Hydrangeas: Cape Cod and the Islands

I have been meaning to write this for a few weeks so I am glad I am finally doing it!  A few months ago I learned about what will most-definitely become my new favorite book, Hydrangeas:  Cape Cod and the Islands.  For a hydrangea lover, and a Cape and Islands lover, this book is, as I told my mother:  "THE book that I would write if I were to ever become a writer."  Thankfully I am not pursuing a writing career or I would be toast at the age of 20 years old.

The cover has me salivating.....

The book is set to be released to the public (in other words, published) on April 28, 2012.  Written and photographed by Joan Harrison, the President of the Cape Cod Hydrangea Society (we have been in communication with each other for awhile now about all sorts of hydrangea stuff), this book will feature over 300 pictures of hydrangeas in myriad settings throughout the Cape Cod-Nantucket-Martha's Vineyard region:  in private gardens, public gardens, tucked-away corners, roadsides, waterfronts, and even in some Cape and Island weddings.

For the uninitiated, hydrangeas are essentially the unofficial flower of these Massachusetts coastal retreats.  For the arm, the boomerang, and the grapes--the hydrangea is akin to how maple trees or dandelions are to the rest of America; ingrained and integral to the landscape, almost as much as the dunes and lighthouses themselves.  Come July, these storybook coastal locales are literally bursting at the seams with beautiful hydrangea flowers at every sidewalk, patio, traffic light, golf course, bank, ferry terminal, and anywhere else with a spare patch of dirt.

The jaw-dropping "Hydrangea Walk" cottage on Shore Road in Chatham, perched at the Cape's elbow.
Memories on Clover Lane

I am most excited about having some of my very own handiwork featured in this book, including a project or two I worked with on The Faraway Island this past summer.

Needless to say, I eagerly await the opportunity to have so many memories spanning several summers rekindled on the pages of this very exciting, very unique book.  I am particularly enthused to see a multitude of photographs featuring the new CCHS-sponsored hydrangea collection at Heritage Gardens in Sandwich on the Upper Cape and, of course, the one-and-only Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket.

For those of you interested, the book is available via pre-order from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc.