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A purple Hydrangea flowerhead stands out amongst her green peers.
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Every summer, hydrangeas, an ornamental plant with large, stunning flower heads, brighten up Sydney’s gardens. Their colour can range from white through to red, purple, pink and blue. The colour depends on the soil - acid soils produce blue flowers, while alkaline soils produce reds and pinks. As they mature, the flowers can take on some fascinating shades of antique green and purple. Hydrangea foliage - large, dark green leaves with serrated edges - can be quite impressive too.
“Hydrangeas were my grandmother’s favourite plant and the stars of her summer garden. I vividly remember as a child picking the big blue flower heads to use to decorate the house for Christmas and learning about plunging the cut stems into a bucket of water to keep them from collapsing.
As my grandmother knew, these easy-going, exuberant plants provide weeks of colour in summer gardens and are long-lasting for use indoors too.”
-- Jennifer Stackhouse
Horticulturist and blogger