G’day Beach Cottage lovelies! Hope all is well with you, thanks for all the sleeping advice…I took it…I got myself some of the products you all mentioned, plus I went for a walk down by the sea about about 5pm…with no bath I ended up on the sofa watching brain-dead tv and if you instagram with me you’ll know I got a foot massage from Mr Beach Cottage. Sometimes I like him.
The more I think about it duh, the more I realise it’s a combo of things, but mainly the lack of the bath tub….counting down the days now until that thing is in, but I have to say tonight I think I will be bathing under the stars again, so over it.
So, anyway, enough of my sleep problems if you remember, back at the beginning of summer I promised I would do a post on hydrangeas and how I get them to stay looking all perky and lovely once in from the garden
I have to say it has been a mixed journey for me and growing hydrangeas too… you have to be patient….I am hoping for lots more next year.
But once they are inside, these lovely ladies, if you get it wrong, rather than standing up all beautifully and showing off their colours, can, droop sadly and get a bit forty-is-the-new-thirty saggy around the edges…and worse they can only last a day or so before you have to sling ‘em in the bin.
So I have tried a few different ways to avoid the Beach Cottage Hydrangea Droop…see them below
1. cut hydrangeas in the morning
…my neighbour swears by this, I took her advice, the one time I didn’t and thought I was clever and snipped my hydrangeas in the heat of the afternoon I had a lot of droopy, sad, wilting going on
2. bash those hydrangeas up
I read online that bashing the ends of hydrangeas makes them last longer for display…so I duly got out my rolling pin and started smashin…this definitely makes them last longer than when I didn’t do that
3. put your hydrangeas in ice cold water
I can’t remember where I read this, and there seems to be conflicting advice on the temperature of the water you put your hydrangeas in….but it has worked for me….now this might be because it’s warm here and they like a cool drink, I don’t know, but when I tried shoving a load of ice in my vase the hydrangeas lasted longer without wilting and getting droopy
4. give your hydrangeas a shot of hairspray
- I got this from my lovely old Australian neighbour who displays hydrangeas at her church…she swears by giving your vase of hydrangeas a good blasting with some hairspray, just like she does her hair…I now do it all the time too!
5. change your hydrangea water every day
…they like a fresh drink these ladies …who can be bothered to do that? Hmm, well not all of the time, but I have, in my sad little life as housewife to one old cottage on the beaches, conducted my own highly technical research on this topic…I filled two jugs with hydrangeas, one I changed the water every day, one I didn’t. The ones with fresh water, smiled happily at me for much longer, their skin did not go all brown and languid, their heads did not droop, but their forty-is-the-new thirty little bodies rather stayed pert quite nicely, thank-you-very-much.
Note to self : change one’s own water in system daily
6. Re-Cut the stems
While changing the water, re-cut your stems & give them another bashing, this has helped my cut hydrangeas last longer and have a new lease of life
Hopefully that might be of interest to any of you who love hydrangeas as much as I do and especially those of you who might not have the luxury of growing them and have to buy them, wow those ladies are expensive in the shops!
and, just before we go, here below are a few hydrangea pictures for those of you who don’t have any hydrangeas in your life, or are on the other side of the world to the beautiful Down Under and need a lil bit of colour xo
Hydrangeas are so beautiful – love them!! I did try to grow some last year, problem is I don’t have a lot of shade in my yard so I put them down near the dam and I think the effort to go water them combined with bunnies well more like wild hares but we call them the bunnies, cute but destructive to garden!!! so at the moment I have one hydrangea in a pot that I have managed to keep alive on the verandah but that is now looking way past its best as well.
Yaye! I have been waiting for this post!! Thanks so much Sarah, I don’t dare try to grow any myself but this should help my bought ones last a bit longer, I would have never thought of the hairspray and ice water! xo K
ohhh such beautiful, beautiful hydrangeas!! Just stunning – love ”em, especially the white ones.
