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Photo byTrinette Reed, Stocksy
Extra hours of daylight, sandy toes, barbecues with friends, and hydrangeas blooming like fluffy clouds of cotton candy—no wonder most of us start scheming ways to stretch out summer the moment the season begins.
One trick our editors are trying out: adding Endless Summer® hydrangeas—bred to bloom all season long, year after year—to their outdoor setups. Available in six varieties and designed to suit different styles and spaces, these vibrant plants are true gardening game changers.
Take chief creative officer and urban green thumb extraordinaire Kate Berry, who turned her Manhattan terrace into a garden in the sky and is primed to bring her high-rise retreat to the next level this year. Meanwhile, digital director Lindsey Mather envisions laid-back afternoons with her husband and baby in the suburban crew’s semi-shaded yard in New Jersey. And for design director Brit Ashcraft, the abundance of green space at her upstate New York property is fertile ground for bringing her botanical ideas to life.
For all three, the key to maximizing summer is soaking up those blue-sky days outside at home. Below, they share their perfect plant picks, with visual inspiration on how they would style them in their own space.
Words by Kristen Flanagan
Brit Ashcraft
Design Director
Flower Pick:
The Original
Ashcraft’s upstate New York property is downright verdant come summer. And while she and her husband are treated to an abundance of spring blossoms each year—including irises, tulips, forsythia, lilacs, and peonies—they don’t have many plants that bloom from summer to fall. “Nothing feels more like upstate summer to me than huge, overflowing hydrangeas,” she says.
For Ashcraft, The Original—which features vivid blue or soft pink petals (depending on the soil pH) that can bloom on last year’s stems and this year’s new growth—is a versatile showstopper: “They are perfect for my rural landscape where there’s lots of room—whether in oversize pots in my pea gravel patio area, covering a sculptural walkway arch, or as hedges along the house or pool, they add the perfect amount of bucolic drama.”
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The Original Reblooming hydrangea, Endless Summer ($80)
Japanese Floral Clippers,
The Floral Society ($88)
Cement Bird Bath, CB2 ($199)
Photos courtesy of Endless Summer®
Photo: Japanescape_Footages, istockphoto
Photo, left inset: kynny, Getty Images,
Above: Anjelika Gretskaia, Getty Images
Blushing Bride Reblooming Hydrangea
Endless Summer ($80)
Watering Can by Haws,
Goodee ($151)
A seasoned city gardener, Berry is known for her 16th-floor urban oasis (it even has its own Instagram account!). To keep her terrace looking lush, she relies on plants that offer structure as her base. “I grow a lot of vegetables during the summer, so it’s nice to have perennials to keep the garden full when I tear the annuals out,” she explains.
While Berry usually relies on boxwoods to fill in drab spots, potted hydrangeas allow her to infuse the landscape with elegant volume. Blushing Bride, with its white flowers that mature to blush pink, layers in seamlessly. An added bonus: Berry, a former florist, always has arrangements peppered around her apartment that were foraged from the terrace or a run to the flower market—and Blushing Bride cuttings can be preserved. “I’d let them dry into the fall, then cut the dried blooms to enjoy year-round and add texture indoors,” she says.
Antiqued Ring
Ceramic Jar Planter, Terrain ($128)
Kate Berry,
Chief Creative Officer
Flower Pick:
Blushing Bride
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Lindsey Mather
Digital Director
Flower Pick:
Summer Crush
Raised Garden Bed,
Home Depot ($87)
Gardening Gloves,
Etsy ($23)
Summer Crush
Reblooming Hydrangea, Endless Summer ($70)
For the first-time homeowner and new parent, the theme of this summer is going to be easy living. “Our baby will be 9 months old, which means our daily game of ‘what else can we do to entertain our daughter’ will move outdoors,” says Mather, laughing. Her dream scenario involves low-key backyard hang sessions between nap times. “I’m planning to carve out a section of the patio just for her—kiddie pool, anyone?!—lined with bright Summer Crush hydrangeas in our raised flower beds.”
Summer Crush plants grow to be only 18 to 36 inches tall and wide, which means they’re perfect for planting en masse without sacrificing precious square footage. “We moved to the suburbs for more space, but our yard is actually on the small side, so I’m drawn to the more compact shape,” notes Mather. “Not only will they help define our yard and add a bit of shade, but watching them grow is a built-in baby activity.”
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