Different year, different weather, two different cultivars. Mulching can help protect them from the extremes of midwestern winters and springs. Mine get a pile of leaves over them in late fall and they look like they always have despite the coldest winter in many years.

Okay that does it.....the argument every fall is the leaves. He wants to get rid of them, so he bags them up and lets the garbage people take them. This year I am mowing them several times to chomp 'em up to put around the hydrangeas -- or else I'm leaving him. I'm sure it was the late Spring freezes now that you mention it. The Blushing Bride is just a few feet closer to the house but the house is brick and I'm sure that held enuf heat to protect it more than ES.