Hydrangea for small garden

Hi,
I quite like the look of hydrangeas and would like to get one for my small garden (16x30ft). Is there a particular species i should go for? Not too worried about colour tbh, just want a good looking one! Not even bothered if lacecap or mophead.
Also, can it be planted at this time of year?
I guess the most important thing for me with the hydrangea is that it flowers for as long as poss. I know that the pH of the soil will affect the colour of some flowers so does that mean i have to do anything with my soil befire/after planting?

 

It's awful to say in these organic environmentally friendly etc times, but large amounts peat seems to be the best thing to add for hydrangeas. They will stay at the size you prune them to if you are concerned about size. They are lovely plants. The choice is too large to confine it to my meagre suggestions though and would encourage you to google images and have a look at the galleries on some of the specialist nursery websites before making a choice.

A nice decision, hydrangeas are

 

Hi busybee. I have what I call the common Hydrangea in a concrete planter to contain it and have done for years. I just planted it in ordinary compost and it gets no special treatment and blooms beautifully every year. I cut mine back each year to soil level and it is currently about 30cm tall .. given my climate it will be developing its buds soon but it is in filtered sunlight here.

Mine started off blue the first year but has been pink ever since and I haven't changed anything to make the colour change.

I would think if danger of frost is past then it is safe to plant one now ... but no doubt someone from there will come and advise accordingly.

 

I was told you can add nails to the soil/compost to keep a Hydrangea blue - no idea if that works though. You can also buy stuff to add to the plant to make it blue, but also not sure if that works either. Anyway, pink is just as nice

Might be an idea to find out what sort of soil you have...or go for pot luck and see what develops!

As Lollipop suggests, have a look at online garden sites for suggestions- there are dwarf versions available. They can be pruned though to keep in shape as well.

I agree, they are lovely plants and a great addition to any garden - the seed heads look good well into winter.

 

well there are some useful bits of info there - thank you to all of you!
So i can cut it back to a size i want to keep it at then? I can i keep cutting it back to the same size each year or do i have to worry about cutting into old stems and then it not coming back? At what time of year do i prune? As i'm new to gardening i don't have any knowledge on pruning at all!