Hydrangea Decor for Fabulous Fall Tables

By Jill Brooke

The Hampton Classic is always my go-to place to survey the best table scapes trends of the year.

I was particularly impressed with how hydrangeas were used in a variety of tables to beautifully transition from summer to the crisp bite of fall. Since hydrangeas are still in the garden – many have bloom times of more than 180 days – here are ways you too can incorporate them into your table scapes.

But first you have to decide what colors you may want- and in the future grow – depending on your color palate.

Few flowers change their wardrobe as dramatically as the hydrangea, and the secret lies beneath their feet. Hydrangeas are natural soil-testers, their blossoms acting like litmus paper that reveals the chemistry underground.

Blue hydrangeas signal acidic soil, where a pH below 6 allows aluminum ions to be absorbed, tinting the petals the color of summer skies. Shift that same plant into alkaline soil, and suddenly the aluminum is locked away, the blossoms unfurling in shades of pink, from blush to deep rose, depending on the level of lime in the earth.

Between these poles lies purple, a diplomatic blend where soil hovers around neutral, and both pink and blue pigments mingle on the same mophead bloom like watercolors bleeding together.

White hydrangeas, however, refuse to be persuaded by chemistry; their purity is genetic, impervious to soil’s persuasion, though they may blush slightly pink as they age.

And then there are the green varieties—sometimes natural cultivars, sometimes fading whites—that carry the cool, fresh tones of new growth or late-season transformation, as though the flower has taken back its chlorophyll before bowing out.

In this way, hydrangeas remind us that beauty is never fixed—it is a dialogue between plant and place, blossom and earth, forever shifting in hue.

Hopefully you will find many of these table settings as beautiful as I do – Hydrangeas are team players and can be pretty alone or mixed with other friends such as orchids or lilies as well as roses.

BLUE HYDRANGEA TABLES