Peter Dowdall: Why 'Magic Pillow' is the must-have hydrangea for shady spots and containers

The compact addition to your garden is quite versatile

Soon we will be able to enjoy hydrangea blooms in a ground-cover shrub. Picture: iStock

I LIKE to imagine the garden as a conversation, not just between me and the plants, but among the plants themselves, each with its own voice. So this week, I want to introduce you to Hydrangea Magic Pillow, a somewhat new member to that conversation, a gentle, low-mounded hydrangea that asks very little and offers so much in return.

What caught my eye was the idea that a hydrangea could work as groundcover, rather than towering behind borders; it sits in the foreground, a “pillow” of leaves and lacecap blooms that soften edges and offer a long season of interest. More than that, it offers the opportunity to gardeners who may not have space for a two-metre high and wide, traditional hydrangea, but still want some of that hydrangea magic in the garden.