Try making an arrangement with different flowers in similar shades. Here, hydrangeas and clematis in purple tones look unified yet diverse. The aqua-colored McCoy bowl peeking out is a bright surprise.

Various colors of hydrangeas take on a stately elegance when grouped together in a tall vase.

Create an arrangement of lush hosta leaves and lavender hydrangeas fitted into a tree trunk-inspired vase.

This small vase holds a bouquet of green hydrangeas; behind it is a mix of euphorbias, hydrangeas, and bells of Ireland (available almost year-round through florists).

This display showcases the unrestrained beauty of hydrangeas. An armful of the flowers overflows a generous glazed-iron urn-shaped vase in an effortlessly elegant way. Tendrils of clematis winding through the blooms emphasize the cottage-garden feeling.

This low centerpiece features hydrangeas, dusty miller, sea thistle, roses, echinops, astrantia, mountain laurel, clematis, lady's mantle, and blueberries.

Actually an assemblage of several smaller and more manageable arrangements, this setup offers an easy way to tame a fresh-from-the-garden mix of roses, hydrangeas, delphiniums, lady's mantle, scented geraniums, and potato vine. A pitcher in the center gives height, while kitchen crocks (sugar bowls, eggcups) allow the inclusion of short-stemmed beauties.