Hydrangeas As Cut Flowers

I am only beginning to take an active interest in flowers and have started slowly adding plants to my garden. The choice in my local garden centre is over-whelming, and can be expensive, so I am taking my time to build up my collection, thinking about plants for specific purposes.

One desire of mine is to grow flowers for cutting. Having received a beautiful Hydrangea macrophylla Soft Pink Salsa for my birthday, I started experimenting with cutting the tumbling blooms for my pretty beer glass-turned vase (pictured above).

A quick search online brought me to an excellent site on all things hydrangea where I read about the hot water method of prolonging the life of the cut flowers. It works incredibly well and I've gotten almost a week out of some blossoms. Here's what I do:

1. Fill your vase with water.

2. Make yourself a cup of tea and save a cup of boiling water. Leave both in the kitchen.

3. Bring a scissors and a jar of cold water to the garden.

4. Pick a good looking bloom and cut at an angle, leaving enough stem to suit your vase.

5. Put the bloom straight into the cup of cold water and return to the kitchen.

6. Pick any leaves off and sit the bloom into the cup of just boiled water for 30 seconds. The stem will turn brown and this is good. I have found that if I don't leave the bloom in the hot water long enough, the stem won't turn brown and the flower will be wilted the next day. The reason for the hot water is that is removes the thick sap from the stem that prevents the bloom from taking up water. It's a plant that likes a lot of water and the clue is in the name - hydra.

7. Remove from the hot water, pop into your vase and position for all to see.

8. Enjoy your cup of tea while looking at your flower arrangement. I've added a few stalks of lavender to mine.