Friday, September 25, 2020

and then there are surprises









I bought this hydrangea last spring, thinking it would be a white mophead hydrangea (one of my favourite flowers ever). I was very excited to see the first buds this early summer, but to my surprise they didn't resemble the round heads I knew! 

I found out this was another type of hydrangea, called paniculata (panicled) and I was very disappointed at first, but have grown to love it. It is less sensitive than the mophead type, which is harder to grow in our area because of heat and drought, and the blooms last much longer. 

I also waited in vain for all the tiny flowers to open, until I learned each panicle had sterile (big showy flowers) and non-sterile little flowers almost hidden beneath, very interesting... They shine like little white stars in the shade beneath the vine, I can now say I don't regret anymore buying it, on the contrary! 




Come September, the blossoms are slowly turning brown-beige, and the leaves have started to show signs of yellowing, but it is still very lovely, I think... 


7 comments:

  1. Very lovely. Looks very much like the sort of flower one would find in the shade of a thick forest.

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  2. I never met a hydrangea I didn't like. Gardeners are, in the main, optimists (or yet simpler, just overjoyed when presented with panicles of any description).

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    1. and did you mention 'obsessed'? :-) I now have three more hydrangeas on my list, two paniculatas :-) and one with an irresistible name, Candy Bubblegum :-)

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    2. actually it's Candybelle :-))

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  3. wunderschöne himmlische blüten, so rein und herrlich und besonders ausdrucksvoll mit den leichten regentropfen auf den blättern. liebste grüsse!

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    1. meine Liebe, ich lächele Dir zu, im warmen Halbschatten, die Blüten so zärtlich und rein wie unsere Träume, manchmal, wenn Schönheit unser Herz ergreift...

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