Hydrangea Hype!

I have loved hydrangeas since the first time I saw them in my aunt's wedding bouquet, over 15 years ago. My mom has grown some in her gardens over the years, and I've always had to steal bouquets for my house. I just love the blues and purples (two of my favorite colors!) and the big snowball-like blooms. This past Easter, my mom gave me two small plants for my own garden. After we planted them, I wasn't sure how they would do. Luckily, the local garden center offered a class, which I attended yesterday. The instructor talked about the different types of plants that are out there--did you know there are "tree" types of hydrangeas and climbing hydrangeas? I had no idea. I had always seen the ones like the in the picture I posted above. While those new types aren't really my style, it's nice to know that there are other varieties out there. The best thing that I got out of the class was knowing more about how to take care of the plants--when to prune them, when to transplant them (if necessary), how much sun they should get. Unfortunately, when I spoke to the instructor after the class, he seemed to think that the ones my mom gave me (often called "florist hydrangeas") will not last the winter, and not to be surprised if they don't come back in the spring. While I'm a little sad at the waste of planting and my mom's money, I now know more about what to get for next year, if I choose to go that route.

In other news, my hand is slowly getting back to normal. I've had the pins out for almost a month now, and I've been attending physical therapy twice a week, trying to regain the strength in my fingers. You're probably thinking, "I thought she broke her hand?" Yes, I only broke one bone in my hand, but the way that the surgeon positioned my hand and fingers while the pins were in left me stuck in a not-so-great position for the long term. It caused some serious atrophy and stiffness in my fingers, mostly my pinky. I still cannot fully extend it, and bending it all of the way (like I can on my other hand) is really difficult. The hand is fine--the bone is healed, there is very little pain. I'm very lucky. However, this pinky issue is quite annoying, but I'm optimistic that I'll regain most of the strength and flexibility. I have to wear one sort of brace at night, one during the day, one for a few minutes during the day...and I get to play with Play-Doh! Well, not really, but similar. Actually it's more like Silly Putty. It helps me with my flexibility--I mash it, knead it, roll it. It's good for stress relief too ;-) Then I have "boring" exercises--bend and stretch!

OK, time to go do some laundry and clean the bathroom...fun stuff! It's kind of damp and cloudy here--it looks like the sky could open up at any moment--so no outdoors today. I'm itching to lay down more black plastic and mulch--this time in our front yard. The side of the house looks so great, I want everything else to look like that! There's always something to do around here, I'm learning...