cleaning my dining room this morning.... memories started to flitter through my mind.. they do have a habit of doing that!.... the other day while visiting my friend Avis, I mentioned how beautiful her hydrangea bushes were.. (they have started to fade and are in that dry state between summer and autumn.. I hope to gather some next week to hang in my kitchen window..)~ that conversation & hydrangeas replayed in my mind this morning as I dusted .. words leading to memories of how my nan always bought a bunch up for my mum when she came visiting, all wrapped up in wet newspaper to keep them fresh and always with some alum which apparently helps them to stay fresh and upright in a vase...
and how my friend Peter, who is a florist, gave me a stern lecture once, because I had a bunch of them on the table and they were wilting.. he grabbed one from the vase and proceeded with great ado, to show me what to do as soon as I picked them.. which was to plunge them flower head first into a bucket of water....
someone else told me to smash the end of the stems to help them drink up the water...
being inspired by all of this wisdom coming to mind, I made a quick phone call to Avis to ask if she would mind me ducking round to gather a bunch.. not at home.. bother. I left a quick message ...
desperate to have a bunch of hydrangeas... I made yet another phone call to Marion, who lives just down the road.. and yes, she had one.. and only one.. and as gardeners are apt to do, she said I could have it. jumped in my car, drove the short distance to Marions to get that precious head of blue and bought it back home...they say, that flowers given with love from someones garden are the best kind to have .
and as I plunged the flower head into a bucket of water, cut the stem and smashed it and panicked that i had no alum in the house.. the phone rang.. it was Avis .. 'of course, you can come around anytime to gather hydrangeas, or anything else for that matter.. you are always, welcome'
10 comments:
How cheering to see a really fine blue hydrangea - what a lovely summery sight.
And I like the fact one of your friends is called Avis - I'll take that little coincidence as a reassurance from the gods!
Hoping all is well...
Hydrangeas in abundance -- how lovely!
we have a small blue hydranga at the front of our little forever home...but of course it may change color! it was blue when we bought it so it will be interesting to see what happens come spring!
Oh. The most gorgeous hydrangeas grow in Georgia. I'm a florist, too, and I didn't know about dunking the heads in water, but I'll definitely remember that little trick! Love always to you Robyn.
What a beautiful post. You've made me want to go out and find some flowers now.
Ms. Robyn, I've thought of you often over last couple of years. I can't believe how long it has been since I last read a post of yours. I'm glad to have found you again. I always enjoyed your beautiful writing.
So glad you followed your heart and went to get this gorgeous hydrangea. The act of paying attention to things you want and following through is sacred. Honor yourself every day dear Robyn.
I love pink and blue hydrangeas but we only have white. My hubby, who is a horticulturalist, says they are the only true colour and all the pinks and blues were artificially coloured at some point.
Your post is making me long for spring and summer. Made me feel happy all over.
Lovely flower,funny smell!Anything in abundance is wonderful as Mae West said "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
G'Day Robyn,
Another one to try to preserve hydrangeas which also keeps their color better when they are dried is half and half mixture of glycerin and water. Stand them in that for a few weeks then hang upside down to dry An old lady I used to work for years ago did it that way.
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