And now for another installment of the Procrastinating Gardener.  Last week I talked about some perennials I use to accent my flower beds in the summer.  This week I’d like to write a few words about some shrubs that have caught my eye. 

            My one constant wish, no matter where I live, is always for a bigger yard so I can plant more shrubs and trees.  Yet despite my limited confines I somehow manage to plant a couple new shrubs every year and lucky for us procrastinators summer is a perfect time to do large shrub and tree installation.   Not only will planting this time of year help the plant become established and acclimated the garden, next year the shrubs will come up bigger and ready to pack an even bigger flower punch. In particular, as I bike around town and check out some of the great gardens in this neighborhood, I’ve got an acute hydrangea envy.  Nothing looks better against a house that a flowering ‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea, with its masses of huge white pom-pom flowers, and although they take some watering, few plants can match the appeal of a flowering hydrangea.   Barberry is another great shrub that adds season long color, and there are plenty of colors to chose – from the deep dark burgundy of ‘Royal Burgundy’ to the intense yellow of the ‘Sunsation’ Japanese Barberry. 

                If you’ve finished all your gardening for the year have a glass of lemonade, relax and enjoy your hard work – but if you’re like me there is nothing more rewarding that spending the wonderful Minnesota summers outside, working in the gardening, and creating a living work of art to share with your friends and neighbors.  And if gardening can seem like a never-ending project that you keep pushing back, join me and the rest of the procrastinators and take it one spot of the garden at a time or even one plant at a time.  Trust me, not only is it worth it for the finished product, the true and fulfilling joy is working outside, in the dirt, with the sun on your back and your creativity at the forefront of your mind.