For weeks I’ve been stalking a nearby business that happened to have two of the most profusely blooming hydrangeas that I’ve ever laid eyes on. I would drive by extra slow and wonder in my head if the owner really appreciated the flowers, maybe they were a family heirloom, maybe they were a nuisance?
I told my mom about the bushes the other day while driving with her and my theories on how the people probably love them so much they are their prized possession, watering them all hours of the night or, maybe men own the place and have no idea the treasure that they get to enjoy, just letting them go to waste. I told her how I had thoughts of knocking on the door and asking if I could cut some. I was prepared to trade my car for an armful of these gorgeous blooms.
“I’ll ask them” she said.
And so she did. And my mom met the owner and the owner of the hydrangeas did love and appreciate them.
She told us how easy they were to grow. Then she told me to cut as many as I want as she handed me a razor. I told her I’d just take a few from the back side. “Take them from the front” she said, “Take whatever you want.” As I left with my arms loaded down she asked it I was sure I got enough. I think I uttered something about this being one of the best days of my life.
I brought home an embarrassing amount. When we pulled away, I looked back at the bushes to make sure they didn’t look too bare, you couldn’t even tell I had cut any. I thanked my mom profusely for asking for me while I hid in the car. She told me not to take a picture of her because she hadn’t had a shower yet.
I decided that one day, when my hydrangeas were full and loaded down with the weight of their blooms, I too, would give them to someone who truly appreciates them. I’ll say things like “Cut from the front, take the prettiest ones,” and “are you sure you got enough?”. And that person will let their picture be taken because even though they didn’t have a shower they want to remember the gift.
if you drink coffee (a must in our house)…your used coffee grounds are the PERFECT fertilizer for endless summer hydrangeas. It will also turn them a deep, beautiful shade of blue. sometimes starbucks or other coffee houses will give thier grounds away, too..
Now, if you want them to be pink, that is a bit more difficult- so I wouldn’t know about that! ;)
I once knocked on the door of a house in our neighborhood to ask what color thier dining room was painted (they had no curtains, and kept it lit at night). I think the man(the husband who answered the door) initally thought I wanted to sell him something, but when I explained that I lived in the neighboorhood and often walked past his house and LOVED the paint color…then he was willing to help.
I suppose that it is the optimist in me…I believe most people are good and plus, as Mama always says “…catch more flies with honey”
Wonderful story!
Gorgeous-the story, her generosity, and the flowers. Hydrangeas are my favorite flowers (well, next to bluebonnets, but you can’t pick those).
My mom has some amazing pink hydrangeas in her front yard. I LOVE them. Whenever I come home, she cuts them and puts them in a vase in my bathroom. And they’re all over her house. Nothing like being able to grow your own flowers to fill the house. And to share with others!
They dry amazingly well – I have a friend that has vases and baskets of them all over her house – they are the most beautiful flowers dried that I’ve ever seen. This was a wonderful post!
I love your heart for beautiful growing gifts.
Thanks for sharing!!
This reminds me of a time we were vacationing in California. We were taking a walk, and we came upon the most BEAUTIFUL garden of roses. We were all admiring them as we came closer and closer. And then we saw the most amazing thing: a little garden sign saying “If you’d like to enjoy them more, please take some home”, and then perched on a special shelf with the sign: a garden shears!!! What a wonderful way of sharing God’s glorious creation with others!!!
I loved your hydrangea story! I am growing some hydrangeas, and now that I read your post, I will offer the blooms to someone who asks…
Beautiful!! Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers. Shows that there still are kind strangers in this world and a great reminder to always pay it forward!
Oh I love those beauties!! In my old neighborhood there was a house on the corner with a bounty of hydrangea’s pouring out over the fence and on to the sidewalk. I always wanted to stop and offer them $5 to cut a few but I never ever did. I think now I would!
I LOVED this story! Not just becasue I adore this flower, but also becasue my Mom would totally do that for me while I totally cowered in the car. Just like you! And it’s so heart-warming to here about the loving generous people in the world like the hydrangea owner that allow you to “cut from the front”. God bless them and I wish the world were full of them!!
I was so excited I got to typing too fast. I normally know how to spell!
What a wonderful story! This is the way life should be every single day. If one of us has an entire field of daisies we should be delighted to share them. The word “daisies” can be substituted for any word. Food, clothing, bicycles, etc. I am so happy your mother got out of the car and discovered a new friend with lots of hydrangea love. I hope I can make someone happy every day, like she did for you. Great story for Memorial Day. And, BTW, I LOVE LOVE LOVE hydrangeas the most. xx’s Marsha
This is hysterical! I know that lady!! She is a precious friend from our very first church where my hubby was the Associate Pastor. She cut my hair for years. Love her!!! Just came across your site from a recommendation.
Love your site
This is a great story. I too LOVE hydrangeas. Mine is just beginning to bloom for the first time ever. I am so excited to cut some blooms and bring them inside!
