ABC Wednesday - Hydrangea

The white Hydrangea Paniculata 'Phantom'

Today I am going to take you on a Hydrangea Promenade.  A sedate walk and not going into hyper-drive.  What happens when a hydrangea growing enthusiastic talks to a local mayor?  Three kilometres of them by the side of the Lac au Duc in Ploermel, France. Officially opened in the year 2000 the Hortensia Promenade takes in  510 varieties and 4-5000 plants blooming from July to September. The plant originally grew in South East Asia but in the years of the great plant hunters it was brought into Europe and named after a women called Hortensia, lover or friend I am not sure. 

Although the colour range is limited gardeners have introduced subtle changes to shades and shapes to give a diversity of harmonious hues. Here are two pretty lace-cap flowers.

Same theme different result.

 Colours of Hydrangeas are affected by the soil. Acidic soils produce blue flowers.

Neutral soils produce pale cream petals but the white of this one

contrasts with the creamy colour of this one.

Helpfully all the bushes were named on the little wooden sticks, unhelpfully I was too engrossed in a mad camera clicking spree to engage any memory cells.    

However this one had a memorable name 'Pinky Winky' (Hydrangea Paniculata), and to conclude my soil condition list,  alkaline produces pink flowers.

Hydrangea Macrophylla 'Pirouette' with its speckled colouring.  Macrophylla as you can see have showy flower-heads.

I always like to look up flowers meanings in my Victorian Floriography, discovering that it would not have been a hopeful sign to receive any of these flowers and your relationship may have hit a rocky patch.  Hortensia's meaning "you are cold", and Hydrangea's meaning "A boaster. Heartlessness".

I'm no gardener so wondered if the two names were interchangeable but I think that the

common Hydrangea Macraphylla and its mop head flowers are known as Hortensias and the Hydrangea Paniculata are - well, Hydrangeas.  Always useful to know which message is being sent in flowers.

Hop over to ABC Wednesday to see many more words all beginning with the letter H.