I find cutting flowers really late or early and leaving them, with stems given a slanted cut, in deep cool water somewhere as cold as possible for a couple of hours, really gives them the best start and prolongs their life. Once in the vase, cleanliness is all cos that bacterial gunks up the stems and they keel over. Keep away from heat sources, including sunny window sills. I have lots of info on this on my blog.
Ooooh lovely. Thank you. Didn’t you have some really pale pink ones in a post once??
My lovely neighbours used a pot of hydrngeas to foof up their property when they put it on the market. I haven’t got to know the new neighbours yet and sadly I don’t think they are hydrangea lovers and I have had to watch this plant decline. I’d love to adopt it. Mmmm, maybe if I do some gardening in the frontyard this weekend I may be able to strike up a conversation.
hi Sarah
I adore hydrangeas also. we had a bush in our garden when we bought the house but it was in the wrong spot and never flowered so we ended up pulling it out. Shame. I look at your photos and wonder how we can be in the same city as your photos are always so white and sunny. not like that in my house here in Lilyfield. LOL.
BTW i go to furniture auctions twice and week and am happy to keep an eye out for a chest of drawers for you. email me to discuss if you want.
hope you are sleeping better. ..and I think i need to borrow your broomstick for my 5 year old. he’s doing my head in at the moment.
cheers Fiona
I would love to grow hydrangeas – we live in a fairly new subdivision, and our landscaping was already done when we moved in, so I haven’t really had to do much with it so far, but I’m feeling the need to plant some flowers this spring, just so I can have some lovely flowers to blog about – I’m undecided whether to go with hydrangeas or peonies. Your hydrangeas are beautiful.
Do both- peonies and hydrangeas are beautiful together. In Illinois I had “endless summer” hydrangeas and deep pink peonies~ be still my beating heart!!! Both do well as cut flowers, as well.
I love these flowers! But mine are not flowering that much… I got about 4 or 5 vases full of these babies but that was it no more since November/ December… I have the pink ones, they are lovely but my favourite ones have to be…. The white ones! (GASP! Not blue?!) Thanks for these tips! Mine last quite a while (like 2 weeks)without doing anything (apart from changing the water every couple of days and giving the stems a bit of a trim, but I will be saving these tips to try the next time… I too am hoping for more flowers but I am not holding my breath… I can’t wait to get the front garden cleared and sorted because I will be going mad planting cuttings there…
I love iris flowers too (my fav. since child hood, don’t know why… I just remember seeing a picture of one and it was love at first sight) but they are expensive (and fiddly – to me any way) to grow… I’m yet to find someone around my area who sells them by the bunch (instead of mixed in with other flowers)!
Hello Gorg
Cant decide if I am a hydrangea fan or not… can I still be a BC fan if I opt out of Hydrangea love?
I must admit the pink ones are nicer than blue xx
Fleur
Yes LOVE my hydrangeas. They make me think of those gorgeous old gardens of our grandmothers etc. And so easy to grow! Obviously a huge tip is to plonk those hydrangeas in a beautiful vintage enamel vase!!?! Stunning!! xx
my florist friend tells me that when you bash the stem ends you should impregnate those smashed parts with as much alum as you can – this also helps to prolong their crisp perkiness. she also says when you first cut your blossoms, if you don’t plan on displaying them right away, immerse the entire blossom head in cool water mixed with alum.
Ohhhh now I really can’t wait for summer! And I’m tempted to buy a starter pot in every color. ~Love~ Thank you so much for the tips, I am bookmarking this! Enjoy your bath, so glad you have that laundry hook up! -Jen
Oh yes. Hydrangeas definitely brighten my day. The hairspray thingy I knew and it pretty much works for any flower. It is an anti-transpirant. You know, it basically seals all the pores in the petals, stopping transpiration. Pure science.
