The
hydrangea was a common sight in Victorian gardens. It
was a hardy shrub, although people often grew it as
a glasshouse,
or window, specimen. The Hydrangea hortensis,
pictured to the left, was a very common window decoration,
and many thousands were sold each year in the market
gardens of London. The shrub was hardy out of doors,
however, and many were to be seen over southern England,
some immense specimens among them.
Hydrangeas
preferred a 'fat' soil - a fertile loam with a considerable
amount of fat manure dug into it. Planting should be
done in spring, and could stand any amount of water
in summer, together with addition of a weak liquid manure
feed.
In
the greenhouse cuttings could be taken in the summer,
when the new growth would readily strike.
The
hydrangea was, Hibberd remarked, the amateur gardener's
'pet'.
