Re Hydrangea and lack of blooms.

It could be a combination of both!
I give my hydrangeas a good mulch of garden compost early each spring and wait until they are starting to shoot before deadheading. Also cut out any very old or badly placed wood to encourage more growth from the base.
I suspect the heavy flowering in 2007 exhausted your plants and they would appreciate a good feed this year

"Boosting old Hydrangeas
Cut the very old wood ans shorten the younger shoots as far as an active bud to encourage new growth. Ayear or two of this treatment will give it a new lease of life. You may not get any flowers for two or three years, but in the end you will get a display more glorious than ever."

Taken from "Readers Digest, Your Garden Questions Answered."

Hope this helps.

For some reason last year was a really bad one for Hydrangeas - mine didn't do well and, according to my dad, everyone at the golf course reported that theirs didn't do well either!! (So that's what they all talk about!!) So I don't think it was your fault, just the weather or something.

Trees& things - I've got that book too ;-)

The book I refer to was given to me by my mum years ago, it was the only garden book I had back then and it helped my interest in gardening blossom..

Think it might have been my first book too T&T - must be a good 20 years old or more. Back then, it really did answer pretty much every question I had about gardening! I recon I know a bit more these days tho, but I still refer back to it sometimes ;-)