Do you grow your own bushes. I would love to see pictures of them. And what are your tips for successful growth outside? I have one bush but it doesn’t flower very much and when it does, I don’t have the heart to cut off the beautiful blooms
hi Hydrangeas are my most favourite flower.thanks for sharing yours they are unbelievable- so beautiful Im jealous.I only have luck growing them in pots so they never get very big.sure wish i could grow a blue one they are gorgeous.love your blog thanks for sharing
One of my favorite flowers!! Can’t seem to get them started here in my new FL cottage. I know they grow here as I used to have a beautiful bush at a former cottage nearby. It had been there forever and bloomed like crazy. Will keep trying and thanks for the tips if and when I get to use them…lol Your photos are beyond devine!
I love hydrangeas and yours are so beautiful. I have a small shrub with pink blooms and it’s pretty but I am going to plant a one with blue flowers this summer. I’m in the US so it’s winter now and your photos of the pretty flowers sure did brighten my day today.
Um, I feel silly asking this but could you explain the hair spray part again? Do you put it in the water or spray it on the blooms or the newly pulverized ends? I’m not sure why I am confused by this, I know I am making it more complicated than it is – LOL. Thanks!!
I am going to try these tips oh that would be in about five months time when mine are flowering over this side of the world….
Yep enjoyed these fresh summery shots its brrr over herex
Hydrangeas are beautiful. I themed our Christmas around them because I’m nutty like that. Advice I got from a stylist friend, Jane Frosh was to do the bashing then place them upside down in a cold bath overnight. They lasted 3 weeks with some TLC
Hey Sarah!
my mom has them in her yard of every color shape and size the lace capped one the regular ones the pee gee ones there are soo many kinds!!! she used coffee grounds in her sopil around them this helps them turn a lovely darker shade!! she also uses egg shells m,any of her s have been started with a clipping in fact almost all except the 3 i bought her were started that way i will have to take a few pics in summer for you! i cut them and sometimes dry them!! i will have many in my yard as soon as wwe (hopefully) find the perfect little cottage this summer!!! thanks for sharing!! no bath yet?? i feel for you!!! i think i would be out there in the yard too!!! i cant live without my bubble baths and candles!!!!
xoxoox
Kim
Hydrangeas are my very favorite! I have two vases of dried ones in my house from last summer. I am trying to get my landscaping together in our newish house (actually old house but new to us). Gorgeous pictures!! Keep them coming. I think I love the blue ones best and would like to decorate with the varied blues and whites in my wholes house! Too much? I think not!
Love, love , love hydrangeas! I’ve heard that they grow on the outer islands especially Big Island but have yet to see any here on Oahu. I will see if they are being sold at the nursery, would love to grow some at my new house. Love the blue !
I love hydrangeas and used them in my wedding. Instead of smashing the stems, we used floral shears to do a vertical cut up the stem, and had no problems with wilting. We kept them as cool as possible by keeping them in a fridge overnight, adding new cold water in the morning, and positioning them away from air vents.
Ok I am a florist by trade. The trick with these beauties is to sink them overnight. If I have a wedding or such I will fill up the kitchen sink and put the flowers in overnight upside down with their heads in the water stems in the air. If they are looking droopy after a few days try this. I swear they will perk back up! I have saved many of hydrandea this way. Good luck!
G'day! I'm Sarah, I live in a tatty old cottage, near the sea in Australia with a battered old deck & a big old fig tree out the back...stripped wooden floors, old sash windows & a jumble of vintage furniture. [Read More …]
Well G’day Beach Cottage ladies. Of course some of you guessed correctly, no flies on Beach Cottage gals are there? A Summer House window dressing, beach vintage style. One that I got very wrong. I’ll keep this short and sweet The vintage crochet patchwork curtain? Love. Pure love. But, put it this [...]
G'day ladies, let's have a Too Easy Beach Cottage recipe yeah? The original place for Too Easy Recipes on the web ;-)
So, after my last salad went down a storm in my inbox, that's here if you missed it, I had to do this one seeing as I make it most weeks.
