Nothing says summer like fresh-cut hydrangeas. The color of their blossoms echo the summer sky and makes us smile. I bring fresh-cut flowers inside all summer, because they bring life into a room, and it’s a treat to sit next to them and smell their fragrance. True, hydrangea have no real fragrance, but they get attention in other ways! My favorite are the classic blue, but there are so many colors now,why limit yourself to just one?
I love using a single type of flower en-masse, because it seems to make a bigger visual impact. Hydrangea are fun and easy to arrange. They tend to stay put when you put them in a vase, and you don’t need many to make a lovely arrangement. Plus, mine always last a long time. The less “arranging” with these beauties, the better the result seems to be.
The three “Endless Summer” hydrangeas on the east side of my home give me more blossoms than I can bring inside, so I dry as many stems as I can. The mellowed blossoms are beautiful in fall arrangements.
Lots of folks lament that they can’t grow blue varieties because their soil is too alkaline, or they can’t grow pink because they have acidic soil. Check with your local nursery, because the options available are increasing each year.
You may not have thought to use hydrangea in your container gardens, but they do very well in pots, and make a big impact, like in these window boxes below.
They come close to being the ideal flower, both on the shrub and in arrangements.
Hydrangeas couldn’t be easier to grow and are an unfussy, popular shrub. What’s your favorite summer flower?
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