During our languid Australian summer, hydrangeas are impossible to resist as they flaunt their old-fashioned charms. With immense billowy blossoms, fat as a Christmas pudding, they beguile us with a dazzling array of colours—frosty whites, heart breaking blues, vibrant pinks, rich lavender and rose—sometimes all blooming together on the same plant.
Stalwarts of Edwardian planting schemes, hydrangeas carry us back in memory to the gardens our grandmothers loved to cultivate. Despite their label today of being, ‘so Victorian,’ they still appear to delight us, particularly in country style, and cottage themed gardens.
Hydrangea macrophylla produce their amazing spread of colours, in relation to the acidity or alkalinity of the soil in which they are planted. In an acid soil with a pH of 5 or less, hydrangea blossoms are always blue.
As the soil climbs toward the alkaline end with a pH of 7 or more, the flowers turn to mauve, pink, or even a dark red. White flowering hydrangeas will always remain white, regardless of the soil pH. Though most gardeners cultivate hydrangea blooms or mop heads for their colour, the foliage can be quite impressive too when rich dark green leaves display their serrated edges.
Originally native to Japan, hydrangeas create decorative floral bouquets. Cut them early in the morning with secatures, and plunge the stems immediately into cold water. This will wash away the sticky white sap that could prevent clean water from being drawn up into the stems. You don’t want your flowers to droop unhappily, do you? Fill a Christmas vase with these beauties, change their water often, and enjoy them as they last to welcome in the new year.
It’s good to be blogging again after my Christmas/summer absence. This gave me the space where I could recharge my creative batteries, take many lovely photos, and find new topics and stories to share with you in the coming weeks. Thankfully I also found the idea for my next book that I’ll be writing during 2015. Nature always continues to inspire.
Just gorgeous! I had the tiny florets, together with frangipani, in my bridal bouquet.
Margie, it must have been an absolutely beautiful bridal bouquet. It’s good to be back again.
Mary, thank you for your lovely hydrangeas. This is a time when I regret living in our climate because these truly love the cooler climates. Still …. I struggle to keep a few and will indulge their beauty in painting them. Looking forward to the new book.
Many thanks Robyn. May your painting continue on in 2015.
Glad you had a good break, Mary 🙂 Welcome back! Those pretty hydrangeas are so bright and colourful. Thank you for your interesting post… 🙂 Love, Iris
Thank you, Iris, for leaving your comment. Its good to be back online again.
So pleased to have you back Mary. My beautiful hydrangeas are coming to the end of their flowering. I struggle to keep them blue. 🙂
Lovely to be back once again, Gallivanta. What a joy it must be for you to grow blue hydrangeas. It makes one weep when they finally finish their cycle.
I am very sad to see them dying away. I managed to get a few photos whilst they were in their prime.
To see such beauty as these makes my Heart SO happy. Thank you, Mary. Love, Amy
Amy, It’s a joy too when I visit your latest posts and am always uplifted by your wonderful photography. Much love from Mary
Mary, what a stunningly beautiful post you’ve gifted us with today. Thank you, and welcome back from your break. I adore hydrangeas and am so glad to have four different ones in our garden. Cottage and Victorian are styles I enjoy–so it’s no wonder that I love these charming flowers.
Blessings for 2015 ~ Wendy ❀
Thank you, Wendy, for leaving this encouraging comment. I always get such a lift from your photography and the joy of seeing your talents as a writer continue to unfold. Love from Mary
Welcome back…so refreshingly with flowers! Absolutely gorgeous colours and a good brief read on histortcal backgorund.
Thank you, Veena, for visiting and leaving your comment.
Although I’m aware of the reversal of seasons between your hemisphere and mine, it always takes me by surprise to see photos of summer flowers in abundant bloom at this time of year! I’m a big fan of hydrangeas, although some people turn their noses up at them (I don’t know why).
Good to hear from you again, and I’m enjoying being back online. Our hydrangeas have completed their cycle but one can always look forward to another crop next Christmas. I also love them, regardless of what others may think or say.
Yes, I feel exactly as you do!
Hydrangeas always remind me of my mother and grandmother: both adored them. There’s a photo of me, perhaps aged four, in front of a bush with one blossom seemingly tucked behind my ear. We only had white, though. It was much later that I learned other colors were possible, and I didn’t know until five minutes ago that they could become as dark as mauve or red.
It’s so good to have you back, and your flowers, too. It will be fun to see what you’ve chosen for this year’s project.
These blogs are a wonderful way to share our creative interests, and I always enjoy reading your beautifully crafted essays. We all learn so much about other places, people, events, flora and fauna we may never get to see.