"HYDRANGEAS"

"HYDRANGEAS"

I can't remember a time when I didn't love hydrangeas.  There was an elderly woman who lived near a relative of mine and she had the most glorious hydrangea bush right in front of her house:  It was breathtaking. I loved looking at the different colors--blue, purple and pink all swirled up into one huge cluster. Although young, I would always want to see that when I was at my relative's house. And I did. When I got really close to it, I could see that each blossom contained many little flowers all bundled up into one blossom--that made it even more special to me.

Somehow between then and becoming an adult, it never dawned on me to plant a hydrangea bush at all. Don't know why for I still had the love for it: I would drive by houses that had them in the front and be taken back to my first meeting with one and just stare to the point of almost wrecking! No newer houses ever had hydrangea bushes ever. Seemed to me that only old houses had them for they were in vogue a long time ago--maybe in the early 1900's.

A couple of years ago, I purchased four hydrangea bushes and planted them in my front yard. Was so excited. Put wire fencing around each one so that they would not be cut down by the man who mowed my lawn. Even went so far as to point each one out to him one day when he was here to mow my lawn, came inside and when he knocked on my door, I went outside to see what he had done. Lo and behold, he had mowed all four of those bushes down flatter than a fritter! I was livid. The conversation between him and me was not one for writing here but honestly I said to him "But I showed you where they were and they had fencing around them!" He just looked at me like I was from Mars.

Never had him mow my lawn again ever.

Last year I purchased four more hydrangea bushes and had a neighbor [who had a green thumb] to plant them for me. This time I didn't put fencing around each one but big rocks--really big rocks. Boulder type almost.

I have a wonderful woman who takes care of my yard --she mows, trims and is oh so careful with those hydrangea bushes. They have leaves on them now and I check them daily [should I? I do] and am crossing my fingers that each will grow big and be the colors of the very first one I ever saw--blue, purple and pink. I know they will at least be blue for that is the color of the blooms when my neighbor planted them last year.

Can't wait for them to get big: Not sure how long it takes for I didn't look online. Sort of afraid to find out that I am doing something wrong and by now I really don't want to know. Just hoping for I never forgot the first time I ever saw a hydrangea bush ever. And I want at least one out of the four to get huge.

Maybe I'll be lucky and have four of them.

Here's hoping!

Sherry Hill