re: please help me keep my new plants alive

I'm not an expert by any stretch but I do have a little experience with ligustrums and hydrangeas.

We have a lot of sunshine ligustrums planted outside at work. From what I can tell they need little maintenance. Ours get watered once a day by sprinkler for about 10 minutes. The vendor we use to care for the landscaping cuts them back in early spring. Not a dead-head cut back. Just trimmed more than usual. They come by monthly to trim and shape as needed.

I have personal experience with the hydrangeas. My wife and I both love these plants but find them a pain in the arse sometimes. Everyone we've ever bought was supposed to be full sunshine to part sunshine. I can tell you that they DO NOT like full sunshine. They will melt like an ice cream cone. Giving them plenty water helps but it's not enough to overcome a hot, sunny afternoon. We just pulled the two we planted in our new bed and moved them to pots under the covered entrance at the front door and they're doing much better. We have a hydrangea tree in the same bed that's doing ok for now with just plenty of water. However, we haven't reached the 90s yet.