Some of my prettiest Hydrangeas....

Scientific Family Classification
Kingdom:
Plantae

Division:
Magnoliophyta

Class:

Magnoliopsida
Order:

Cornales
Family:

Hydrangeaceae
Genus:
Hydrangea

Hydrangea is a genus of about 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia (from Japan to China, the Himalaya and Indonesia) and North and South America. The flowers are extremely common in the Azores Islands of Portugal. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China and Japan. Most are shrubs are 1-3 m tall, but some are small trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) at the ends of the stems. They can be white, blue, red, pink, or purple. In these species the exact colour often depends on the pH of the soil; acidic soils produce blue flowers, neutral soils produce very pale cream petals, and alkaline soils results in pink or purple. Hydrangeas are one of very few plants that accumulate aluminium. Aluminium is released from acidic soils, and in some species, forms complexes in the hydrangea flower giving them their blue colour.