The genus name comes from the Greek for water vessel, hydor and angeion, and refers not to the famous thirst of the plants but to the small cup-shaped seed capsules that follow the flowers. Both readings turn out to be fair. Hydrangeas wilt theatrically on a hot afternoon and recover by dark, and the ones grown here are chosen for taking a Southern summer with more grace than most.

Four groups do the work. Hydrangea quercifolia, the oakleaf, is a Southeastern native and the best of them for this climate, with panicles that age to rose, cinnamon bark peeling on older wood, and burgundy fall color; 'Snowflake' carries doubled sepals stacked along the panicle like a bloom within a bloom. Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' flowers on new wood and forgives a late freeze. The lacecaps and mopheads of Hydrangea macrophylla and Hydrangea serrata shift blue or pink with soil pH, acid ground pushing them toward blue. Give the whole group morning sun, afternoon shade, and soil that holds moisture.