These are my 3 hydrangeas today, having been pruned at the end of March. ‘Bluebird’ and the white mophead are superb, but the lacecap in B2 seems to be all foliage and no flower.

The lacecap in B2 has looked much better in the past (August 2017), but I can’t remember how I pruned it for this effect. It’s likely I pruned it to the ground whan I made the garden in late 2015 / early 2016. Perhaps it flowers on old wood, and what I should do is cut the stems which have flowered to the ground in spring, leaving new stems to flower later in the year.

When I got compost from various sources during the spring compost crisis, I tested each batch by growing some broad beans in pots of each. They all did well, with no sign of persistent weedkiller damage. It seemed a shame to put the healthy plants on the compost heap, so I grew six plants on in pots and eventually got a few tasty beans from them.