a smaller garden, I'm finding that some are getting too large for comfort. Case in point, 'Summer Crush'. It is actually not a huge hydrangea, but it does get larger than advertised - about 5 feet in my garden (the tag said 3-4'). 'Summer Crush' is in the 'Endless Summer' line of hydrangeas and they are among the easier to prune. This is because they bloom on both old and new wood. Therefore, no matter when you prune, you should get blooms. It is the older hydrangeas, the ones that only bloom on old wood, that you have to be careful with. I would recomm...
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Fig & Almond Cake


A lady who visited our garden back in June brought us figs. I made the following cake which was very simple and fast. The figs were honey figs and very delicious. They were really sweet so I omitted sprinkling them with sugar. 

Fig and Almond Cake

4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus butter for greasing the pan
1 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinking
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp. almond extract
12 to 14 ripe figs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan.

Combine the almonds and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor and grind into a coarse powder.

Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Pulse to combine.

Whisk together the eggs, melted butter, honey and almond extract. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Remove the stems from the figs and cut in half. Arrange the figs cut-side up over the batter. Sprinkle the figs with sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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