being complementary ... Blue Tuesdays

Going Blue: Margaret's Hydrangea Blooms Again in 2015 by Wayne Stratz

Margaret has been posting Orange Tuesday blog posts for quite some time, so going Blue at Stratoz is a complementary new route.

When we moved into our Two Studio Row a decade or so ago, there was a hydrangea in the front yard, but it was under the porch roof and got very little water, so I moved it out into the rain. It didn't bloom. As we walked about Lansdale, Margaret expressed her love of their blooms.

We bought a Hydrangea and I placed it in the backyard, where it can be seen from her studio window. It bloomed. 

From 2008 in the garden of nutmeg designs: A violet Hydrangea (clearly showing the fickle nature of the bloom color......) by Wayne Stratz

The winter of 2013-14 was brutal with some extreme lows and I did wonder if the Hydrangeas had died when spring slowly emerged, but they arrived late and from down below the surface of the Earth and took their shape. But 2014 would feature no blooms for Margaret. This past winter had some cold moments, and though stunned, the Hydrangeas came through in better shape. One of the last things I did before leaving for my silent retreat, was to take out the garbage and bring in a Hydrangea.

Orange Vase. Blue Hydrangea. by Wayne Stratz

Our Hydrangeas do not compete well with many that we see as we walk about. I don't feel like a success when I think of Hydrangeas. But I persevere and they persevere. And that is all we can do on these hot and muggy summer days.