I visited Weston Park for the first time this week for a heritage event – previously I’ve only got as far as The Granary restaurant. It’s a fabulous place so if you’re at a loose end this weekend and it’s good weather, I highly recommend it. There are 1000 acres of Capability Brown parkland to wonder, plus formal gardens, walled garden, adventure playground, maze, miniature railway, lakes, follies, gallery, conservatory, restaurant and…a cave. Plus the magnificent house. I’ll have to go back soon as I didn’t see it all.

The conservatory sits beside a large pond in a peaceful part of the garden and make a romantic background to these beautiful hydrangeas. The soft blues, creams and yellows and punchy greens of the blousy flowers are soothing and shimmering with jewel-coloured damselflies in complimentary turquoises.

I used to shun hydrangeas as too ‘seventies’, too synthetically pink or blue. Now though there are a myriad of colours available and the variation of colour within one flower head gives them more depth – a world away from the old lady’s bathing cap look that I grew up with. So they are a great addition to the garden – lots of variation in colour, size, shrub or climber, evergreen or deciduous, even the choice of oak shaped leaves.

Their colour is affected by the soil acidity – a pH of 5.5 or lower (more acidic) gives pink flowers, whereas pH of 5.5-6.5 (less acidic) will have blue or purple flowers. There are white hydrangeas which aren’t affected by soil pH because they don’t have any pigment to change.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between a damselfly and a dragonfly: the long skinny, fragile-looking ones that are most often about are damselflies. Dragonflies are stumpier and tubbier.