I love hydrangeas …. but I don’t think it can grow beautifully like yours in our place since we live in a tropical climate and Jakarta is very hot. Your flowers are pretty. I like the dresser and also the mirror frame color, it’s a blue robin’s egg, right ? have a great Sunday !!!
Just looking at them all bundled together takes my breath away! What an extraordinary person to share so generously!
What an awesome story! That was so nice of her to give you so many :)
Love, Love, Love Hydrangeas!!! I have a wonderful white one in front of my house. They just make me smile!!!
made me smile =)
Love this! What a great story!! I adore those hydrangeas, and am happy knowing that the owner does, and is willing to share!
Well, thanks to you, I now like blue hydrangeas! I have one that is pink in the spring and then green in the fall and I have a hot pink one… they are my favorite flower – E.V.E.R. ~ BUT I never liked the blue ones because I thought they look fake… like dyed carnations. You did it girl… your huge bunch looks beautiful!
If you love hydrangeas as much as it sounds, then you have to try annebelle hydrangeas…..a lovely shade of white then green. I have two huge bushes nearly 5 feet tall. Simply stunning!
I have a friend who decorates many Christmas trees. Her friend always saves and dries Hydrangeas for her. One tree is decorated in nothing but the beautiful flowers and white lights. It is the most unbelievably beautiful tree of all.
Aren’t moms the best!
Oh my goodness Nester! I laughed so hard when I read this and saw little tiny you holding that big bouquet of flowers. All I could think about was you driving back home with a car load of hydrangeas. About 7 years ago, I did the exact same thing. My Mom lived in a rental house in Tennessee that was filled full of hydrangeas. I was hosting a beach themed wedding shower and needed some cheap decoration. I clipped off of these 3 bushes for an hour and brought home a HUGE car load of the most beautiful blue hydrangeas you have ever seen. I decorated the table with white sand, seashells and those beautiful hydrangeas.
Thank you for sharing. What a lovely woman to share and bless you in such a way. ALthough, I’m pretty sure that she was the one that was blessed by you inquiring about her beautiful flowers. What a great story! Love you!
Can you tell me where you found the harlequin paper lining the hutch, if hobby lobby, which one? Thanks for all the inspiration!
Hi Nester! I love hydrangeas and love your story!! Like Carolyn mentioned above, you CAN save hydrangeas forever – (well not quite, but a very long time) by drying them! The trick is to cut them off the bush right after their peak at the end of the season when they are almost dry anyway. Here in the Pacific NW it is in Aug. or Sept. I dry them the same way Carolyn shared, in a pitcher or basket, or even box, with no water. They dry up real well. Then here’s the other trick — spray them!! I get a hard shellac spray from Michaels, (you can ask them what they recommend), and the spray helps them last for years! I’ve had many a ball thrown in the house by my son that hit them and didn’t even smash them!
Now, as I’m driving around town and see some hydrangeas that are a gorgeous color – (my favorite being the deep pink), I stop by and ask, or offer to pay them to snip a few. They ALWAYS turn down the offer to pay and let me clip as many as I would like. I now stock up with a few bundles every year, and give them as gifts to my friends in a basket. This way you get to enjoy them a lot longer, and if they eventually do start to disintegrate, you can always collect more down the road. Enjoy!!
That is a wonderful story, and I’ve always shared my front facing blossoms or fruit with anyone who asked.
But what I need to is figure out what the soil additive is that makes them keep that blue color. Mine start out blue and a year later they’re pink. Pink is lovely, but I really want the blue…
In college, I lived in a pretty dumpy 1970′s duplex. I don’t miss anything about it except the ginormous hydrangea right off the patio that had the most saturated blue/purple blooms (they were huge too!). I have never seen any more beautiful than those and they never had one ounce of care.
The flowers are beautiful and what a sweet, kind-hearted, generous lady she was. Wish more people were like that.
Lovely hydrangeas, but the best part of this post was your Mom not wanting to be photographed because she hadn’t showered yet. But she was brave enough to knock on a strangers door. Love it, your Mom sounds like an awesome Mom. Thanks for a great post.
I LOVE this story… and these are my most favorite flowers!!! Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful day and event! I love it when you meet people of true kindness like that! I feel the same way especially when the lilacs are in bloom. I have longed to ask people for 2 cuts from it just to have the scent in my house for a few days. You were majorly blessed with abundance that day! They are beautiful!!!
My S-I-L has HUGE hydrangea bushes and she is stingy. Meany.
I learned something from this post… KINDNESS!
You inspired me. . .when my next-door-neighbor came by last month and asked if she could cut a few of my hydranga blossoms I remembered this post and replied enthusiastically that OF COURSE she could have whatever she wanted from the front of the bush! I just cut most of the rest of my blossoms this weekend and took what I didn’t use to church to give away. Needless to say, I received an enthusiastic response. :) Thanks for this post. It’s one of my favorites!