Hydrangeas are one of the glories of late summer, and H. paniculata is deservedly fashionable in its many lovely forms. It will excel itself if it's pruned hard this month. Having left the papery flowers of last year in position for a bit of winter protection, you should now remove them and reach down into the structure to cut each healthy shoot down to the lowest pair of green buds. This apparently tough regime will lead to renewed vigour and a bumper crop of big flowers in due course.
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How to disconnect from reality and feel like a new person in under 72 hoursOur round-up of the best British retreats that work wellness wonders in under 72 hours.
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Evenley Wood Garden: 'I didn't know a daffodil from a daisy! But being middle-aged, ignorant and obstinate, I persisted'When Nicola Taylor took on her plantsman father’s flower-filled woodland, she knew more about horses than trees, but, as Tiffany Daneff discovers, that hasn’t stopped her from making a great success of the garden. Photographs by Clive Nichols.
