Anyone else into hostas???

[hickchick55]

That is one beautiful yard. Hostas are my favorite- also my chicken's favorite. They ate everything last summer so this year I have chicken wire everywhere- not the most attractive addition to my landscaping, but I love my chickies too.

 

[flowerchild59]

Just one more this am before I go outside. It is a little cool for this grandma to be moving and digging.
This is a pic of one of the newer beds, this is the "places and locations bed". It has hostas that have names like sweet home chicago, key west, grand canyon, pacific edger. Some of them in here will be very large at maturity, so they are spaced 4 or 5 feet apart. I have learned if you plant them spaced correctly the first time, you don't have to dig them up later when they are too close. The bright gold in the corner is piedmont gold, to its right is sweet home chicago, the creamy edged one is Miss Tokyo. The biggest blue is wheaton blue.
The old bbq pit is going to be turned into an outdoor pizza oven someday when I have the time to research and figure out how it can be done. It is lined with fire brick.

 

[flowerchild59]

Ok, just one more this am. This is the original Naughty themed hosta. The bright yellow just emerging is On Stage. The tall one to the back with creamy yellow edges is Climax, Next to it is Leading lady on the right. The green in front right is Peter pan, the small variagated in center front is Hanky Panky and needs to be moved as it is being swallowed up by the larger neighbors. See, its all about proper spacing.

 

[flowerchild59]

The chickens generally do not bother the hostas, but they do till the mulch underneath them and between them. Most of my plants are mature and I raise them in pots the first few years anyway to see if they are diseased or virused or have nematodes that I don't want to add to my gardens.
I have alot of seedlings that pot up that if they are not something worth keeping I do stir fry them myself and eat them (they do in the orient) and or give them to the hens as a treat.

 

[flowerchild59]

This is Lakeside breaking waves, on of the lakeside series hosta that was developed by Mary Chastain in Chatanooga TN. She is a premier hybridizer that is now retired. She registered something like 150+ hostas in her career. What a lady!!!


!
This is lakeside leprechaun, one of my favortie smaller hostas. It has great texture too:


This is lakeside legal tender, great smaller hosta too.

 

[flowerchild59]

And one more for the lakeside series. This is lakeside ripples, it is a monster and my biggest lakeside hosta. It is fully 4 1/2 feet across and taller than the standard birdbath that it dwarfs. I love the ripples on the edges of the leaves. It hasn't stopped growing yet this spring. See how much space it has around it.???

 

[toomanydogs]

I absolutely adore hostas. They are a relatively easy perennial and they of course, like the shade, my favorite place to be on a hot day.
I dont know if you are any where close to southern Illinois, but on sunday, may 6th, we are having an open house to feature our hosta garden. My husband and I will be playing in the yard all day no matter what, but if you would like to see a collection of over 550 hostas give me a PM. We are also right on the shawnee wine trail for southern Illinois. Lots of stuff to do in southern Illinois and it is just beautiful this time of year.
I also collect coral bells (heucheras) and other shade plants. I group the hostas into theme beds by their names, like the sun, moon and stars,; creature theme; Name bed; Places and locations; Religious; Oriental and species bed, etc.
And of course, we can talk chickens too.

hostas and chickens, you iz my kinda people

 

[mrheinz77]

"Anybody else into Hostas?". I am!