Day Sixty Nine: Party-Pooper Hydrangeas

I was reading an article the other day by my friend and Houston gardener, Donna Buchanan, giving Martha the credit for bringing hydrangeas back into fashion.  She is right, of course. This article from MarthaStewart.com discusses the explosion of popularity that hydrangeas have experienced since Martha revealed her passion for the blowsy shrub in the 1990s.  How's that for trendsetting?

I'm not much of a band-waggoner, but I was not immune to these beauties in the nursery.  Actually, the first time I spotted hydrangeas at a nursery, I ran across the lot to get a better look.  I may have knocked over a few old ladies and small children in the process.

 I was crushed when my hydrangeas were not blooming for our Derby Party. :whatapartypooper:  Of course, now that I'm the only one around to admire them, they are blooming like mad.  But through the wonder of a little something I call a Digital Camera, you can admire my hydrangeas from the comfort of your own home:

 

While taking these photos, I couldn't resist cutting a few for an arrangement.

If you have been following along, you will remember that I've had some spectacular failures with flower arranging.  This will not be one of them as it only entails cutting the flower and putting it in a glass.  That, I can manage.  :sendsupsilentprayer:

My hydrangeas:

Martha gives her tips for hydrating hydrangeas, but you basically just cut the stems at a 45 degree angle and stick them in water.  You can keep the bouquet fresh for two weeks by changing the water and recutting the stem an inch every day or so.

This is the sort of bouquet I like:  simple and nearly impossible to mess up.  Completed bouquet:

:victorydance: Not bad, given the hardest part was not spilling the water.