Dreamy Hydrangeas

When I was younger, I’d look at pictures in books and magazines and see the most amazing gardens. I would mentally compose a list of “Dream Plants” that I’d consider myself as “having arrived” if I ever had the luck to grow them. Hydrangeas were the 3rd plant on this list, falling behind Apple Trees (thanks Johnny Appleseed!), and roses (because who doesn’t want to grow ALL the roses?) I honestly never imagined that I could grow hydrangeas though. I’d never seen a bush anywhere I lived. I had no idea how they grew. They were simply a beautiful and mysterious flower that only existed in fancy settings (or my dream garden).

But then we moved to the Pacific Northwest, and while looking for our future home, I saw them….simply everywhere. Everywhere in town, people had planted beautiful, lush bushes of hydrangeas. And that’s when I realized, this dream would come true.

We’ve planted five hydrangea bushes so far. They are still getting established, so we aren’t getting many blooms yet, but they will come.

In the meantime, we were welcomed to a neighbor’s garden this summer to pick off of her well established hydrangea bushes, and we are still playing with those blooms well into Fall. We’ve enjoyed them fresh, then dried. We’ve made wreaths, and even painted them!

Dare I say it?

Hydrangeas are quite simply dreamy.

So now I wait with anticipation, for my small plants to grow to their potential. To “arrive” at some unknown destination that I am closer to, having marked Dream Plant #3 off the list.