The garden season in Georgia has already been a blast and Fresco has been my favorite. You no doubt are pondering what Fresco is. Well,

Fresco is a new hydrangea making its debut this year. So, I better get the correct name front and center. It is Fairytrail Fresco Cascade Hydrangea.

So, the fact that The Garden Guy is telling you that I have fallen madly in love with a hydrangea that was already blooming in April starts to stir the imagination. Proven Winners tells everyone up front that it is early to bloom, but Fairytrail Fresco was already blooming when other hydrangeas were deciding if they were going to live through the winter.

The Fairytrail Fresco Cascade Hydrangea is projected to reach up to 48 inches tall with a spread up to 54 inches. It blooms on old wood, and the blooms are either pink or blue depending on soil ph. I have two and mine just seem to keep bubbling up new flower clusters. I am also growing them in glazed ceramic pots with potting soil, which tends to be acidic. So I am seeing the most beautiful array of white, pink and blue shades that change by the day.

I got mine in the early fall but dawdled trying to decide what, where and how they would be used. Of concern to me was that they get some sun to fire up those blooming engines, so to speak. My neighbor has Fairytrail Bride in more sun and its blooms are terrific.

Growing in containers has some advantages: soil mix, drainage, ease of feeding and most importantly in my case, portability. In other words, I can dial in the amount of sun I want them to get. Now if these beauties do reach 54 inches in width, their front entry location will change to the back patio. But oh, how I love their look in containers.

Not too long ago I wrote this column about a "Hydrangea Heaven," referring to partnerships in the landscape. But you know growing in containers and even positioning them with other pots creates opportunities for combinations. As gardeners we never really know how these combos are going to turn out, especially when you consider hydrangea blooms that may be white, pink or blue and even all three at once.

Thus, this year mine is wild and I love it. It looks like I was doing my best to have a venue that mimicked those gardens in Spain or Italy and maybe could imagine music in the distance. The Fairytrail Fresco took the lead in blooms as if they were saying, "Come on, guys and gals, show me what you got."

Superbells Pomegranate Punch calibrachoas survived the winter and started blooming in the same containers; in the adjoining bed Red Double Knockout roses, Uuplugged White salvias and Heliopsis (or false sunflowers) joined the flower fest. But my wife wanted her two large blue pots planted and included in the scene.

As usual her ideas rock and turned the scene into the real flower fest. These containers are full of ColorBlaze Rediculous coleus, Superbells Magic Pink Lemonde calibrachoas and Rising Sun Chestnut Gold rudbeckias. Cue that old song "That’s Amore"!

It’s new it’s hot and you need two or three Fairytrail Fresco Cascade Hydrangeas to start your Flower Fest.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

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