Hydrangea Archives

September 21, 2021 Pruning Hydrangeas, H. G. Wells, Robert Montgomery, Fannie Flagg, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Uprooted by Page Dickey, and Stephen King

Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English writer, an American businessman and horticulturist, and an American writer and celebrity. We hear an excerpt from a top-rated book that became a hit movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book that features the true story of leaving a…

Carl Peter Thunberg’s Secret to Botanizing in Japan

Here’s a charming story I ran across about Carl Peter Thunberg’s time in Japan. During his visit, Carl was confined to a small artificial island in Nagasaki harbor. Ever the clever end-rounder, Carl came up with a strategy to obtain botanical samples. Carl bought a goat. Then, he asked his Japanese assistants to collect plants…

1998 Hydrangea Fest Cancelled

On this day in 1998, the province out of Vancouver, British Columbia, shared an article written by Peter Clough that caught my attention. The title was called Hydrangea Fest Yanked by Roots and began with the sentence, It’s a blooming shame. Here’s what it said: Saturday was supposed to be the inaugural Surrey White Rock Hydrangea…