There is a problem with this salad and kiddos though...it looks, well, it looks, kinda yucky...but once they try it, they'll ask if and when they are next having it....at least that's what happens in this ratty old cottage...but I must interject here that my kiddos are 'good eaters'? ...they didn't get a choice in that ;-)
Now, stop, don't start running and hitting that next on your blog reading list, pulses are your best friend in the Too Easy Dump & Go kitchen for the busy mum, or busy anyone for that matter...that reminds me I must blog the garlic canneloni Go To for when you forgot to do dinner, feel like a bath but have three ravenous young Beach Cottage Kiddos on your hands...another day.
I am almost embarrassed to tell you how easy this is, we have it so much that I always have a couple, make that six, cans of lentils around and a jar of goat's cheese in the fridge...the great thing about this is that it's all too easy to get ready in just a few minutes, but it looks, tastes and seems like you did oh so very much more than that.
You can obviously too change it up a bit depending on what you have to hand in your kitchen, and I must say that is how I settled on this version...because one day when I made it I didn't have enough Parsley in the garden and so I chucked in some basil too, and liked the Summer feel it added.
I think of this as being a rather posh salad, not sure why, because it couldn't really be further from the truth...the great thing is that it works so well for an average run of the mill day, (when I did this for this blog post, it was a hot Sydney Sunday and I did it just simply to go with Rosemary & Garlic stuffed pork, you can see that pork here),
...but just as easily it works on a regular old Wednesday night when you have lost all enthusiasm for rustling up yet another meal, or indeed on Saturday night, when your friends are on their way over for dinner and you my friend, are in your new vintage inspired clawfoot bathtub (that's me in a few weeks time, k?) without any clothes on, a tipple and no idea what to cook for dinner...
I have a complicated and ever-changing relationship with goat's cheese...it never fails me in its performance and it never fails to impress me (you can find out a bit more on what I like in food here if you like) and I kinda collect it...because it's very easy to collect and has a fairly long fridge-life, I love trying out different ones and there's not many things I love more than goat's cheese on sourdough...but I think the best thing about it is not thinking about it exclusively in the toast/salad department...I've stuffed it in chicken and all sorts of things as a last minute and it's been fab.
But let's get down to the nitty gritty of this super salad that makes you look like an angel who has been on her knees all day scrubbing the front step when really you are in the digital world and spent most of ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, howdy, howdy howdy today for a Beach Cottage Too Easy recipe.
If you like cake, cream, sugar and chocolate, make this.
This is, rather than a recipe, a putting it together...as you know I am no dessert maker, but, I do make quite a few sweet things, because, somehow I have ended up with kiddos, who in their roles as offspring, believe that part of the deal, is that not only do I feed them a home-cooked meal with a few homegrown ingredients in there, yes, they also believe that dessert and not the kind that comes out of a packet is included too in this All-Inclusive Deal they call Parenthood.
So, this, for sure, is no culinary masterpiece, but if you are looking for something that is so very easy, dump-able, uses everyday ingredients and at the same time makes you look like you spent hours pulling things together plus tastes good....well, then this is for you.
Best though, you don't make this for yourself, if you have spent the most part of your week sitting on your derriere reading blogs...this my friend ain't low in the calories department...if, however, you are treating yourself to a delight in a mason jar, this is so for you.
I first had a version of this when at dinner back in Old Blighty with a girl, I once, in another life, caught the train up from our village to London with...she was a funny thing really...I am not quite sure how we got on...she was kinda prissy and a bit bothered by too much...I would run to the train flustered, having got up late, and she would have a spreadsheet on the train times, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, a few years later when we both had bambinos, I bumped into her again and we met up for playdates and dinner sometimes....this particular night, after a lovely meal she served up little bowls of creamy, cakey fruity stuff topped off with chocolate flake...it was delicious!
