Hallson Gardens

I really enjoyed that! Yes, it is a wonderful obsession. My order for 50% shade cloth arrived yesterday.

-Diana

How long does it keep that color? My Hadspen Samphire comes up like that but within a couple weeks turns green. That yellow is just beautiful. Almost good enough to eat!

-Diana

My package from Chris arrived yesterday in great shape after a cross country trip. They are now happily in pots, ready to catch up with my others.

Kiwi Full Monty
Magic Fire
Rainforest Sun rise
Salute
Touch of Class
Ivory Necklace - bonus

-Diana

Cheryl- My relatives are all up in Chicago. I picked Carbondale because it has the same latitude numbers as where we live. We get the same sun intensity, but we don't get the hot and cold extremes that you do. That part is nice, but the warmer winters here make hosta growing more of a challenge. Did...

Thanks to you all!

Ginger- We are very close to San Jose. My latitude is 37.368, like Carbondale, IL, but the San Francisco Bay and the mountains make all the difference in the weather, as you know.

-Diana

There are no hosta societies out here and no one I know grows them. Since most things stay green here all year, and since yards are so small, no one wants to look at a bare spot while the hostas are dormant. BUT, I love hostas so much, I've been growing them in pots, which I put around our east faci...

Sagae would probably be crunchier than plantaginea. Or better yet, Blue Mouse Ears are so thick they could almost be served as chips. Seriously, I've used some Guacamole leaves on a plate under deviled eggs. The colors are beautiful. Never ate a hosta...yet.

-Diana

I don't think I've ever had a bloom this early. Here is Pineapple Upside-down Cake this morning.

-Diana

I'll be sitting on my front door step watching for mine next week. I am soooo ready.

-Diana

For me, Spartan Arrow, Invincible, Hadspen Samphire have been first up for years. They show their little noses mid to late February here. Pathfinder is always last.

-Diana

I'll be watching my doorstep that same week of April 14th. I've ordered Kiwi Full Monty, Magic Fire, Rainforest Sunrise, Salute and Touch of Class. Hallson's plants always arrive in great shape even though they have to go all the way to the West Coast.

We get a head start on the rest of you folks back East. Apricot orchards are in bloom, and here come the hostas. The magnificient yellow one is Hadspen Samphire, which is always one of the first to break ground along with Invincible. I put these next to my family room doors so I can watch them unfur...

Simply Lovely! Thank You!!

We rarely have a killing freeze (once about every 10 years or so), and only sometimes a light frost. My hostas in pots always go dormant, just like the deciduous trees. Back when I kept better records, I noticed that the first ones up in Spring, were usually the first ones to go down in Fall. When t...

Thank you for your voice of reason.

-Diana

Very interesting! In that last close-up do I see some red and wavy petioles too? This hosta has it ALL!

Halcyon stays blue all year here , as we don't get really, really hot. I love this plant for the color and the leaf shape, and the total plant shape too. It will always be among my favorites. No wonder it has been around so long. You have the green one, the green and white one, and then there is the...

Ooooooooo. Twisted Bumples! That one fits the 10-Foot Rule.

-Diana

Oh yes, I can feel your pain. I've been away from any hosta forums for 3 years, after losing more than half of my 92 varieties of hosta in pots. Other personal tragedies intervened but even so, after doing everything for these potted buggers, I still had major losses. Stuff happens. Then, this sprin...

Ours is two weeks old, with the new Vista operating system. We are still trying to figure out how to do stuff, but one good thing is that all my hosta pics and info transferred with no problems. Be patient, and have a big bottle of wine nearby. I always look forward to seeing your Pics of the Day. -...