On the Porch with Hydrangeas and Lemons and Easy Flower Arrangement

Create an easy flower arrangement using hydrangeas and lemons. You’ll also find flower longevity tips and additional floral inspiration incorporating citrus.

Happy Monday!

It’s one of my favorite days of the month, when I join my blogging friends

for some flower therapy and Monday Morning Blooms!

You can find my blogging friends’ links to their floral inspiration at the bottom of this post.

Our common theme for this week’s edition of Monday Morning Blooms was ‘citrus’

and incorporating it in a flower arrangement.

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For my arrangement, I used a blue and white glass vase, found at Target a couple of years ago.

To conceal the flower stems, I used a favorite vase-within-a vase method, placing a smaller vase

 inside the larger blue and white vase, with sheets of white printer paper between walls of the vases.

The white of the paper covers the clear glass areas of vase so the stems

don’t detract from the design of the vase and arrangement.

Big beautiful blue and white hydrangeas from the grocery store provide some welcome flower therapy,

while waiting for Endless Summer Hydrangeas to bloom around the Potting Shed.

Endless Summer Hydrangeas begin to bloom in May in our zone 7b garden. . . 69 days away!

I love all varieties of hydrangeas, especially the Bigleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla,

also referred to as French or mophead variety.

The advantage of these large ball shape blooms, is they don’t require any arranging,

just plop them in your vase.

Another advantage is it only takes 6 – 8 stems to fill a vase!

The downside is that Bigleaf hydrangeas are notorious for wilting.

They need a lot of water to keep them hydrated both while growing and when cut.

I used a favorite tip I discovered a couple of years ago, to keep cut hydrangeas

from wilting, using alum!

The alum allows the flower stems to stay open to draw water.

When using cut hydrangeas in an arrangement, I remove all of the leaves, except for maybe 1 per stem,

as the large leaves take moisture away from the flowers.

To prepare your hydrangeas, cut each stem at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake

and to prevent the stems from sitting flat in the bottom of the vase.

Dip 1/2 inch of each cut stem in alum powder, found on the spice aisle.

Place your dipped hydrangea stems in your vase of room temperature water.

 Always add floral preservative packets to your vase water that come with your flowers from the grocery store.

 If you don’t have any floral preservative, you can make your own with this easy formula.

Hydrangeas are heavy drinkers so check your water level in your vase to keep it topped off,

changing the water every other day if possible to reduce bacterial growth and extend their vase life.

Give the stems a fresh cut when changing the water and redip in alum.

Hydrangeas can hydrate through their petals, so giving the petals a spritz of water

 with a spray bottle will help keep them fresh.

If they begin to wilt despite your TLC, plunge the blooms in a sink of cool water

for 20 minutes or so to help revive them.

I choose lemons for my citrus element and sunny color, to pair with the blues of the hydrangeas.

Whole lemons were added to the arrangement using bamboo skewers

and were tucked in among the big hydrangea blooms.

Citrus fruit adds a welcome burst of sunshine in winter, at its peak of freshness,

and when it’s at its sweetest and most juicy!

Help yourself to a slice of  Lemon Loaf Cake with Lemon Syrup!

Moist and easy to make with a doctor-the-box recipe and

Nordic Ware Citrus Blossom Loaf Pan.

Find the recipe, HERE.

The lemons can be used for juicing and zesting after my hydrangeas are spent

as the bamboo skewers are food-safe.

If you have a surplus of lemons or citrons :) and need some culinary sunshine,

I highly recommend Microwave Lemon Curd!

It’s easy to make and ready in 15 minutes with only 5 to 6 minutes of cooking time.

I’ve created two camera hounds. . .

When Lola and Sophie see me on the porch with my camera, they don’t want to be left out!

In their world, photos = treats 🐾🐾

Visit my talented blogging friends to see their citrus and floral inspiration:

Shirley at Housepitality Designs

 Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse

Pam at Everyday Living

Find more floral inspiration incorporating citrus from my Monday Morning Blooms friends:

Floral Arrangement with Tulips, Roses and Citrus + Pink Transferware Table

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 Metamorphosis Monday