Dried Hydrangea

 This time last year I pruned my Little Lime Punch Hydrangea bush and dried the flowers.  I'm doing the same thing this year.  It had quite a bit of light weight branching on the south side near the ground and I want that gone, so I just pruned early.  I will remove the large blooms for winter so they don't break down the bush in the snow and wind, but I won't take long stems with them because I want to leave the height and structure.

But I am drying them the same.  You just put a little water in the bottom of a vase so they don't wilt right off the plant and then they dry naturally as it runs out.  I just leave them on the deck out of the wind and they provide a nice bright pop of color.  Actually, they are a really nice outdoor bouquet because I don't have to keep an eye on the water and they don't shed petals like Dahlias do.

The blooms from last year still look great.  I just walked in and snapped this picture.

I can see a little browning but they have only dropped three or four petals.  They have held up really well and maintained their color.