Hydrangea Season

Using Hydrangea's When Decorating

As you may notice many designers often use floral arrangements in spaces, and while I have the Black-ist of Black Gardening thumbs, I enjoy using real flowers when decorating. To me, live plants provide a soothing appeal to a space that faux plants just don't duplicate. It brings in texture, color, and an earthy element. They may even inspire colors you plan to use in a space. Find what speaks to you.

My southern self loves Hydrangeas. They come in so many shapes and colors and are fairly long lasting in a vase. They are easy to grow in your yard and bloom beautiful in the summer months. It's a personal favorite of my mothers, so there's always a connection in my mind to her beautiful yard. She would always fix me up with a beautiful bouquet for my home.

... now remember what I was saying about my black thumb, well turns out Hydrangea's turn into beautiful dried flowers when left without water in a vase. HAPPY OOPS! Now I have dried Hydrangea flower heads to use in vases, nested in a jar lamp, or however else Pinterest inspires you.

Here I used a collection of dried Hydrangeas in a tall vase, dried lavender in an aqua bottle, and another vase of purple & white shells called Wampum's. The Hydrangeas take on a different feel when placed in a vase like this instead of the traditional arrangement of fresh cuttings. 

Hydrangea Color Palettes

Hydrangea's come in a variety of colors and shapes to fit many spaces. My favorite is the blue, green, and purple shades of the Endless Summer varieties which is what you'll notice in my photos. It's a species that grows very well in North Carolina and I love seeing the huge overgrown bushes of the Endless Summer Variety in front of the sound front cottages on the Outer Banks. 

Check out my inspiration boards for Hydrangea colored spaces on:

• Pinterest 
• Houzz

Main Photo Credit: http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/

Drying Tips

I've noticed the older the bush, the better for drying. Check to see if the branches are twig-like and not green, that will ensure the flower will dry instead of wither and wilt like the younger bushes do. Mine were picked and enjoyed at the height of the blooming season and there color has held up for several seasons now. I have also read it is best to let the blooms dry naturally on the bush, prior to cutting. In any case, I did not hang mine upside down or place them in a dark hot place. Remember my first experience with Hydrangea drying was letting them run out of water in the vase where they sat. 

In this example I used my open base seeded glass lamp and filled the open cavity with various shades of dried Hydrangea's. This is one of my favorite things to do for this lamp during the spring and summer months. There are so many collectors lamps available now, the key is to find one with a large opening that allows you to place the whole bloom into. Mine was purchased locally.... SHOP LOCAL WHENEVER POSSIBLE PEOPLE!