Hydrageæ 2026

This has been a pretty good year for the Weekend Hydrangea Team. Let’s check in on them. Florilegium Hydrangeæ This has been a pretty good year for the hydrangeas. Not as good as 2024 (see midsummer and later summer). But still, pretty good. First, it must be mentioned that the Weekend Host of Hostas put in a pretty good showing this year. They are shown here, in front of and throughout the Weekend Editrix’s garden, with their delicate purple flowers poking up on very long thin shoots, somewhere between 1.0 - 1.5 meters above the ground. I have a theory that this stem evolved to discourage squirrels and rabbits from eating the flowers, which they apparently find quite tasty. In years past, I have seen both species nibbling hungrily on them, by going into the interior of the plant, pushing the stem down, and walking out upon it to get the goodies. But not this year? I can’t say exactly why, but suspect that the litter of coyote pups and enthusiastic hunting by their parents may have…