IT MAY be best known for its rhododendrons and azaleas but Hampshire’s world renowned Exbury Gardens also has a burst of late summer colour to offer.

The gardens report the hydrangeas have enjoyed the cool summer and are lighting up the 200-acre woodland garden.

Head gardener John Anderson said: “The hydrangeas along Hydrangea Walk are beginning to look at their best with a wide variety of colour and flower shape. The lace cap and mop heads are literally flowering their “heads off”

John said that hydrangea paniculatas planted this year along the Azalea Drive, are also looking good with their large white, cream and pink flowers catching the eye.

He said the Exbury had been planting more hydrangeas to provide more colour in late summer.

Hydrangeas have come back into fashion in recent years and John says they make an excellent plant for domestic gardens as they flower for a long time and are relatively free of pests and diseases.

“There are some cracking new varieties available and most people can grow them.”

Hydrangeas also have the added attraction of being able to changing colour depending on the soil. If they are in acid soil they will be blue and pink in alkali.