The East bed would be ideal but a Northern exposure is the second best for Hydrangea macrophylla...I assume you are talking about macrophyllas, right?

Hydrangeas go well with MANY different kind of plants...what you ultimately go with will depend on the color of your hydrangeas (pink/red, purple, blue, white).

The BEST annual to use in conjunction with hydrangeas are impatiens. Just think about...they love water and part shade too! I also like using bronze-leaved begonias: pink and white specifically.

Black-eyed susans look exceptional with blue hydrangeas but also with any of the other colors. I also like ornamental grass next to hydrangeas...the fine lines and of the grass are a stunning contrast to the big mopheads; a little more refined and elegant with lacecaps. Hostas are good companions as are astilbe, daylilies (Stella D'Oros skirting a bed of blue hydrangeas is picture perfect), and roses.

As a devoted hydrangea gardener, I typically design around them. So, I place them where they will shine best...usually right in the middle of things, maybe a little to the back. This will depend largely on the height of your chosen cultivar and the garden cohorts you select.

Have fun with hydrangeas...they are ridiculously enjoyable to grow, study, photograph, and stare at.

Thanks! Some great suggestions and gave me lots of ideas. Now I just need to plan it out!

If you have any photos of your hydrangea beds I would love to see. Please share!

Thanks again!

I WISH I had my pictures but my computer crashed in January and there went all of the hydrangeas! It was a bad day to say the least.

There is a thread here somewhere shows a absolutly stunning hydgrangea bed. I,ll trie to find it and bump it up .