Trebah Garden’s iconic hydrangeas are flourishing in spectacular style, despite a very dry spring, transforming the garden’s famous Hydrangea Valley into a vibrant sea of colour that’s captivating visitors this summer.

Nestled in a sheltered valley, Trebah’s unique landscape helps it hold onto precious moisture. The humus-rich soil, combined with plentiful southerly sunshine, creates ideal conditions for the well-established plants, helping them thrive in dry summers and survive wet winters.

Originally planted in the 1950s to supply cut flowers to London’s Covent Garden Flower Market, Trebah’s hydrangeas now delight thousands of visitors each year. The valley is best known for its swatches of blue, mophead hydrangeas; a striking pastel hue that thrives in Trebah’s naturally acidic soil, but visitors can also enjoy pinks, purples and delicate whites mingling among the vivid blues.

There are many remarkable varieties planted throughout the valley including:

• Hydrangea ‘Generale Vicomtesse de Vibraye’, with its large pastel-blue flower heads

• The richly-coloured ‘Enziandom’, famous for its deep blue blooms

• The dramatic ‘Zorro’, standing out with distinctive black stems

• Paniculata hydrangeas, which change their colours as the season progresses

• The Villosa group, recognisable by their soft, felty leaves

• Quercifolia varieties, whose oak-shaped leaves offer stunning autumn colour after their flowering period

Although the blooms are no longer sent up to Covent Garden, the flowers still reach far beyond the borders of the county. Every summer for the past 25 years, Trebah’s gardeners have carefully harvested a colourful selection of hydrangea heads and sent them to Bradwell in Derbyshire, where they play an integral role in the village’s annual Well Dressing tradition.

As summer ends, the hydrangeas keep on giving, taking on deeper vintage tones, before their rustic heads are gathered to create natural Christmas decorations for Trebah’s Visitor Centre in late-November.

Finally, the hydrangeas are lovingly hand-pruned each January by the dedicated team of staff and volunteers, ensuring the next year will bring an equally beautiful display of blooms.

For anyone seeking a colourful summer escape, now is the perfect time to experience Trebah’s Hydrangea Valley in all its glory. Visit www.trebahgarden.co.uk for more information.