Tuesday, July 10, 2018

ALL THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS...










Let me tell you about more 
of my unusually beautiful hydrangeas.

 This bush sits in 
an ivy clad corner of the Secret Garden 
and it has never gotten more
 than two or three blooms
 per season before.
  It starts its day 
in the cool shade,
 looking full, pretty and bright.
  By noontime, however,
 the hot sun hits it
 and it droops and looks like 
it is coming apart at the seams. 
 The first time we noticed it 
looking like that,
 we ran for the hose
 and thought we had lost it for sure.
  But,
 when evening comes around, 
it makes an unusually 
remarkable 
recovery.





I never started out 
collecting pitchers 
but, over time, I've noticed 
that I do have quite a few. 
 I really like using them 
for flower arrangements.

  On a recent trip to
 Home Goods, 
I saw this beauty...





...a little unusual 
in its decorations,
 with the look of spongeware and stenciling 
that I adore,
 with some real 
farmhouse charm thrown in.

 As I reached
 to place it in my cart,
 I noticed an old familiar pinch
 in my lower back.
  
It registered in my head,
 but I didn't feel the results 
until the next morning.






I have been hobbling around 
for the week
 not being able to straighten up. 
 When it gets like this,
 I just can't walk straight 
and the more I bend
 the worse it feels.

I just have to 
take it easy and 
let it run its course. 
It is almost a year to the day that it happened the last time.
 Just before we were getting ready 
for the Country Sampler
 magazine shoot.





The pitcher 
feels an unusual responsibility,
 even though I say 
it is my own fault.

 It was me, after all,
 that wanted to go to 
Home Goods 
in the first place.





I gave it 
a bouquet of these
 unusually beautiful hydrangeas 
to try to uplift 
its spirits,...




"We may think 
we are tending our garden, 
but of course,
 in many different ways,
 it is the garden
 and the plants 
that are nurturing us."

Jenny Uglow







...and 
I think it
 might be 
working.



...Judy...







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19 comments:

  1. Judy,
    Thanks so much for stopping by!! Love the pretty pitchers and blooms!! And another charming post!! I hope you are having a great day!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  2. You should see my poor hydrangeas after temperatures of 118 last week they look like they have been through a fire - totally cooked. It really is sad and I don't think that it is the last of it.

    Love your new pitcher, they really do make great vases.

    Hope your back feels better soon.

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  3. I agree. Pitchers make a wonderful vase. It's comfy and cozy. Yours are lovely.

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  4. I remember my Grandmother's Hydrangeas. They were the most beautiful things I had ever seen and the bushes were always so full of blooms! You could barely see any green!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog, the other day.

    Grace & Peace,
    Pam

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Pam. I always find it amazing that these kinds of things always take us back to our grandmothers. Mine also had a huge hydrangea bush by the back porch. I don't think she ever trimmed it and eventually, I remember, not being able to open the back door, but it was gorgeous!..Happy Weekend..Judy

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  5. What an adorable post!Stunning hydrangeas and pretty pitchers!Hugs!

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  6. A lovely little pitcher just perfect for those hydrangeas. French hydrangeas always pop back and I wish mine would have bloomed this year.
    So sorry to hear about your back. All it takes is just one wrong move. Just stay quiet and still and don't walk around much. It will settle back down.
    You will be back at Home Goods before ya know it.
    Betsy

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  7. Hi Judy! Sad to hear about your back - hoping it heals quickly for you. I've always had s soft spot for pitchers too. Yours are lovely! Jane

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  8. Absolutely beautiful, Judy...the pitcher and the flowers. We had a hydrangea bush but it never bloomed. I gave it to my sister (who lives around the corner) and it blooms for her all summer. Go figure. I would love to try again, but I just don't know if I'm up for the rejection. 😉 I am so sorry to hear about your back. I wonder if it's the weather, since it happened around the same time last year...barometric pressure or something wonky like that. Because it just can't be Homegoods!! We need our decor fix!! Feel good my friend. xo

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  9. Oh No Judy. Hope you are feeling better. Looking at your beautiful shade of pink hydrangeas made me smile. Janice

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  10. Judy, I love your header. Your porch is so sweet. I have the magazine Country Sampler and I have scan it and will read every word about the section with pictures of your beautiful home. I hope your back get better soon. I once in a while have a deep lower back issue...Some times I get the heating pad out. :( Blessings to you, xoxo, Susie

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  11. Love your new pitcher and your hydrangea's look so pretty in it. Hope you start to feel better with your back. Don't you just hate that these things take just the slightest of moves to start. Hope it runs it course quickly. Have a good week.
    xoxo

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  12. I am so sorry that your back is so bad, Judy. How very, very miserable! Your hydrangeas are just lovely and perfect for your new pitcher. I love the pitcher-the decoration and the color.
    Hope you have a fast healing- xo Diana

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  13. Oh, I'm so sorry about your back. I hope it's on the mend now. Your pitcher is cute though.

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  14. Sweet post. Sorry to hear about the back. My husband is having some issues with his too so he feels your pain. The pitcher looked quite happy with the pretty in pink hydrangeas.
    Hope you're feeling better soon

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  15. Oh dear Judy ~ so sorry about your back. I've done that a time or two myself and it is awful.

    Love those pink hydrangeas.

    Be well ~ FlowerLady

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  16. Such an unusual pitcher for an unusually lovely lady!!! and so unusual for hydrangeas to like the usual heat.... I never have had luck with hydrangeas.. I plant them and plant them, and they just don't grow or they get brown leaves or some unusual little pest... I've tried them in a wet climate and in this dry heat here in central Oregon. No luck. Now my sister, who lives on the Oregon coast, has about 4 HUGE ones that border her house, and they are just wonderful and tall and bushy and bloom unusually profusely! I can't figure it out.. but that's not unusual for me.. trying to figure out things concerning the garden. I'm sorry to hear about the back problem.. I used to have that happen all the time (well, every year or so).. but haven't for awhile, so better go knock on wood. Although.. my back pretty much hurts all the time even though I do exercises, stretch and walk. I hope yours heals very quickly... hugs.. Marilyn

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  17. I totally sympathize with you. Just rest and enjoy the beauty all around your home and garden! Love your new pitcher! I too have quite the collection of pitchers while never intending to start one :-)

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  18. Judy, the Hydrangeas and pitchers are both just beautiful! Isn't it awful how life can change in just a days time. I have developed an infection for the 2nd time and am having to do antibiotic infusions twice a day. It's really cramping my style! :) I hope you get feeling better soon! I have been wanting to buy the C.S. you are featured in. What month is it? How exciting for you! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy