Hope from a Hydrangea

It never ceases to amaze me at what I see when I slow down a nano second. Today has been a blistery day as Winnie the Pooh would say :) Through the corner of my office, outside the window sits a regal hydrangea plant. I hover over it during the winter waiting for spring to come. It’s blooms are by far the prettiest :) The left side is a deep strong blue but as you move to the right side the plant begins to transition into a light purple color. The hydrangea has long been my all time favorite flower. My second favorite being a tie between an orchid and a daisy. I’ve often wondered what made it so dear to my heart…

Years ago my grandma had a similar plant that sat at the corner of her house. I remember as a little girl playing outside on the porch, planning the day when I would wear my white dress and walk down the aisle carrying a bouquet of Nanny’s beautiful hydrangeas. I practiced quite often and Nanny would often help me make my “pretend” bouquet. Sadly, time has passed and with it so has Nanny. With her passing, the beautiful garden that I grew up in disappeared too.

Fast forward a few years later, my neighbors had a sidewalk of hydrangeas leading down the path to the lake :) Oh how I loved spending time there in the summer. When Mr. Darry’s wife passed away and I was so afraid of what would happen to those plants that she had loved on and taken care of for 30 years. I watered, pruned, and dead headed them knowing that they would be beautiful the next spring. It saddened me to see Mr. Darry pass that spring. As we buried him, I placed a bouquet of flowers from her garden on their graves. I remembered all the tricks and tips he had given me about growing them. My heart was heavy knowing their garden would become a lonely place without their laughter and love to fill it. Shortly after his passing, his son dug all the plants and I was devastated.  My visual reminder of a 50 year love story was gone. My beautiful hydrangeas carelessly thrown away.

But today, a little burst of hope filled my heart.  As I look at this beautiful plant everyday in my own secret garden, I know that one day my own love story will begin :) That day I’ll walk down the aisle, carry my beautiful hydrangeas and remember the moments that Nanny and I passed in her garden all because of one little hydrangea plant :)

XoXo~ Lemon Raindrop