The Miller Library welcomes Brigitte de Wever with her paintings depicting garden flowers, insects, and mollusks. From the artist's statement:

Flowers and leaves come and go throughout the seasons, and I am fond of keeping their beauty around me. I invite you to see my watercolor illustrations of all kinds of flowers and the beauty of nature I encounter in my garden, and as I walk around my neighborhood or botanical gardens.

I try my best to capture the plants’ colors, nuances, movements, and almost anything that reminds me of the pleasure of seeing them grow, appear, and wilt, even if sometimes it is just a part of the flower that intrigued me. For that reason I do not consider myself a botanical illustrator. I do not dissect them or go to look at their roots. I paint the parts that attract me, fascinated by keeping their details. The closer I come to see their structure, the more excited I become.

As you walk through my garden of paintings, sometimes creatures appear with the flowers or plants. I love birds, butterflies, bugs and snails. They give an idea of the size of the plant, but also add to the form and color of the piece.

The exhibit is open during library hours. Join us for an opening reception Saturday, March 8, from 12 to 2 pm.

Join us April 4th and 5th for our annual book sale. Enjoy the company of fellow plant lovers, browsing thousands of gently used books for sale on gardening, plants, ecology and related topics.

The Opening Night event on Friday, April 4 from 5 to 8 pm includes the book sale, a silent auction, food and drink. Tickets are available now.

No registration is required for the Saturday book sale, which runs from 9 am to 3 pm.

Interested in volunteering? Please contact Nick Williams at nickjpw@uw.edu to sign up. Shifts include setting up Friday morning, the opening night party, or takedown on Saturday afternoon.

The answer will depend on which species of hydrangea you are growing. According to American Horticultural Society Pruning & Training edited by Christopher Brickell (DK Publishing, 2011), Hydrangea macrophylla (bigleaf or mophead hydrangea) should be pruned after flowering in warm climates but in colder climates it is best to leave the old flower heads on the plant over the winter, and prune in spring. This rule also applies to Hydrangea serrata. If your hydrangea is blue-flowered, it is probably H. macrophylla. In her Guide to Pruning (Sasquatch Books, 2012), local pruning expert Cass Turnbull of Plant Amnesty said this plant should not need much pruning, but if you want to remove the faded blooms, you can do this in February by looking for four or five pairs of plump buds below the old flowers, and cutting just above the lowest or second lowest set of buds.

Hydrangea paniculata should be pruned in early spring, before active growth begins.

Hydrangea arborescens needs little pruning, and any pruning at all should be done in early spring.

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) also needs little pruning, but may be pruned in spring.

The U.S. National Arboretum offered a good introduction, no longer available on their website, but excerpted here:

“Established bigleaf, panicle, oakleaf and smooth hydrangea plants can often benefit from regular pruning. Removing about one-third of the oldest stems each year will result in a fuller, healthier plant. This type of pruning is easiest to do in winter, since the absence of leaves makes it easier to see and reach inside plants.

Gardeners may also want to prune to control height or to remove old flower heads. The best time for this type of pruning differs between species. Bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangea, which flower on previous year’s growth, should be pruned shortly after flowering is complete. Panicle and smooth hydrangea flower on current year’s growth and can be pruned anytime from late summer until early spring. If pruning these two species in the spring, try to prune before leaves appear. Plants of H. arborescens ‘Annabelle’ have been known to produce a second flush of flowers if pruned lightly after the first flowering.

Stems of bigleaf hydrangea that have been damaged by cold should be pruned as soon as it is determined that they are dead. Watch for new growth at the base of the plant. If your plant has basal shoots that are 6 to 8 inches in length, but the upper parts of the stems are still bare, then the bare stems need to be removed. For bigleaf hydrangea plants that are subject to frequent weather-related dieback, other than removing the dead stems, you probably won’t ever need to do any other pruning – Mother Nature has been doing the work for you.”

Kitsap County Master Gardener Peg Tillery, in an article formerly available on the WSU Extension Kitsap County website, recommended waiting until March to prune hydrangeas: “In our climate we need to wait until early March to prune roses and summer blooming hydrangeas. This way the tender new growth won’t be harmed by frosts.”

The Royal Horticultural Society provides general pruning recommendations.