Original plantings had been unable to cope with an unrelenting southwest summer sun and winter winds blowing hard down the Hudson River. The client wanted a breezy yet slightly formal look, and for that, simple worked best. A sun-hungry panicle hydrangea in tree form and a shrubby black pine frame the planting, and the design is carried through with runs of short ornamental grasses, early-blooming hydrangeas in shrub form, and low-care roses. New England asters provide fresh autumn color. Hydrangea blooms, touched with shades of lime green as summer moves along, turn a light pink in autumn, before they are cut, dried, and used for holiday table arrangements.