Review: Hydrangeas by Naomi Slade

Hydrangeas speak to me of Cornish summers. They grow widely in the village where we visit family and the nearby Trebah garden has a mass planting whose blue flowers resemble water cascading down the hillside.

Yet, they’re not a plant I see often in the gardens that I write about – apart, of course, from the elegant ‘Annabelle’ whose cool beauty is beloved of designers.

In her new book, Hydrangeas, Naomi Slade describes them as a plant that divides opinion: “Some think they are marvellous in almost every way; others consider them an abomination.”

She admits to being only a recent convert to their charms herself. But what a convert. Hydrangeas is a lively tribute to an overlooked shrub that’s long overdue its place in the spotlight.

The rehabilitation of hydrangeas, argues Naomi, is due not just to ‘Annabelle’s’ charms but thanks also to the work of plant breeders. They have developed smaller varieties, suitable for containers, and others with more delicate flowers and form.

Meanwhile, what she describes as the “bulky old favourites” are a “renewed force in a landscape or woodland garden design”.

The book, beautifully illustrated with photographs by Georgianna Lane, covers these more choice varieties and much more. It opens with a brief history of the importance hydrangeas have around the world – in Japan they are revered in the same way as cherry blossom and peonies. We learn how ‘Annabelle’ got her name, the importance of soil to determine colour and discover that hydrangeas contain cyanide – who knew?

There’s an overview of their history, plant forms and anatomy. Such is the exhaustive detail of the book, there’s also advice on using them as cut flowers, how to dry them and even how to revive wilted blooms.

The bulk of the book is devoted to portraits of different varieties, divided into styles from ‘Elegant and Airy’ to ‘Brilliant and Bold’. Each hydrangea has cultivation notes and comments on where to use it – both in the garden or as a cut flower.

Naomi’s lively style, which makes the book entertaining as well as informative, is most apparent in these sections. ‘Grayswood’, we learn, is “a bit miffy about too much sun and scorching wind”. ‘Wedding Gown’ blooms for months – “which, let’s face it, is longer than the duration of some marriages”. Then there’s ‘Lanarth White’, which will tolerate poorer conditions unlike many hydrangeas which “quail at something or other in life”.

With the likes of ‘Limelight’ “shamelessly fuelling the current passion for hydrangeas”, it seems I may be encountering more of them in the future.

Hydrangeas by Naomi Slade, photographs by Georgianna Lane, is published by Pavilion Books, RRP £25.

Enjoyed this? Read more of my gardening and garden-related book reviews here and follow the blog to get an email alert about future posts.