They are brightening up yards all over the state -- this year's hydrangea blooms have been fantastic. Some say this is the first ever significant bloom they have experienced from their plants.
“Summertime in new England we expect to see hydrangeas, and these are the most beautiful I have ever seen in several years,” said Kama Cawley in Avon.
She has been thrilled her hydrangea are having their best bloom in years.
“Very excited it’s the best it’s ever been. I’ve had this bush here probably close to 10 years,” she said. “I've never had blooms like this.”
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Two bushes she has carefully planted in her side yard, are exploding in shades of blue, and in any direction, you drive, there's a similar situation.
“The bigger they go, they’re going to change the color,” said Elias Tellez, explaining what he is expecting from the flower over the course of the summer.
He is taking care of roughly a dozen homes in a neighborhood -- all of them exploding in color.
Local
“But this year in one month everything showed up,” he explained.
He said he is constantly working around the bushes and loves it.
“So beautiful. Different colors in this neighborhood. Any single house in the neighborhood you can see hydrangeas,” said Tellez.
We called an expert to find out why.
“We had a lot of rain last year if you recall," said John Lorusso, a master gardener with the UConn master program in Windham.
He explained it was the wet year in 2023 that started it. That wet period allowed a ton of growth in the plants. The big growing season was followed by a mild winter, which allowed the buds to survive, thrive and now run wild.
“They are big showy flowers for one,” said Lorusso, explaining why they are so beloved in the northeast.
He says it's hard not to smile when you see a bloom like this one. His office and master gardener offices around the state have been getting a ton of inquiries about the explosion of color. He noted it has been exciting to watch people enjoy them.
“Because there is always a lot of heartbreak if you don’t get any of those flowers, when you get that banner year like we are this year, it really warms your heart,” said Lorusso.
He did say no two years are alike, and this year is something special.
Tellez agreed, and recommended people get them while they can, preserve them, and enjoy them for as long as they can.
“They take the hydrangea flowers, and you use them for decorations, inside the house, they can stay fresh,” said Tellez. Lorusso also said he has heard this banner year has meant a ton of sales of new hydrangeas for the year.
