Martin Fish heralds the hydrangea!
Their fabulous flower heads are the stars of many arrangements
January is a lean month when it comes to fresh flowers from the garden, but there’s always something that can be picked and brought inside to use in a flower arrangement. You’ve only got to have a wander around to see all the different dead flower heads on shrubs, perennials and grasses, all of which can be used.
Hydrangea heads are just one type that can be cut for the house and the large flower heads will last for ages and look really good. Hydrangeas have always been popular shrubs for the garden and one of my favourites is hydrangea ‘Annabelle’, which produces large, white flower heads from July onwards. It’s easy to grow in all soil types and it’s one of the hydrangeas that can be pruned hard back every spring and will flower on the new stems. In fact, I find the harder I prune, the stronger the new growth is and the larger the flower heads will be.
Hydrangea paniculata and its many forms can also be pruned this way and from late summer into autumn they produce attractive cone-shaped flowers. In the garden the dead flower heads look great over winter by adding height and interest, but you can also cut them and bring them indoors. Even when used on their own in a large vase they look good, but to add different colours and textures you can mix them with some grasses and evergreen foliage.
Another very simple way to use them is to mix them with some dried flowers. Back in late summer I cut and dried some statice in a dark shed. These stems of colourful flowers are perfect to use in the winter and are the ideal companion for my hydrangea heads. You can either insert them into floral foam or make an informal hand-held arrangement and stand it in a vase. And because they’re dried, they won’t need any water!