Stacked lime and purple hydrangeas for a fall mantel
Oh it felt so good to get into the DIY spirit once again. I stayed home all day, mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, then took a wander outside to inspect the hydrangeas.
We are now into fall hydrangea season, still with warm skies, but with that special nip in the air, that signals hydrangea harvest time before the rain returns.
I love to harvest hydrangeas in the fall so they will dry and stay put for many months to come!
And here’s the hydrangea I will be harvesting from.
Underneath the large mountain ash tree is a smaller hydrangea bush with ever changing colour. It’s pretty amazing.
At the moment, the hydrangea flowers are purple!
But the bush didn’t start that way. See the one blue flower? It use to be all blue just a short time ago.
I think that’s one of the most amazing features of a hydrangea bush… the colors change from summer to fall.
When to harvest hydrangeas
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The best time to harvest hydrangeas for drying is fall once the petals turn slightly crispy. So waiting for just the right moment, it was time to clip!
Learn more about How to harvest and dry hydrangeas HERE
But I got a little more than just purple. Check out that lime green colour as well! Decadent! It’s like two hydrangeas in one!
So… let’s create a stunning stacked lime and purple hydrangeas for a fall mantel… that will dry perfectly right in the spot!
Here’s how:
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Stacked lime and purple hydrangeas
for a fall mantel
Make this reclaimed wood window box planter HERE
Start with a base container such as buckets, rustic crates or a flower box of some kind.
Because I’m going for an abundant look, I’m choosing this reclaimed wood window box from HERE.
Let’s fill it up!
How to arrange hydrangeas
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1. Place containers of water inside your base or container.
2. Cut your lower hydrangea stems long enough to reach the water containers where possible.
3. Insert one hydrangea at a time into the base, alternating colour and height. I like to call this ‘bouncing’ the flowers so you see higher and lower levels.
4. Once the base is fairly full, add a few hydrangeas on top to give extra height. These will not likely reach the water, but if the petals are slightly crispy, they will dry beautifully as-is.
As the water dries in the containers, so will your hydrangeas. It’s really quite amazing!
Here’s another post explaining how I arrange hydrangeas.
Add a spilling technique
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Let’s take arranging the hydrangeas one step further with a spilling effect! This is where the flowers appear to spill over the edges.
Using slightly crispy cut hydrangeas, place into desired positions. These hydrangeas will not be in water, but as long as they are slightly crispy, they will dry well.
It’s as if the hydrangeas are tumbling right over the edge of the planter.
And let’s just appreciate both the purple and lime hydrangeas together for a moment! They really make this arrangement so much more interesting, adding lots of depth!
Pretty, isn’t it?
Now to chime in stuff with purple and lime hydrangeas…
Owning NOTHING in a lime or purple colour, I had to get a little crafty. Fusion Mineral Paint’s Upper Canada Green is a super fresh shade that was perfect for painting a book or two.
Then I lit the first fire of the year, and called this done!
Here’s a few other fall hydrangea mantels you may remember…
The huge wicker baskets hydrangea mantel
The winter junk and deer head hydrangea mantel
Hydrangea-filled dresser by the front door
Or click —> HYDRANGEAS <— to see them all in one big scroll.
Whoohoo! Welcome fall!
What colour do your fall hydrangeas change out to? Do you bring them indoors to dry as well?
I second it! Whoohoo! Yeah Fall!! It has always been my favorite season. And hydrangeas have always been one of my favorites. I can’t get enough of them. I have a neighbor down the street from us who has beautiful hydrangeas at the beginning of her driveway and I’m athinking of asking her if I could clip some. Also liked the color you painted the book with. Can we see how you arrange them? Thanks and hurray for the POST!!!
My heart be still….those hydrangeas are absolutely beautiful! And what a beautiful tree! I can only imagine how peaceful it must be to sit with a cup of coffee on your porch and take it all in…. Sigh….Thank you Lord for such beauty!!
Awesome and I love that little splash of green. Looks like your place is tucked in a beautiful area. This fire place is also a favorite – it’s always fun to see what you’re going to do next. LOVE this!!
Glad to see the creative juices are flowing once again for you! Your hydrangeas are breathtakingly beautiful. Nature has some of the best color palettes. My hydrangeas were bright pink this year and I just looked at them and they are now a deep cranberry color. You’ve inspired me to harvest mine too 🙂
Wow… those purple hydrangeas are absolutely beautiful and next to the green is so stunning!
