My neighbors are tearing off the front wall of their house to add a porch. These beautiful “big plate” round Hydrangeas fell victim to the back-hoe. Now, the two bushes are anchoring a black bench that I used to sit on to hold my babies, while I kept my eye on the older ones running around outside.
Nice to have a bounty of fully grown “snowballs” just fall into your lap… I feel like I inherited something special…
And I found this really interesting Hydrangea arranging tip on Marth Stewart:
To prevent your cut blooms from wilting prematurely, try this tip: Cut them early in the morning or late in the afternoon, and place the ends of each stem in boiling water for 30 seconds, making sure that the steam does not burn the flower head. Then, plunge the cuttings up to the flower head in cold water. Drape paper towels across the tops of the blossoms to cover them completely. Tuck paper towels down into the container (don’t squash the flowers), and mist. Do not allow the paper towels to dry out. In four hours, your hydrangeas will be fully conditioned and ready for arranging.