On hot summer days, the cool blue of a mop-head hydrangea creates a lush visual respite in the garden. Acid soil turns flowers to blues and purples. A more alkaline composition found in our sweet limestone rich soils yields lavender to rose colored blooms. Although we love the stunning focal points stately oak leaf hydrangeas command in a garden, we’ve fallen for the new re-blooming varieties for their abilities to stay festooned all summer long. We planted plenty of the Endless Summer variety and are delighting in the blooms on the shrub, as well as in fresh flower arrangements. To harvest them for dry arrangements, allow them to begin drying on the shrub first, cutting them once the petals start to fade and feel like paper, then strip the leaves and dry away from sunlight.