Hydrangea Heaven

Hydrangeas have really made a comeback in the past few years. They're such an old fashioned flower that seems to have a timeless beauty. In Wellington, New Zealand, they are everywhere and have so many different colours and shapes. If you catch the cable car up from the city into the Botanical gardens you can walk back down through a beautiful grove of hydrangeas of every colour and shape - truly magical. 

It was here that I rediscovered them and started to collect, press and draw their different sizes and shapes. As I played, a pattern started to emerge and I became obsessed with the many and varied purple tones which seem to retain quite well even after pressing. 

The different lines and shapes are reminiscent of old fashioned doilies, all frilly with scalloped edges. They really bring out the nanna in me, purple hair rinse and all. What about you - are you an old fashioned hydrangea person at heart?