Jaye Marie and Anita Dawes

I love hydrangeas but I am death on two legs to most plants, aided and abetted by our very sunny and windy terrace. The only things which survive are succulents. It’s sadly an inhospitable environment for hydrangea, which are known as “hortensia” in France. They grow much better in rather damper and more humid climes such as UK and the north, west and south-west coastlines of France. This one was happily growing in the gardens in Mainau which was part of our May trip down memory lane to the Bodensee.