She didn't serve hers in little jars like this, hers were in a champagne glass and not quite so layered as these ones, plus she used tinned fruit not fresh or frozen.
Years later when said offspring kept requesting dessert, one day I wangled together somehow these from what was around in the fridge and they've been with us ever since.
Most likely, if you ever come here for dinner, and shock horror, you dont' bring the dessert with you, this, if you are lucky, will be what you will get.
Throw it all together, sprinkle a lil bit of chocolate on the top and the blog reading past-time you so rudely left in order to make this, is my friend, your oyster.
Beach Cottage Too Easy Layered Raspberry, Cream & Sponge Dessert
1 small maderia or butter cake or a pack of cupcakes (or of course make your own)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
8 tbsp fruit
1 x chocolate Flake or chocolate bar for grating
1. beat the cream cheese until it is soft
2. whip the cream until soft peaks form
3. combine & add the sugar through
4. cut your cake into portions
& layer into the bottom of your jar
5. add a tablespoon of fruit
6. layer on top the cream combo
7. repeat
8. grate chocolate or Flake on top
*Beach Cottage Recipe Notes : this is just a guide really, you can use any cream that you have on hand...I have made this with clotted cream (don't even go there unless you want to seriously get these babies on your thighs), with double cream and I have even, in desperate times squirted in that, ...
G'day Beach Cottage ladies, well I thought it was time for some blogging tips here today, alongside a few nice flowers and shells ;-)
I was recently part of a blogger discussion group over at Kidspot and a couple of hours later had a few questions from girls who couldn't make it to the live chat, one was on my Facebook page and one via email, the Facebook one I will deal with in another Real Girl Blogging Tips post...the email one asked me what essentials do I think every blog needs?
Well I have been around here for a while now doing the blogging thing, so I should know this, yeah and I mused this on my walk by the sea this morning I thought well what do you only need?
...I think it is really very easy when blogging, whether or not you are blogging up there in the lofty heights of the Super Bloggers or you are just dipping your toe in the water, to get side-tracked by 101 million different things that are 'essential' to your blog and if you are someone like me who actually gets a thrill from reading blogging tips then you are in an even worse place because you will find yourself literally buzzing with these essential things to add/do/implement on your blog.
However, walking along, gulping down that brisk sea air today (no sunshine & clouds) I thought you actually don't need any of that professional blogging stuff to be successful...but there are a few things that are pretty much crucial ...and once I started to think about it I got it down to about 5 - these are the only things that you need to concentrate on...once you have read through take a look at some of the big girl's blogs...you'll see that actually they don't have bundles of stuff on their blogs...but they do have all of these...
So here are my top things that your blog must have
1. About Page
There are all sorts of About Pages out there, and if you search on it there are many different tips and ideas for what to have on yours
Whatever blogging platform you use, adding an About Me Page is easy, quick and simple and will do everything to grow your blog.
I like a long-ish About Page, I am inherently nosy and I like to know a bit more about the person but at the least you should have on it your name and where you are located. I also think a photo is good too...over the last year or so I think this has become more important in blogging - if you are hesitant about that as I was, you can try using sunglasses or a behind shot until you get comfortable.
There is nothing worse than stumbling upon a new blog and going to find out more to only be faced with a piddly little one liner About Me Page...well there is something worse, not having one at all!
2. Contact Page
The chances are someone, somewhere will want to contact you and you will be surprised what lands in your inbox once you put yourself out there on the world wide web with a blog.
Many bloggers also use this page to include details for PR's/brands that may want to contact them and some bloggers put their stats on there too.
A short, to the point and simple Contact Page works really well...whenever I have wanted to contact another blogger I am often very busy and have limited time so I don't want to hang around sifting through information looking for an email address, so concise and clear ...
G'day lovely Beach Cottage lovelies.
So, yeah, so on a roll people, so on a roll.
I feel kinda home accessory wired right now.
