When this hydrangea is pruned to just one blossom it looks like a miniature tree covered in a thousand flowers.  Like a big poofy fluff ball, it almost seems fake, not like a real plant.  It is hard to imagine this puffy little thing out in the landscaping.  I think a wind would lift it up like a hot air balloon and it might sail across the Atlantic Ocean and settle itself in front of a patisserie.  ‘Je voudrais un chocolat chaud et un croissant, s’il vous plait.   Je vais voir les beaux jardins a Versailles et les vivant fleurs en le campagne. La vie est belle’   Avantgarde is from a French word that means innovative, pushing the boundaries of what is accepted, and I think this hydrangea does just that.  Besides speaking French, it grows up to 24″ tall and 18″ wide.  The stems are strong enough to support those magnificent flowers and the bloom can last for up to three months, changing color from white to pink or blue to green.  Vive le France.