Blue Hydrangea Blue Hydrangea Like
Blue Hydrangea
Blue Hydrangea
Like the green that cakes in a pot of paint,
these leaves are dry, dull and rough
behind this billow of blooms whose blue
is not their own but reflected from far away
in a mirror dimmed by tears and vague,
as if it wished them to disappear again
the way, in old blue writing paper,
yellow shows, then violet and gray;a washed-out color as in children’s clothes
which, no longer worn, no more can happen to:
how much it makes you feel a small life’s brevity.But suddenly the blue shines quite renewed
within one cluster, and we can see
a touching blue rejoice before the green.Rainer Maria Rilke
William H. Gass, trans.
The translator points out that the color of hydrangea blooms depends upon the acidity of the soil. Gass writes: “My grandmother buried nails near her hydrangea, and they bloomed as blue as jeans.” (Reading Rilke: Reflections on the Problems of Translation, p. 148.)
Categories: Uncategorized dw
nEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU PUT ON THESE PLANTS TO MAKE THEM BLUE. WHAT ACIDE WILL DO THE TRICK?
hi – i always heard that putting iron in the soil makes the flowers pink
found this website looks interesting :
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/acidsoil.html
Blue hydrangea are sooo beautiful – wonder how they go white??
My sister in law has a blue hydrangea,.. the plant is growing very well,.. plenty of “acid soil, but has NEVER had flowers!! HELP !!!
Hi there
any hints to get my blue hydrangea to bloom? its thriving otherwise but no flowers for the last two years… Help?
I have a gorgeous Blue hygrangea. It had big blooms last year and nothing at all this year but the plant itself was huge. Anybody tell me why no flowers this year? Email please. [Address removed at the request of the commenter – dw]
I have a Blue Hydrangea, it flowers, but opens one flower at a time, not the whole cluster. Any ideas?
Aluminum in the soil makes hydrangeas blue. You can put some aluminum nails in the ground next to the plant.