I am always telling people, if anyone ever listens, that blogging is all about passion, not that sort of passion, but about passion that makes one tick.
Things like this make me tick tick boom.
I love finding things that suit my budget and let me treat my home but look amazing too.
So without further adieu I introduce you, ladies of the beach, to the blue vintage glasses that I have been stroking for about a week or two now...
These glasses are from a little boutique I sometimes happen upon, this boutique sells also pet accessories, carpet cleaner, bras and compost...it's quite unique though.
And, thanks to my friend Marnie (she blogs over here, go take a look at her praying position, interesting), who just so happens to be one day having me over for a lil' Greek dinner, has let me in on the fact that we call Kmart....The KMart...with an accent ....as in 'I love The KMart'...just like her MIL does. Oh yeah. Love that.
So I have had my eye on reproduction vintage glass blue wine glasses and being trying to find real true vintage blue glasses for like ever.
Oh yes I have spied them in Frenchy boutiques, I have lusted after them in stores that I shouldn't even enter and I have put them back pretty quickly in those shops with the hand-written price tags. C'mon, you know the ones.
And, though all of the above have tempted me, muchly, really, even with my wardrobe stashing skills I just thought that, actually, I'd rather be saving that casherooni for our next trip overseas..
Hello The KMart.
Tick Tick Boom
Vintage style blue wine glasses.
Do not come to my old place and think you might pick up one of these and smile with pleasure at their handblown quality, their weight, and be secretly jealous that my wine glasses cost more than your car...friend, that would not happen...these do not feel like that...indeed these in a funny way reminded me of my baby girl, she was a tiny little thing, with stick legs, the tinsssssssiest ankles and wrists you ever did see, she slept sideways in her cot wedged in between rolled up blankets and would only settle attached to Mr Beach Cottage or I or a (dirty) pj top of mine scrunched up under her nose...the first few times I picked her up to cuddle, being used to Honeymoon Baby who weighed in at 9lbs at birth and has never really stopped growing, I nearly threw her little bird-cum-rat down covered body over my shoulder.
These glasses are like that...be careful or you might lose your wine down the front of your shirt.
But oh baby, we are not talking picking up here, we are not talking quality, we are not talking house accessory snobbery.
Beach Cottage ladies, we are talking aesthetics.
And this is what I need in my cottage.
Blue vintage style glass, paired with coastal / nautical / beach stuff on my deck.
It's The KMart.
Tune in tomorrow, tomorrow, I have more budget foofing for your home, or maybe it will be the dress that wraps me up in supermarket-chic and makes me feel like me again.
Good Day to you my friends, wanna come hang out on my deck, talk house accessories, The KMart and drink some wine from blue glasses?
Sarah
…who can be bothered to do that? Hmm, well not all of the time, but I have, in my sad little life as housewife to one old cottage on the beaches, conducted my own highly technical research on this topic…I filled two jugs with hydrangeas, one I changed the water every day, one I didn’t. The ones with fresh water, smiled happily at me for much longer, their skin did not go all brown and languid, their heads did not droop, but their forty-is-the-new thirty little bodies rather stayed pert quite nicely, thank-you-very-much.
Hydrangeas are so beautiful – love them!! I did try to grow some last year, problem is I don’t have a lot of shade in my yard so I put them down near the dam and I think the effort to go water them combined with bunnies well more like wild hares but we call them the bunnies, cute but destructive to garden!!! so at the moment I have one hydrangea in a pot that I have managed to keep alive on the verandah but that is now looking way past its best as well.
Such georgeous, heady blooms – love, love, love them! I have never been able to grow them : ( , so I will admire yours instead : )
Yaye! I have been waiting for this post!! Thanks so much Sarah, I don’t dare try to grow any myself but this should help my bought ones last a bit longer, I would have never thought of the hairspray and ice water! xo K
ohhh such beautiful, beautiful hydrangeas!! Just stunning – love ”em, especially the white ones.
