tiny pleasures
hydrangea, that ubiquitous shrub for shady yards here in the north, is one of those things that gives me pleasure disproportionate to its value. when i stop to think about why i love it so much it comes down to three unique-to-me and totally unrelated reasons: 1) my husband steve once called the little florets in the blossoms “tethered butterflies” and it has always stuck with me as the perfect metaphor, 2) i love that hydrangea is called hortensia in french–i think it is a beautiful word, and 3) i love that the blossoms, when dried, are sturdy like construction paper and don’t curl up, like tissue paper, like so many blossoms do.
do you love hydrangea too? if so, tell me about it. the weirder the reasons the better.
dried hydrangea florets
I love their large flashy flower heads and their color response to soil acidity. It’s cool to have pink on one side of a bush and blue on the other side, with a smattering of purple thrown in the mix. Magical! (Sorry, nothing very weird in that).
first reason is the same as ginny’s. second reason is because my grandmother, ma lill, had a massive hydrangea in her front yard on smith island, md. i have never seen one as big.. i always associate hydrangeas with her. i loved her so much. she gave the best back rubs; had a book shelf filled with harlequin romances, which I devoured one summer; she made THE BEST crab cakes and smith island cake, and when we visited from kansas i ran around the island like a feral child. so those are just a few reasons i love hydrangeas.
It’s been awhile since I viewed your images/blog. Today I tapped on it again and found joy, by watt and peace in your images. Thanks for your art – it is therapy for me today.
I love them this time of year especially for their intricate structure. They remind me of green lacewings. And they make me grateful for my bifocals!
I love them for ALL the reasons given here. And for the stillness and focus required when pruning. Stepping back and looking and being in the moment. Just like this blog!