Thursday, December 10, 2009

Hydrangea Swag

hydrangea wreath 001Last fall I picked the Annabelle Hydrangea flowers before they turned dark brown.  It is so easy to make a simple swag.  Just tie the stems together with light wire.  I added a few dried roses and some sprigs of ornamental oregano, one of the origananum laevigatums, which have spiky purple flowers that dry well and keep their color.

Annabelle Hydrangea ( hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle') does well on the north side of my neighbors wall.  Our area tends to be quite dry, so I have clumped together close to our watering source a few moisture loving plants.  Annabelle blooms on new wood. So in late winter, one day when the sun is shining and we have that odd 60 to 70 degree day, I will go out and prune it close to the ground.  That helps revitalize it and encourages good form and gives me the feeling that I am gardening, even in the winter.  Here's how it looks in the summer and winter.

 

Annabelle Hydrangea                  winter hydrangea

5 comments:

  1. Gloria hydrangeas are one of my favorites. I have some dried ones in arrangements but not a swag. I love your swag. Just beautiful.

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  2. HOW Pretty!! I wish I could grow hydrangeas. I am jealous!

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  3. Hi Gloria,

    What a great idea to use the dried Hydrangea flowers. I like the new look of your blog :0)

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  4. Hi, Gloria!
    VERY pretty. My dream would be to grow the blue hydrangeas you find all over the west coast. I stopped over to see how you were handling this cold snap. I thought we were doing fine. Right up until this afternoon when a pipe burst. We're not really used to the sub-zero stuff here - I think this old house is about ready to call it a day.

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