Central Texas Gardening-Hydrangea (not meant for Central TX gardens)

To keep it simple it is all about planting perennials here in Central Texas. I want to keep my perennial garden growing nicely in these drought fraught times and for that reason it is important to keep the gardens well mulched with shredded cedar, shredded tree trimmings or partly composted material. The mulch keeps the ground cool and moist in the summer and warm in the winter. Many of my plants were cut back in February, most of them down to the ground, with a few of them cut back only to where the topmost growth was. 

Last Mother's Day, during a northern garden nostalgic moment I bought and planted a Hydrangea in a shaded area to see what would happen with this non-Texas native plant. It is not a plant that survives well in our harsh Central Texas weather and needs a lot of water. Planting none-Texas native plants is not the plan for our drought resistant gardens, although I made an exception for this plant. The Hydrangea looked like it was a goner by the end of the summer, but I cut it back to the ground in February and so far it has started to grow back beautifully. Let's see what will happen to the Hydrangea this summer. Let me know what your gardening experiences are here in Central Texas.