This mature Pee Gee Hydrangea tree (Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora') beside an old farmhouse in Wells, Maine is an heirloom favorite. The enormous, creamy white, conical flowers bloom in mid- to late summer and become pink as they age. As autumn progresses and the nights become colder, the flowers turn the color of tea-stained linen. Click on the photos for details. 
Queen Anne's Lace in mid-September"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."
Click on the photo to view interesting details.
Victorian hydrangea wallpaper
Antique hydrangeasI recently stayed in a room called Patience, named after the daughter of a sea captain and former owner of the Cape Cod antique home that is now an inn. I chose the room for the hydrangea wallpaper, which struck me as very soothing, and it was.
In addition to a much needed change of scenery, the serenity of that room offered some solace after weeks of grieving, and I slept more soundly than I had in some time. In the language of flowers, hydrangeas mean "thank you for understanding." Hydrangeas also stand for perseverance.
As nights become cooler hydrangea colors intensify. Cultivars in shades of pale blue-lavender, mauve-pink and linen are much sought after for drying and sold as "Antique" hydrangeas. They last a very long time. The ones pictured above are a year old.
Wild Black Raspberries (Rubus occidentalis)
"We can hold back neither the coming of the flowers
nor the downward rush of the stream;
sooner or later, everything comes to its fruition."
~ Loy Ching-Yuen
