Meredith Nelson's Garden

September 12, 2025

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...

Another garden on the East Vancouver Mini-Tour a few weeks ago was Meredith Nelson's five-acre garden in Battleground. This is a cottage garden filled with perennials and clematis. It is also filled with wonderful iron-work decorative objects made by her husband Jeff. Check out the gate below!

I don't know how many clematis Meredith has but it a large number. I saw many varieties that I had never heard of.

I thought this was Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) at first but knew that it was too early for it to bloom. It is in fact a clematis but a different one and I have forgotten the name.

A very creative fence around the vegetable garden made of wheels (not sure what they are exactly) -

This is such a peaceful setting and so quiet. It makes me long for the country. Thank you, Meredith, for opening your garden. It is fun and very inspiring.