Hydrangea 'Annabelle'

Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

Discovered in an Anna, Illinois, garden, 'Annabelle' is perhaps the most popular old-fashioned flowering shrub grown in American gardens. Once established, it produces enormous, 12-inch, globe-shaped flowerheads of snowy white starting in early summer and increasing in size until mid to late summer—truly spectacular.

Growing to 4 feet high and wide, it is a splendid landscape plant that never gets out of bounds and complements every other color in the garden beautifully. It thrives in shade, but also tolerates heat and humidity. Very easy to grow once established, it is a lovely source of fresh and dried arrangements as well as a useful border, hedge, foundation, or accent planting. H. arborescens is a native species, far more cold-hardy than most other Hydrangea species.