When I was offered the assignment to make a hydrangea bouquet, I was skeptical. Michelle had turned to the resident Cape Codder because, let’s face it, hydrangeas reign supreme here.
Photography by Justine Hand.
Because I have no hydrangeas in my yard, my friend Alexandra kindly donated a few of hers to my project. One too many quaint cottages with hydrangeas, and I want to bury my head in the sand.
Though these grapes are cultivated in my grandparents’ yard, their wild cousins are abundant along Cape Cod’s shores.
Almost as ubiquitous as hydrangeas (but far less adored by Cape Codders), locusts are considered a weed tree.
Specimens in hand, I was ready to arrange.
(Photograph by my friend Alexandra.).
There’s not much research on how to keep cut grapevines or locust boughs looking fresh, so I experimented with three methods: smashing the stems, making long diagonal slices, and giving them a simple 45-degree cut.
Arranging the flowers, I began by placing the hydrangeas toward the center of the vase.
To me, pairing hydrangea with its more feral neighbors enhances its bountiful appeal.
In my cottage window, my wild hydrangea arrangement pays homage to Cape Cod without being too predictable.
A closeup shows why this arrangement has even made a convert of me. And here’s a hydrangea-blue landscape that even I love: Tiina Laakonen’s home on Remodelista, at Rhapsody in Blue: A Finnish Stylist at Home in the Hamptons.