I find cutting flowers really late or early and leaving them, with stems given a slanted cut, in deep cool water somewhere as cold as possible for a couple of hours, really gives them the best start and prolongs their life. Once in the vase, cleanliness is all cos that bacterial gunks up the stems and they keel over. Keep away from heat sources, including sunny window sills. I have lots of info on this on my blog.
Your photos are gorgeous, have pinned! Bx
Ooooh lovely. Thank you. Didn’t you have some really pale pink ones in a post once??
My lovely neighbours used a pot of hydrngeas to foof up their property when they put it on the market. I haven’t got to know the new neighbours yet and sadly I don’t think they are hydrangea lovers and I have had to watch this plant decline. I’d love to adopt it. Mmmm, maybe if I do some gardening in the frontyard this weekend I may be able to strike up a conversation.
alison
hi Sarah
I adore hydrangeas also. we had a bush in our garden when we bought the house but it was in the wrong spot and never flowered so we ended up pulling it out. Shame. I look at your photos and wonder how we can be in the same city as your photos are always so white and sunny. not like that in my house here in Lilyfield. LOL.
BTW i go to furniture auctions twice and week and am happy to keep an eye out for a chest of drawers for you. email me to discuss if you want.
hope you are sleeping better. ..and I think i need to borrow your broomstick for my 5 year old. he’s doing my head in at the moment.
cheers Fiona
Love your hydrangeas~~~ The pink and blue is so… vibrant.
Thanks for sharing your lovely photos
~Cheryl
Fresh Vanilla For C
I would love to grow hydrangeas – we live in a fairly new subdivision, and our landscaping was already done when we moved in, so I haven’t really had to do much with it so far, but I’m feeling the need to plant some flowers this spring, just so I can have some lovely flowers to blog about – I’m undecided whether to go with hydrangeas or peonies. Your hydrangeas are beautiful.
Do both- peonies and hydrangeas are beautiful together. In Illinois I had “endless summer” hydrangeas and deep pink peonies~ be still my beating heart!!! Both do well as cut flowers, as well.
I love these flowers! But mine are not flowering that much… I got about 4 or 5 vases full of these babies but that was it no more since November/ December… I have the pink ones, they are lovely but my favourite ones have to be…. The white ones! (GASP! Not blue?!) Thanks for these tips! Mine last quite a while (like 2 weeks)without doing anything (apart from changing the water every couple of days and giving the stems a bit of a trim, but I will be saving these tips to try the next time… I too am hoping for more flowers but I am not holding my breath… I can’t wait to get the front garden cleared and sorted because I will be going mad planting cuttings there…
I love iris flowers too (my fav. since child hood, don’t know why… I just remember seeing a picture of one and it was love at first sight) but they are expensive (and fiddly – to me any way) to grow… I’m yet to find someone around my area who sells them by the bunch (instead of mixed in with other flowers)!
Hello Gorg
Cant decide if I am a hydrangea fan or not… can I still be a BC fan if I opt out of Hydrangea love?
I must admit the pink ones are nicer than blue xx
Fleur
i LOVE hydrangeas!
They grow wild and like crazy on the side of the road around me so i am often parked up snipping a few
kate
Yes LOVE my hydrangeas. They make me think of those gorgeous old gardens of our grandmothers etc. And so easy to grow! Obviously a huge tip is to plonk those hydrangeas in a beautiful vintage enamel vase!!?! Stunning!! xx
Love hydrangeas! So beautiful. And they look so great against all the white in your house.
my florist friend tells me that when you bash the stem ends you should impregnate those smashed parts with as much alum as you can – this also helps to prolong their crisp perkiness. she also says when you first cut your blossoms, if you don’t plan on displaying them right away, immerse the entire blossom head in cool water mixed with alum.
Great tips. I love that you did a little research for us all. You are like the Mythbusters of housiness!
