In A Vase On Monday-Hydrangea macrophylla
A great beginning to my week is to join Cathy for In A Vase On Monday, a weekly invitation to fill and share a vase using materials gathered from one’s garden.
My two pass-along Hydrangea macrophylla have been slow to get established but this spring there were lots of buds. Then a severe freeze in early April dashed my hopes of finally having armloads of these lush flower clusters to enjoy this summer. As insurance for the future I need to invest in the ones that bloom on old and new growth, but meanwhile, a low branch in the back of one bush yielded a delightful surprise last week.
In A Vase On Monday-Hydrangea macrophylla
So no arranging necessary, I placed the branch into a favorite Caithness glass bud vase. This container is heavy for its size and therefore very stable. One branch, three stems, four inflorescences—instant satisfaction.
The first year these hydrangea bloomed the flowers were blue, which is my nostalgic preference. I will start adding some coffee grounds again to the soil to tip the color back, but meanwhile these blooms are fine.
Materials
Hydrangea macrophylla
In A Vase On Monday-Hydrangea macrophylla
Thank you to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for welcoming everyone to join her in this opportunity to share a vase each week. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
I’m so pleased your hydrangea did have at least some flowers after all Susie. they are so good in a vase, I think I will have to succumb and put some plants in large pots on the terrace. btw, I like blue flowers best but have never lived anywhere with the right kind of soil.
Thanks Christina, I’m enjoying them so much. Their scarcity this year makes it even more special. I think you’d enjoy hydrangeas on your terrace.
So pretty and fresh. I managed a few bigleaf hydrangea flowers this year too. My soil is almost neutral, so I get blue, purple, and pink all on a single shrub. Like you, I prefer blue and will work on correcting this for next year.
I’d like the purple. These hydrangeas came from Jayme’s father 2 or 3 years ago. Haven’t heard from her in a while.
Beautiful. I have some lace cap and mop head blooming but all of my blues are taking the year off for some reason. I miss them. 🙂
Hope we both get our blues back next year Judy.
One of my favourite flowers, I like the colour, thanks for sharing, Susie! Mine have lots of buds, too.
Thank you Anca. Lucky you! I’m glad you’ll have lots of hydrangeas soon.
What a beautiful mass of hydrangeas Susie…I am shocked at my Endless Summer Hydrangeas which didn’t bloom for 2 years…this year they are chock full and are demanding some more vase time!
Wonderful Donna. Glad your Endless Summers are putting on a good show this year.
With flowers that pretty and frilly, Susie, simple is best. I love the delicate pink tinge in the petals.
Thanks Kris. Although the pink was a surprise, I have to admit I’m enjoying them immensely.
Such a delicate pink that even this pink-averse person deems to love them. In this heat wave straight from Hades, its freshness and simplicity is soothing.
Sorry your weather is misbehaving Ricki. We finally got some rain and our temperatures moderated back to a more normal range of hot. I’m rather pink averse too and have way too many pink things, but they seem to be survivors so I leave them.
As Kris says, that delicate pink tinge is lovely – and I am amazed that you have those 3 stems in your Caithness vase, assuming it is the same size as the ones I have. It is good to know that it is still stable with your blooms. Thanks for confirming how effective ‘simple’ can be!
Hey Cathy, sadly these are just little baby clusters, not what you’d expect of normal-sized hydrangeas. They may have matured if I’d left them, don’t know, but I cut them as we were expecting more unbearable heat. The temperatures are better now thankfully.
ah, I wondered if they were little clusters but forgot to ask you – thanks for clarifying
Ooh, so delicate and lovely! I’m glad the frost didn’t take them all, a nice treat for you.
Thanks Eliza, yes it was definitely an unexpected treat to see these flowers.
Beautiful blooms. They look so delicate yet Hydrangeas are so robust. I love them all!
Thanks Gillian. Yes, I really must get some more hydrangeas. I love them all too.
So pretty, I love the delicate pink colour.
Hydrangeas aahhh…… make me think of Christmas, that’s when they flower here, lovey vase.
Beautiful, how lucky you are to have these beauties in your wonderful garden.
Hope next spring we’ll not be hit by a late cold snap that kills all the buds. This was the 2nd year in a row to lose the hydrangea display (except for this one branch).
Such a lovely color Hydrangea. We usually have blue color around here because the soil and rain are acidic. Surprisingly, there are pink/lavender color blooming this year on the same plant as the blue one. Strange!
That is odd. This hydrangea is similar. Last time it bloomed it was blue.