Dried Hydrangea Flowers ~

Fresh cut Hydrangea ~

I am experimenting with this fresh cut hydrangea for a dried arrangement . . . I usually allow my hydrangea's to dry naturally on the shrub / plant . . . if they are cut too soon, the pink mophead will just wilt . . . I left this one on the shrub for a quite a while but not as long as I usually do for drying . . . we will see what happens. 

Hydrangea heaven ~

Both my 'Pia' and 'Endless Summer'  Hydrangea plants are in full bloom and covered with these beautiful pink Mopheads (Hydrangea Macrophylla).  I like to leave the blooms on the shrubs until they age and take on a vintage look so I end up with a wonderful dried arrangement that will last for a very long time. To retain it's intense natural color, you can use Silica Gel . . . I have not done that as of yet . . . I like to dry them naturally and have been very happy with the results.

Dried hydrangea's ~

An arrangement of hydrangea's I dried from my garden. Currently, we have high winds and pouring rain...not so great for going out and grabbing outdoor photos.

New Camera, dried hydrangea's, rose petals, and Mom ~

I purchased a gently used new Canon Rebel camera, and this is really the first time I used it. I have been playing and attempting to get use to it. The above photo of my beautiful mom, dried rose petals from her service, and hydrangea's I dried from my garden, became my subjects to play with. This camera is going to take some getting use to! Much different from my point and shoot Canon camera, that is for sure.  I must have taken 100 photos before even coming up with a somewhat decent one.

 I wanted to highlight the hydrangea's so that the purple-ish color stood out, but then there would be a glare on mom's photo. I tried the auto setting and with the flash, the hydrangea's looked a dried up brown color. This photo does not do any of the subjects justice...and it's fuzzy looking. I will just keep playing...that is how you learn right!?!