2026 Priority Project #1: Oakleaf Hydrangea Replacement In Back - March 2026

Back in early January, I wrote a post titled "An Early, Early Look at 2026 Projects and To-Do List" that included a look at a bunch of potential projects.   One of the items listed for the backyard was this:

• Replace Oakleaf Hydrangeas. Dang rabbits. Maybe add a few Thujas, too. 

I think I've arrived at a place where I have to do something about the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  I have loved them - but the rabbit pressure has just about killed them the past few years.  Here's a post from January, too where I showed how the (dang!) rabbits had gnawed away at these shrubs.  I wrote this then, and still feel it today:

I've protected some of them with chicken wire cages, but the small ones (dwarf) are just about eaten back to the trunks. And some of the Alice (larger ones) have been reduced, too.

I *REALLY* like Oakleaf Hydrangeas. But, I don't know if our garden is going to work for them.

Working AGAINST what works is something I need to stop doing as a gardener.     That means...stop doing things that don't work and learn from those problems.  

I think I've come to the place where I now can say this:  Oakleaf Hydrangeas don't work in our garden.

But, what do I do about it?  What would I replace it with?  I mean...a shade-tolerant, flowering shrub that looks good in multiple seasons is hard to find and *that's why* I have used Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  But, the rabbits love them too much and I haven't had any blooms for the past couple of years.

My brain goes to thinking about what *IS* working in our garden that I could use here and I quickly turn to a success story:  Treeform Doublefile Viburnums.  Back in 2022, I found some and planted them in a few spots in the garden.  They're in the shade and along the fence.  But, on the other side of the yard from where I have the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  They SURE look good.  

And, why do they look good?  I'm pretty sure the key part of the equation is their form;  Treeform.  These are grafted on top of a trunk, so the shrub is up high, away from any rabbit pressure.  Like magic, they've never had any rabbit damage. 

Here, below, is a look at the basically blank space where the Oakleaf Hydrangeas are planted:

Oh...you can't see them?  I don't blame you.  Here is an annotated version showing the stubs left behind by the rabbits.

And, here below is a comparison of what a pair of Viburnum (treeform shape) would look like:

But, they're not stick drawings - they are this beautiful cascading, horizontal shape with clusters of white flowers.  This is a garden star:

And, here it is "naked" in Winter.   A nice structure. 

I'm calling it now: replacing these rabbit-food-shrubs with something else.  That works.  And, can speak to repetition and increase legibility.  Here's hoping I find these Treeform Doublefile Viburnum at the nursery this Spring.