Katy's Garden

"Otaksa" is a very old mophead variety introduced to Europe by Philip Franz Von Siebold in the early half of the 19th century. I am not, as a rule, fond of the traditional mopheads, but Otaksa is a darling. She turns blue very readily, and has a romantic story. Von Siebold named her after a woman he had known in Japan (some say she was his lover), O Taki San. All of Von Siebold´s adventurous realation with japan has a touch (and more) of drama to it, and I am happy to have a plant that he brought to the gardens of the western world. She is supposedly a rather tender variety, but mine was one of the few macrophyllas to come unscathed trough this spring´s frosts. The dryed flowers are a beautiful shade of pale green.


"Preziosa" is definitely hardy, on the other hand. She has serrata sap in her parentage, and it shows. Hydrangea serrata is called "mountain hydrangea" in Japan, and that´s what she is, a comparatively small woodland plant, which flushes later than the coastal macrophyllas. Preziosa is definitely daintier than most garden hydrangeas, but not as much as a true serrata. She has beautiful red stems and a dusky foliage. The flowers are really spectaculare, they are small mopheads, opening green and then turning white and pink, and finally deep red, almost regardless of the soil acidity. Sometimes the colours all mix in a very curious variegated pattern.The mature florets turn downwards, like in lacecap hydrangeas.