[Taken 3 August 2013]
I have three varieties of hydrangeas growing on my property: several mophead (Hydrangea macrophylla) ‘Nikko Blue’ hydrangeas (which I only identified so specifically from a long-ago nursery tag I found); one purple lacecap (Hydrangea macrophylla normalis) hydrangea, and this Hydrangea paniculata, which is probably about 8′ tall and just as wide.
The flowers start out a light greenish color, then bloom full to white, and take on a dusty rose-colored cast in the fall. Around Thanksgiving this year, I cut a few of the dried flowerheads to put in an autumn/winter vase with some decorative pebbles.