Don't you just LOVE Hydrangeas?  

 

This one is in one of our neighbor's front flower bed, but my fondest memory is of the ones in Nanny's back yard.  I'm thinking back to the 1950s.  

 

There were a few Hydrangea bushes beside the garage.  And the story is that Granddaddy hammered rusty nails into the ground around them to make the flowers turn blue.  Horticulturally, blue Hydrangea flowers are a sign of acid soil, and pink flowers grow where the soil is alkaline.  And if the soil pH is 7.0 (neutral) the flowers are white.  My favorite ones are purple, maybe in transition between acid and alkaline soil.  Or maybe just because.

 

It doesn't really matter WHY they do what they do;  it's just wonderful that they do it, and the sweet memories they bring.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANNY!!!