Hydrangea Memories

Click on the photos to "grow" the Hydrangea.

White hydrangea evoke a wonderful memory for me. Have you noticed how memories, quite without your volition, affix themselves to things? One winter memory has attached itself to every white hydrangea in my world. But that's fine, because whenever I see those sweet white petals, I smile with happiness.

One winter holiday, all of our children and grandchildren were visiting at once, which is a rare event since they are scattered like seedlings around the world. For this special occasion, I had filled the house with pots of white hydrangea.

The children, one evening, decided on an impromptu dinner in. They would go to a local French restaurant and bring back food. Upon hearing this, our young grandchildren insisted on decorating the dinner table, which is a very large baker's table. After the food was brought back and unloaded in the kitchen, we adults were banished to the back apartment until we were summonsed to dinner by the grandchildren.

When we walked into dinner, we were transformed. This was no ordinary dining room; it was bathed in candle light. Every odd candle in the house had been called into service and each was glowing softly among the dozens of white hydrangea. Wine, sparkling water, baguettes, pâté, quiches, rosemary chicken, spinach pochettes, strawberry tarts and various other French foods were arranged beneath the flowers. The napkins, china and silverware were wonderfully mismatched.

As we ate, with the candlelight being kind to even the oldest face, we all felt the magic of the evening...made possible because the children hadn't yet learned not to believe in enchantment.