Ohhhh now I really can’t wait for summer! And I’m tempted to buy a starter pot in every color. ~Love~ Thank you so much for the tips, I am bookmarking this! Enjoy your bath, so glad you have that laundry hook up! -Jen
Oh yes. Hydrangeas definitely brighten my day. The hairspray thingy I knew and it pretty much works for any flower. It is an anti-transpirant. You know, it basically seals all the pores in the petals, stopping transpiration. Pure science.
Do you grow your own bushes. I would love to see pictures of them. And what are your tips for successful growth outside? I have one bush but it doesn’t flower very much and when it does, I don’t have the heart to cut off the beautiful blooms
hi Hydrangeas are my most favourite flower.thanks for sharing yours they are unbelievable- so beautiful Im jealous.I only have luck growing them in pots so they never get very big.sure wish i could grow a blue one they are gorgeous.love your blog thanks for sharing
One of my favorite flowers!! Can’t seem to get them started here in my new FL cottage. I know they grow here as I used to have a beautiful bush at a former cottage nearby. It had been there forever and bloomed like crazy. Will keep trying and thanks for the tips if and when I get to use them…lol Your photos are beyond devine!
Thanks for the tips.
I love hydrangeas and yours are so beautiful. I have a small shrub with pink blooms and it’s pretty but I am going to plant a one with blue flowers this summer. I’m in the US so it’s winter now and your photos of the pretty flowers sure did brighten my day today.
Um, I feel silly asking this but could you explain the hair spray part again? Do you put it in the water or spray it on the blooms or the newly pulverized ends? I’m not sure why I am confused by this, I know I am making it more complicated than it is – LOL. Thanks!!
I am going to try these tips oh that would be in about five months time when mine are flowering over this side of the world….
Yep enjoyed these fresh summery shots its brrr over herex
Hydrangeas are beautiful. I themed our Christmas around them because I’m nutty like that. Advice I got from a stylist friend, Jane Frosh was to do the bashing then place them upside down in a cold bath overnight. They lasted 3 weeks with some TLC
Hey Sarah!
my mom has them in her yard of every color shape and size the lace capped one the regular ones the pee gee ones there are soo many kinds!!! she used coffee grounds in her sopil around them this helps them turn a lovely darker shade!! she also uses egg shells m,any of her s have been started with a clipping in fact almost all except the 3 i bought her were started that way i will have to take a few pics in summer for you! i cut them and sometimes dry them!! i will have many in my yard as soon as wwe (hopefully) find the perfect little cottage this summer!!! thanks for sharing!! no bath yet?? i feel for you!!! i think i would be out there in the yard too!!! i cant live without my bubble baths and candles!!!!
xoxoox
Kim
Hydrangeas are my very favorite! I have two vases of dried ones in my house from last summer. I am trying to get my landscaping together in our newish house (actually old house but new to us). Gorgeous pictures!! Keep them coming. I think I love the blue ones best and would like to decorate with the varied blues and whites in my wholes house! Too much? I think not!
Love, love , love hydrangeas! I’ve heard that they grow on the outer islands especially Big Island but have yet to see any here on Oahu. I will see if they are being sold at the nursery, would love to grow some at my new house. Love the blue !
Great tips! I have gorgeous ones at the moment – they get morning sun and afternoon shade which they seem to love.
I love hydrangeas and used them in my wedding. Instead of smashing the stems, we used floral shears to do a vertical cut up the stem, and had no problems with wilting. We kept them as cool as possible by keeping them in a fridge overnight, adding new cold water in the morning, and positioning them away from air vents.
Ok I am a florist by trade. The trick with these beauties is to sink them overnight. If I have a wedding or such I will fill up the kitchen sink and put the flowers in overnight upside down with their heads in the water stems in the air. If they are looking droopy after a few days try this. I swear they will perk back up! I have saved many of hydrandea this way. Good luck!