Wild Hydrangea grows throughout the eastern United States-and it grows profusely around my mountain holler. The blooms are not as showy as the blue violet hydrangeas you see dotting people’s yards this time of the year, but around my house, the bees and other flying insects seem to prefer the wild variety over the blue blooms.
I snapped the photo above a few weeks ago-I’m hoping to see some blue sky again very soon. Brasstown has had over 5 inches of rain in the last 2 days. As I type this post, I hear the rain pounding away on our tin roof, and the forecast is for the rainy weather to continue through the middle part of the week.
One of the girls asked me why it was so rainy this year. I said “It just is-I guess the waters of the mighty deep are replenishing themselves.”
Tipper
Appalachia Through My Eyes – A series of photographs from my life in Southern Appalachia.
We have had over 4 inches of rain here the last few days. Always like hearing rain on a tin roof, just something calming and relaxing about it. Looking forward to seeing a blue sky again.
I wonder if this is what we see growing alongside the roads here and there that grow clusters of dark blue berries later in the summer.
God bless.
RB
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Tipper,
Pretty flowers! All this rain sure
makes weeds flourish. They seem to
love all this water, while my
garden is suffering for sunshine.
Yesterday we had a few hours of
sunshine and relief from the rain.
I pulled or broke weeds holding back
my beans and was wet in just a few
minutes. Can’t stand the humidity!
Until you and Don told me better,
I always called “Queen Ann’s Lace”
(Kiss me and I’ll tell ya’s)…Ken
Tipper:since the rain finally stopped in june out here in washington state. i swear you can watch the grass grow.and the flowers are as fine as i can ever recall. Sedro Woolley had their annual 4th of july blowout. and things are getting back to normal. i sure wish we could get back there for a few weeks. love to all the blind pigs . k.o.h
There is nothing more gentle and peaceful than rain when it falls. There is nothing more vicious and violent than water when it rises. The same raindrops that lull you to sleep may gather to rip apart another person’s life. I am always amazed at the workings of nature.
When I saw those flowers I wondered what they were. I thought they were a type of mountain laurel. I haven’t had good luck with growing hydrangeas, but each year I try again. I have planted a climbing one along my fence, hoping it will catch the fence and grow along it. Thanks for the flower info. We, too, have had a lot of rain in the foothills of Caldwell County. I must admit, the weather has gotten me to do some things I have put off. The sun will come back soon.
Was that blue sky in the photo? I’ve almost forgotten what it looks like. We’ve had around six inches here. I saw a guy yesterday and we were discussing the weather and he said it has rained so much the frogs are buying umbrellas at Wal-Mart! Being in the water business for 30 plus years I have seen times when we were worried about running out of water and times like now that we have an abundance. We don’t think much about the importance of it in times like this and then we pray for it in the dry times. I’m trying to stay positive about the rain because I know the dry times will roll around again.
It’s a tossup to me which is prettier, the hydrangea or the blue sky. I am so ready to see some blue sky! I did, however, see a beautiful rainbow this morning. I think it’s reminding me that there is a lot to be grateful for, even though it continues to rain.
I was caught by today’s title concerning hydrangeas. I don’t have the wild kind, just the soft pink and deep rose- colored. I planted them the summer Kent had the first issue with his heart – a scary time. Every year for nine years they bloomed a bit but seldom more than about ten or twelve flowers on each bush. Last year, after my husband passed away, each bush had over 100 blooms. It was a drought summer here in Indiana and I was too distracted to think of watering them, but they bloomed anyway. I cut and dried them all summer , keeping them in every room of the house and giving many away. I estimated that I saved at least 100 of the flowers, but in the late fall while cutting back the three bushes, I cut off over 225 more dead flowers. I feel Kent was telling me through the hydrangea bushes I’ve always loved, that he was okay.
This summer the bushes are strong and green but there isn’t a flower on any of them. That never has happened either. However, the American Beauty rose bush by the deck was absolutely loaded with roses!
Marianne Lockman
The wild hydrangeas are lovely. I’ll bet it’s also fun to listen as the bees and bugs busy themselves around the flowers.
You had a good answer for the girls. Are you on the east side of the Appalachias?
Guess someplace is always “replenishing” while another is “drying out”. It’s a good thing you can see the good in the rains since your area seems destined to have more. Enjoy!
Tipper,
“THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS MAINLY ON APPALACHIA, NOT ON THE PLAIN!”
At least for the past week or so!
Funny, that you post this today about the Hydrangea!
We were on a little day trip to Algood TN the other day and saw a most unusual stand of Wild Hydrangea! Alongside a four-lane, not an Interstate Hwy, the plants looked as though they had been weeded of growth all around them. It seemed like someone had thought how pretty they were and just took all the little trees, other shrubby growth from around them. The ground was mowed all down the highway in front of, behind and along the sides just leaving all (maybe two hundred, maybe more) Hydrangeas alone with their beautiful white blooms.
I thought tomyself….self, what if I could come along and pour red koolaid around some of the plants so they would asborb some of the red color…like I did with Queen Anne’s Lace, when I was a kid….or maybe yellow, green and purple too….
Just pondering…eventhough I love white flowers and sometimes plan an area of just white or near white flowers to bloom in the summer…One of my favorites is the “Good Shepherd” a almost pure white daylily favorite.
Thanks Tipper,
Love the Wild Hydrangea, one of Gods precious gifts that he gave us to look at.. Just like the rain. An older gentleman said, he only gives us what we need, and that’s true.. We had 8 inches the 4th and predicting 2 to 4 more this weekend. So glad we live on a hill, on the way to work yesterday seen a house close to a creek that the water was already under it, a lot of apartments in Decatur have flooded the last few days.. sad for those folks..
Listening to the rain on our metal roof now as well. It finally got dry enough to struggle through cutting the hay growing in our yard yesterday. I’ve picked beans a couple of times and they badly need picking again, and squash are going to waste, but it’s stayed too wet to get out in it.
That said, the peak flow in the lower Tuckasegee this week (yesterday) is still less than 60% of that back during the January flood.