Hydrangeas and Rainy Season

Do you know that hydrangeas are native to Japan?

I grew up with enjoying hydrangeas in June and July in Japan.
To me, hydrangeas were blue flowers.
I was surprised to see hydrangeas in pink in the U.S.
It was a new finding for me that the soil makes the different colored flowers.

About 3 years before, I planted 3 hydrangeas in a shady spot under big trees along with a gulch in my back yard.
Two of them didn't come back last year.
The last one came back this year with a few fresh leaves.
For some reasons, squirrels loved to play with the hydrangea, dug up the root and totally destroyed it.
I was so disappointed to lose the hydrangea but could give it up as I knew hydrangeas were not good fit with my dry garden.

The websites below are my favorite places to visit when I go back to Japan.
I would love to share the native Japanese hydrangeas with you!

• Meigetsuin (Meigetsu Temple) in Kitakamakura, Kanagawa,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoONurKAPc
• Hasedera (Hase Temple) in Kamakura, Kanagawa http://www.hasedera.jp/10_hana/index.html
• Hakone Tozan Tetsudou Ajisai Densha (Hakone Mountain Train, Hydrangea Train) in Hakone, Kanagawa
http://www.hakone-tozan.co.jp/ajisai/index.html