Na Rota das Hortênsias: blue island

"Vindas da China e do Japão há muitos séculos e, por vezes, pitorescamente chamadas de "novelos" pelos açorianos, as hortênsias encontraram no arquipélago o meio ideal para a sua propagação e florescimento. Mas nenhuma ilha pode orgulhar-se como o Faial dos imensos maciços de hortênsias que emolduram casas, acompanham estradas, separam campos, esmaltando o verde viçoso da paisagem com infinitos cambiantes de azul, justificando o título de "ilha azul" de que se orgulha e com que foi baptizada pelo escritor Raul Brandão."

Guia da Ilha do Faial - Direcção Regional de Turismo dos Açores

Agnés Dortu

"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, particularly on Faial Island, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island."

Óleo sobre lienzo de Teresa Sarmiento

"Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn. In most species the flowers are white but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be 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."