Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Drying Hydrangeas

Today began at 8:30 with some friends (my neighbors) getting together for a PSO (Planned Sunday Outing)  to Revolution Donuts in Decatur.  It was my first time there but my neighbors have been raving about it. Know how a lot of times places don't live up to the hype?  Not so today.  I loved it.  Especially the salted caramel  bacon donut I chose.  Salted.Caramel.Bacon.  No pictures (too busy moaning about how fabulous it was) but you can check them out ... here ....

It really was a beautiful morning.  Not raining (rare in Atlanta this year) and the humidity and temperature were almost perfect.  We sat outside and enjoyed our donuts and coffee. Good time, good food, good friends.  Doesn't get better than that.  Although things did get a little dicey when this spider was spotted next to our table. Not sure of the formal name but I've always heard it called a Zipper Spider.  My guess is because the center of the web looks like a zipper.  This time I did snap a picture.

On the drive home I spotted some hydrangeas on the side of the road. One of my neighbors said they were cut yesterday and the woman who lived there was quite the gardener. This is just what I've been waiting for. I've been oohing and ahhing over the hydrangeas for months now.  I was even willing to help someone cut theirs back just to get my hands on a few.  And here they were. On a Sunday morning.  Already cut and just waiting for me.  On a tarp.  What a neighborhood.

I know there are several ways to dry hydrangeas but the only way I've had any luck with them is when they're past their peak and in decline. At the point when real gardeners cut the bushes back for next year. I gathered a few and brought them home, trimmed them and wired 5 or 6 of the mopheads together.

I then tied them onto a ladder I bought this spring for drying herbs. The hydrangeas need to hang upside down for a few weeks until they dry. Then I can dry herbs if we have any left from all the rain.  It worked out perfect.  Five cross pieces on the ladder and ten bunches of hydrangeas.

I'm so happy.  I l-o-v-e dried hydrangeas.  I'll let you know how these turn out in a few weeks.  Have you dried hydrangeas?  What worked best for you?