It’s beautiful!!! This is my favorite one so far!!!
Lovely (and welcome back)!
Your Bird Bar is called a Mountain Ash Tree. My Mama has always had at least one in her yard to attract the birds. I kinda like your name for it…ha!
Wonderful to see this post today.
Your hydrangeas are gorgeous and love your fall mantle. I love fall just don’t like what follows, As soon as Christmas is over I’m ready for spring, but for now I’m enjoying cooler nights less humidity and now the trees are starting to change and I’m loving it after the hot, hot summer we have had.
So jealous! With the warm weather here in Connecticut last January and then a drought this summer I did not get one single flower on any of my hydrangea plants. No apples this year too. I will have to just admire yours from afar!
That beautiful tree, the bird bar, is a European Mountain Ash. Nice job on the mantle! LOVE hydrangeas…
Hi Donna. I believe this beautiful tree is a Mountain Ash. Despite its name, it’s not an Ash at all. It’s in the same family as the Hawthorn and the Apples. And, yes, they are quite beautiful!
Gorgeous!
Good Morning Donna
It’s good to have you back. Hope things are doing better. About this post, it’s really nice, I love hydrangeas, they are my most favoritest flower. (I know that’s not correct English), but that’s the truth. We have several plants. Unfortunately we’re moving off the farm and have to leave them all behind. But, we will be taking some with us, if we can dig some of them up. I know they can be rooted from cuttings but I’ve never done. Must try that. Anyway enough of my ranting. ave a fabulous day Donna.
Hugs, Carol
For the second year in a row I did not get ONE bloom on my hydrangeas and I still don’t know why. Yours are absolutely beautiful. I am so glad you are back, I’ve missed you and I’ve missed the kitties.
Hello Patty: try and find out what kind of hydrangeas you have as SOME put out next year’s (2017) blooms on OLD wood (meaning the current year’s “wood”) and some don’t care when you prune or cut back the bushes. Also, sometimes – if you’re just plain unlucky like I’ve been – you’ll have a hydrangea that puts out mammoth, healthy looking leaves with no blooms whether you prune OR don’t prune!! Good luck!!
Donna! Donna! Donna!
God love you! You are back! And the “voice” of your blog sounds good — strong & full of life.
I am happy for you!
PS loved your purple hydrangeas, too????
Hey Donna, Love the hydrangea mantle so much!♡ The bird bar is called a Mountain Ash. Great seeing your amazing posts again! ♡ Jan
Welcome back!! We all missed you!! ? I so hope you are feeling better! ❤️
Donna, it’s so good to see you back doing what you love. I believe the tree with the orange berries is Mountain Ash.
Thank you for always showing such beautiful flowers. I love hydrangeas, and how your colors seem to change each year. However, when I looked at your photo, the first thing I saw was your HUGE Mountain Ash (what we call your tree here in Alaska, I don’t know what others might call it)….ours aren’t nearly as big as yours. I typically only see single trunk Mtn Ash trees, my dad has a 20+ year old tree with a few trunks – I’ve always thought his was big – and it is seriously scrawny compared to yours! 🙂
Great mantel design. Your hydrangeas are marvelous. Good to have you back.
Donna,
What beautiful hydrangea’s you have. I am jealous, I have huge bushes but very few flowers and they are always pink. How do you get the purple and green? Living on the coast of California and not having been here that long I am learning to garden all over again. Last year I cut the bushes way back after blooming within a couple of feet of the ground, if that. Maybe I cut them to far back?
Thank you for your hints in drying the flowers.
Those hydrangeas look lovely! I have a few planted on my backyard, I think I’ll also make a fall decoration with them. Thank you for the inspiration!
SO GLAD you’re back, Donna!!! :). What a gorgeous post you gave us – lime and purple!! I’ve never seen purple ones before. Do you remember I told you that I bought a condo after I lost my husband? Well, guess what’s outside the front of my building? Yes, you guessed it …. a huge hydrangea bush and it’s loaded with white (turning green) blossoms! I sort of think this place was meant to be. We had an incredibly hot, hot Summer and so far, September too – so they aren’t papery-dry yet but I’ll be out there some October night sneaking in about four branches!! My first Fall, I was concerned I may have harmed the shrub but I’ve witnessed two Springs now (watching it for any damage) but it just seems to get bushier and bushier!! Yeah!
I’ve missed your blog, you are my favorite. I believe that tree is a Mountain Ash, also called a Roan.