Surprise!

Many years ago, when my FIL died - I think it was maybe 1998? - there was a memorial service held at the retirement home where he and my MIL lived - and one of the floral things that someone brought was a potted hydrangea. After the service, I took it home and being the lazy person that I am I just sort of slapped it in the ground and forgot about it. Subsequently someone gave us some lilac cuttings and we slapped those in the ground near the hydrangea. Well, the lilacs have gotten larger and larger and gradually have spread around the hydrangea and totally engulfed it, and I almost completely forgot the hydrangea was there at all. But the other day my eye was caught by something lilac colored - blooms in the center of the lilac - blooming much later than the lilac itself which came and went back in early May or so. I investigated and LO! the hydrangea is blooming in there. There are about five actual big blousy blooms! This, obviously, is a close-up of one of them. Bless its undaunted heart. I don't think it's ever bloomed before, but I could be wrong, because who would notice it? It's really buried in there.