Summer 2009

[Linda P]

Here are a few more garden pics from last summer.

P1010008.JPG Cascades leaf May 26 09.JPG (39.05 KiB) Viewed 1616 times

Rapidly climbing the favorites ladder...the ground cover is a creeping veronica

P1010005.JPG Touch of Class May 09.JPG (61.63 KiB) Viewed 1616 times

P1010010.JPG Little Aurora May 26 09.JPG (54.99 KiB) Viewed 1616 times

[tsbccowboy]

I really like the colors on your Touch of Class. Nice!

[renaldo75]

Those are all 3 looking good, Linda!! I hope my Touch of Class looks as nice this year. I have watched a couple of Little Auroras waste away to nothing, never to return, so I appreciate seeing one that's growing so well.

I like that creeping veronica. It seems to do well in a shady location. I have a bunch of ground covers that will make the trip north this spring. One is similar to this in flowers, but it's not a veronica. Waterperry Blue ________ It spreads well and gets thick. Whatever it is... I like the way Little Aurora blends into the golden lysimachia.

[thy]

Tuoch of Class is a beauty as shown in your pics . It hold the blue color very well .. in nordic sun
Your Little Aurora is betting big I like the smaller yellow to mix in wih more dramatic hostas... but mine have ha a hard time just to try to keep a few inches of land for their roots ... and free from bigger hosta roots

Your Cascades look good.. I always have problems with white centered hostas in a mix with other hostas, I think they are hard to place in a combo.. but others make great combos with them

[Linda P]

Ahhh, Renaldo? Waterperry Blue is a veronica...a creeping one (veronica peduncularis). I have that one, too, and it's a beautiful little thing, but doesn't fill in the space like this one does. This is a pass-along plant from a friend, and I never did have a name for it, other than creeping veronica. I think it might be one called veronica prostrata Heavenly Blue.
Cowboy, thanks! I really like it too, more every year. Can't wait to see how big it is this year in its leap year.
About the Little Aurora...I bought this one as Golden Prayers, which it obviously is not. It's taken years in the chicken yard to get this size. It's in a spot where the sun comes through mid-day, and the poor little thing burns up most years. Last summer with all the rain we had, it didn't dry up, but looked melted out. I took all the leaves off it, it was so ugly. We'll see what happens with it this year.
Pia, I agree that the white centered plants are hard to place. I have this one surrounded by some less boldly colored hostas, and ground cover. Heres' a pic from 2008.

P1010060.JPG ash tree bed June 08.JPG (72.95 KiB) Viewed 1573 times

White Christmas is growing next to Little Aurora, and I think it likes all the light it gets in that spot. This came in a secret trade a number of years ago, from Gary in Wisconsin.
Are ya out there, Gary? Here's your little plant all grown up!

P1010011.JPG White Christmas May 26 09.JPG (54.93 KiB) Viewed 1573 times

If you stand on the path near Little Aurora and White Christmas, and then look past them, this is what you see. I'm kind of wondering what I was thinking when I put Garden Party next to Gold Regal. They make a great pair, but they're constantly shoving one another aside for room. Then off to the left is Squash Casserole. I took at least a third of this plant off in 2008 to share, and it seems it didn't reduce the size one bit.

P1010012.JPG GardenPartySquCassrolGldRgl May 26 09.JPG (61.75 KiB) Viewed 1573 times

[renaldo75]

It is - huh?? I was thinking it was something else.... Mine gets full sun. I started with 3 or 6 tiny plants and it didn't take long before they were a thick mat. I couldn't even find the stepping stones they'd devoured. Hopefully it will do as well in the sunnier [late morning/midday] hosta garden now.

Linda - those gardens to the west of your house were some of the nicest grown hostas I've ever seen. Just beautiful gardens!!

[Linda P]

Thanks, Reldon. It's the dairy aire, you know.
I think I'd better dig my Waterperry out of the spot it's in before I lose it altogether.
It keeps getting overshadowed by all manner of other things. I've been meaning to put it in the mini hosta bed,
along the edges where it will get a little more sun.

[renaldo75]

Well the dairy aire suits them just fine.

[Linda P]

In Cowboy's post we were talking about hostas that need to be moved. Here's one that's getting a new home this spring. I planted it at the edge of the mini bed, and it has to have a bigger space this year. It grew way faster than I expected, as it was just a really small liner size plant when I got it back in 2008:

P1010013.JPG skylight May 09.JPG (54.75 KiB) Viewed 1518 times

This is my path along the front porch. In the foreground is a volunteer hosta, no idea who the parent is. Behind it are Rosedale Golden Goose, Love Pat off to the right in the back, American Sweetheart (which may also need a new home soon), Frosted Jade, and Lakeside Symphony all the way in the back.

P1010014.JPG porch path May 09.JPG (64.31 KiB) Viewed 1518 times

Here's a closeup of the Frosted Jade. It's been in the ground for since 2001, and was just stunning this year.

