Hi Ree Yes Hydrangeas can be dried just standing in an empty container. You will find that some Hydrangeas will dry better than others. There are some that will just shrivel up, and others that will maintain the size and shape pretty well. You have to experiment to see which ones work best. When dry: a light spray of hair spray will keep them from dropping. I love Hydrangeas and have several varieties in my yard. I added a new one called Endless Summer and it is doing well, bloomed very early and it is still blooming. I put it in last fall, the flower heads are smaller and more compact than the Mop heads but very pretty and soft looking. I haven't tried drying these yet.

Here are some hints/tips for using freeze-dried foods.... 1. You can eat it as-is, but make sure you drink extra water. 2. Hydrate it with less water than you think. I like to cover the bowl with a plate to keep the steam in when rehydrating vegetables. Fragile food (fruit and cheese) place in a bag or bowl and spritz with water. Place in refrigerator and stir every few minutes. Rehydrate cheese (by spritzing with water) and let it sit in refrigerator overnight before eating/using (and yes, it will melt on your pizza ;-). Spritz/add only "enough" water - NO puddle of water in the bottom of bowl. Pour any extra water off before it's fully rehydrated. 3. You don't always need to hydrate first.... Rule: If it's covered with liquid at least 15-minutes how it's used in the recipe, don't hydrate first. Just add 2-4 T. extra water for every cup of freeze-dried food. 4. If you are using freeze-dried meat, DON'T overcook it. Hydrate in warm or cold water and then add to what you are cooking. If making chicken salad, don't add much water at all to rehydrate because you also add mayo. 5. Antioxidant phytochemicals found in the fruits' fresh state are retained at levels almost as high after freeze-dried. 6. A #10 can = 10-20 pounds of produce - depending on type. 7. At camp, when you heat water be sure to heat enough to fill a Thermos or two. You will have "instant" hot water for rehydrating freeze-dried foods. If you take several Thermos bottles, you can also "cook" in them. http://www.thermoscooking.com/ ____________________ Tomato powder: Storage: Place in small jars (user-friendly amounts) with airtight lids. Store in-use jars in the refrigerator, which is a dry environment due to the frost-free feature. Don't leave the container open any longer than what it takes to take out a measured amount. I also place moisture-absorbing packets in the top to help prevent clumping. Even a folded white paper towel placed on the top of the tomato powder will help absorb moisture. If the tomato powder begins to clump, you can grate it on a grater or microplane to make a powder again. Tomato powder has an indefinite shelf-life, when properly stored. Quick Pizza Sauce (for 12" pizza) 1 T. tomato powder 3-4 T. hot water (it will mix with cold water, as well, but you will get a better consistency with hot) Italian or Pizza seasonings to taste "shot" of vinegar sweetener of choice, to taste (optional) pinch of salt Mix together. Allow to sit for a minute or two to absorb the liquid. Mix again and add more water if it's too thick. ~~~~~ For 1/2 c. tomato sauce: Mix 1/8 c. (2 T.) + 1/2 c. water ~~~~~ For tomato juice: Mix 3/4 c. powder + 8 cups of water = 64 oz. bottle of tomato juice. You can make it as thick/thin as you like. Add some Fruit Fresh and a dash of salt (also Tabasco and/or Worcestershire). ~~~~~ THRIVE Spaghetti Sauce 1/2 c. THRIVE tomato powder 1-1/2 c. water 1 t. salt 1 t. garlic powder 1 t. basil (dried) 1 t. Italian Seasoning 1/2 t. pepper pinch of sugar 1/8 t. baking soda Combine tomato powder and water in a medium sized bowl. Once mixed, add in dry ingredients with the baking soda last. Add the baking soda to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes. If you like the more "crisp" taste you can omit the baking soda. Don't worry about the sauce foaming or getting lighter when you add the baking soda, it will settle down.

Thank you, @jjpeace (zone 5b Canada)! I also prefer soft colors and my style is a bit informal, romantic, and cottage-gardeny, though I'm trying to be mindful of my natural surroundings (that is, I don't live in a thatched-roof cottage). Do you mean you would mass plant your favorite rose all around the front garden or as a row next to the new boxwoods? I like Olivia Rose Austin because of the light pink color, old rose look, repeat blooming, reputation for disease resistance, and bushy growth. Other contenders are Princess Alexandra of Kent and Gertrude Jekyll. I know the best way to choose a rose is to plant top contenders and see how they perform for a year or two, but I cannot exercise such restraint. The rose that grows the best for me is David Austin's Munstead Wood, but the color is too dark for what I want up front. My second favorite is Sophy's Rose, which again is too dark. Secret (Hybrid Tea) and Le Petit Prince (Floribunda) are my best light-colored roses, but not the style I want for the front area. Roald Dahl performed poorly the first year, small and few buds, but I'm giving it more time.

The plants I listed are all easily grown from seed. The nicotiana is a flowering tobacco, loves partial shade and will grow as much as 5-6 feet tall. And produces an abundance of very fragrant, hummingbird attractive white flowers from early summer until frost. I can't be bothered with many annuals in my garden but I grow the nicotiana every year. The verbena is fully perennial in our climate but reseeds very freely, to the point of being mildly invasive in many west coast areas, so plant with that in mind :-)