I love hydrangeas! They are one of the most perfect, low maintenance shrubs to have in the garden. They put out loads of gorgeous flowers that are long lasting and produce flowers in abundance year over year. This is another flower that I use generously around my garden.

We’ve recently moved to a new home, leaving behind many hydrangea shrubs. Our current garden has only one mature hydrangea and it is beautiful. I have planted nine more this year. It will take some time before they are equal to this mature shrub, but I’m patient. I know that even next year will yield great results with these plants and in a few years the entire bed will be fully and gorgeously in bloom. For hydrangeas, I am partial to blue but truly love all their colors. I planted three blue, three red, and three purple to go with this white one. I know that the amount of acid in the soil can affect the color of the bloom. I’ll be anxiously watching as these plants mature to see how the color turns out. I’m happy with whatever color comes.

Hydrangeas make great cut and dried flowers. One word of caution on this shrub: don’t prune it back in the fall. The blooms come out of the previous year’s stalks. If you cut it back, you won’t get blooms the next year. Leave it alone and you’ll love it.

You can’t go wrong with hydrangeas.