P1010048.JPG Frosted Jade May 26 09.JPG (60.73 KiB) Viewed 1518 times

Linda P

[HostaDesigner]

Sure makes me long for warm weather again...

[thy]

Your White Christmas is settled in beautiful
That Skylight is a beauty.. new to me, please tell me more ....

Days are 46 minutes longer now and geting longer every day

[Linda P]

Me too, HD!
Pia, Skylight is a new plant from Bev and Dave Stegeman of Indiana. The blue on this plant is hard to describe, and hard to capture with a camera.
It's a soft, powdery, yet intense blue that stands out.
Right next to Skylight is this little ruffled shiny green volunteer that I noticed when I was planting Skylight. I decided to let it grow, because it was nicely ruffled as a little first year seedling. This pic was taken in year 3...I may have to move it out, too. I assumed it was a seedling from one of the minis in the bed, but who knows?

P1010012.JPG ruffled green volunteer May 09.JPG (53.03 KiB) Viewed 1499 times

Here's a shot of the big monsters in the chicken yard. Blue Angel, Lime Piecrust and Sum It Up looming behind them.

P1010015.JPG BlueAngelLimePiecrustSumItUp May 26 09.JPG (60.62 KiB) Viewed 1499 times

Behind Sum It Up is this group. The white edged plant was given to me as Stetson, but it obviosly isn't, and it isn't Wide Brim either. This is a very nice Janet, and behind it is undulata Middle Ridge and Twilight. I need to prune a few branches off the bottom of the pin oak that is shading this group. I have to lift a branch to see the hostas.

P1010016.JPG Janet,notstetson,MiddleRidge,Twilight May 26 09.JPG (64.36 KiB) Viewed 1499 times

Linda P

[tsbccowboy]

the big monsters in the chicken yard.

How true! They are some bigguns (kind of stating the obvious here)!

Your ruffled green volunteer is waay cool!

Cowboy

[Willowy]

Linda, I really like your ruffled volunteer - the ruffle seems unique - deep and folding upwards around the leaf. Nice!

[renaldo75]

Well I knew I needed Skylight before seeing yours, but I know I REALLY need it now!! And that ruffled seedling is definitely a keeper. My volunteer seedlings never fall into the interesting range. Just culls that never get culled.

I'm sure enjoying all of your pics, Linda. Do you have a full shot with Lakeside Symphony? This one finally hit my radar recently too.

[Linda P]

Here's a pic from 06. I have since moved that huge clump of Hyperion out and replaced it with a dwarf alberta spruce. I loved the lily there, but it was taking over the world....

Lakeside Symphony, Hyperion July 4 06.JPG (75.88 KiB) Viewed 1480 times

A closeup from the same year. Seems I haven't taken a picture of it recently, so it's somewhat larger now. I got it in 2002, and it was a good 3 or 4 eyes when I bought it.
I saw it in a couple of tour gardens in our local hosta club, and decided that I had to have it. It has that subtle coloring that I really like. It gets a good amount of morning sun here and occasionally will have a couple of scorched spots by the end of summer, but it does color up nicely.

Lakeside Symphony June 18 .JPG (51.69 KiB) Viewed 1480 times

This is a pic from a few weeks earlier, before the yellow is as bright.

Lakeside Symphony May 25 06.JPG (48.59 KiB) Viewed 1480 times

[Linda P]

Thanks, Cowboy and Willowy! I like that little ruffly vounteer, too. It may grow up to be just a floppy thing, only time tell.
Someday I'll put together a post with all of the pictures I have of volunteer hostas in my garden.
For years, I got nothing but plain jane greenies, but lately I've been getting some really nice ones.
The bees have more to choose from, I guess.

Linda P

[renaldo75]

Thanks, Linda. Beautiful! You'll have to make sure you get some pics this summer. I bet it and the spruce look great together!!

[Spider]

Frosted Jade is beautifull!

[Marlys]

Linda - Lou! - Ice has encased the world here this morning. Makes it easy to just sit in my chair & waste my time.

Your pictures are wonderful. Have you been sending photos to the Hosta Library?

LS Symphony is so pretty. I really love that muted - toned down color variegation & the beautiful drooping of the leaves is just right with perfect frilly ruffled leaf margins.

I so enjoyed my visit to your gardens this summer. Such a peaceful botanical oasis. You will be visiting my gardens this summer during the Midwest Regional Hosta Convention on Sunday - right??? I am not officially on the optional tour gardens (long story) but all my garden friends are invited to come visit 'Marlys Garden'. And Trudy lives just down the street & David & Betsy live just a the end of the cul-de-sac, & Connie's garden is just 5 miles away in town. Fun!!!

I too, love your little ruffling sdlg. I will be glad to volunteer as a test-garden for the little fellow. I think we should give it a nick-name "FB"

MM