Monday Blooms

A friend gave me this hydrangea plant as a housewarming gift ten years ago. The nursery tag attached read, "will never turn blue." I read it as a warning, like, "don't worry, this won't turn blue." I thought that was odd, because in my limited gardening experience at the time, I thought everyone wanted blue hydrangeas, so turning blue would be a good thing. After thinking for a minute, I realized it meant, "don't try everything you've ever heard of to turn this hydrangea blue, 'cause it ain't gonna happen."

I planted it in the front of the house, in a protected spot (which the tag said it needed), but it didn't bloom at all the first couple years. I decided it wasn't a sunny enough spot, so I transplanted it. That first year after moving it, I got one very pale pinkish white blossom, and congratulated myself on doing the right thing. The next year: no blooms. The year after that, one. So I decided to give this plant some space (ie, I kinda ignored it). With one exception: I had read that plants like coffee, so I started dumping my coffee grounds in the garden, alternating between the rose bush and the hydrangea. Year after year, no blooms, and the plant only grew a little (caffeine stunting it's growth?!?). Then, with help, I pruned the forsythia and lilac nearby to give the hydrangea more room. The plant seemed happy. Finally, this year, three flowers. I guess you'd call them purple, but they're almost blue.

Somehow, this is a parable for my life right now.
Still not quite sure what it means...

Peace.