Modern Hydrangea Arrangement

I hate hydrangeas. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word for my uneasy relationship with this traditional looking flower. They're useful enough, but they're just not my style. Hydrangeas also have this tendency to change colors based on the soil's acidity and can take on an unwanted muddy hue. My wife wanted green hydrangeas for the wedding, but we ended up with these insipid looking greenish white fluffballs instead. While I might not like hydrangeas, yesterday was my mother in law's birthday and she happens to like them. Here's how I gave a traditional flower a much needed update.




All I did was buy a single hydrangea bloom from the grocery store for $3.99, and clip some cast iron plant (Aspidistra 'Milky Way') leaves and a few stems of 'drunkard's dream' rhipsalis from my balcony. I overlapped the cast iron leaves to make a dramatic arched flare, and used the rhipsalis to form a lacy spray just to soften things up like one would use a spray of baby's breath flowers. It took about five minutes to make, and conveniently enough, it also matched the birthday cake.
.

6 comments:

  1. The hydrangea bouquet is beautiful and it will make a wonderful gift!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Steve: Ah, to have aspidistra just growing out in the garden! A prized pot plant up North, but maybe next year I'll have a few leaves to spare. Very stylish arrangement: to counter the traditional bosomy hydrangea with the spare geometry of the foliage, let alone the arc of the foliage? Fresh and lovely, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the quirkiness of combining Hydrangeas with Rhipsalis! Really fun and it looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great arrangement and idea for using the cast-iron leaves. I have some of those...hmmm....

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to share your questions, ideas and suggestions!