I love and enjoy my new little fairy garden so much I guess I have to list "Holy Mouse Ears" as my can not live without hosta.

Ok, my "can't live without it" hosta is June. I have 3 of them. And considering I strive to have NO DUPLICATES, this says a lot.

A 2nd one would be El Nino. It's such a unique one in my garden!

Sorry, no pics right now. :-(

It would have to be Olive Bailey Langdon,5 years in the garden,and better than ever this year. Phil

{{gwi:923627}}

Sorry....the list is too long to post pictures of....
Would include:
Blue Angel,
Guacamole
Strip Tease
Krossa Regal
Gold Edger
June
Sum and Substance
Antioch, or Axiom or Ajax...that white edged one..(wink wink)
Sagae
Dick Ward
Liberty....but maybe I could do without Sagae if i had a big enough Liberty...
Oh and Guardian Angel....
And I would have to have a medium blue...maybe Wedgewood, maybe Love Pat.

I echo Melissa with June! I have 5 plantings of it, and I have a fairly small garden!

From two years ago, this 'June' was so beautiful!!

And then there's 'Earth Angel' from a few years ago! I now have 3 plantings of it!

'Jewel of the Nile' although, as ken warned me, it eventually becomes totally 'Dee's Golden Jewel'. I just purchased a replacement for the one that evolved completely back, and here's the old one:

'Summer Breeze', AND 'Pineapple Upsidedown Cake', love, love them both!

'Satisfaction':

And, I know it's one everyone has and it has it's risk but I can't do without my S&S's (have 5):

And, then there's 'Liberty':

Oh, then there's 'First Frost' and a peek at 'Kiwi Full Monty' a gift I've just loved from 'Blue Poppy':

Oh dear, I've got such a list of those 'I cannot do without'--maybe I should just copy my whole list down or do a panorama pic. of the whole garden!! Sigh!

Saw a picture of it in a book a number of years ago . . . had to have it . . . moved it at least 4 times before finding the right spot where it is thriving. . .

Here is a link that might be useful:

Janice your garden may be'small',as you call it,but as I recall,you have almost every cultivar known to the hosta world! Nice pics,BTW! Phil

LOL Phil! I do stuff them in wherever I can!! Thank you for your kind words about my pix.
I thought of more I can't live without--but, I'm going to hold off and let all the rest of us
get on this one and post pix galore! I love pix!!

Come on, Phil--you've got alot to show us, too!!

Sum and Substance

WOW! LOVE all the pics! hey_j, you have BEAUTIFUL GARDENS!!!! Please, PLEASE feel free to post ore pics! ;)

Adding to my wish list as I look through all the pics!

Ahhh, thank you, Cricket! Love your name cause I LOVE crickets, too! My son-in-law always brings me a batch of about 12 crickets every couple of months to keep in a critter carrier. That way, I can listen to them chirp right in our bedroom, (hubby can't stand windows open at night--but I DO) all year round if I want. I did tell him I prefer them just in summer months--it just seems more RIGHT!!! It was actually a 'fun' gift at Christmas from one of our daughters (his wife) but he's the one that goes and gets them from the pet store for their green frog and their tarantula--that's right a SPIDER!!! That was a gift for their 7 year old, last year--don't get me started!!

I've been thinking about this post for 5 days and I still can't decide.

Gesila

Hey J,
What is the "lively" blue in the bottom corner of 'Summer Breeze'?

Thanks,
Rick

I don't have a pic of mine right now but absolutely, Jade Cascade.

Montana Macrophylla is close behind.

Honorable mention lol:
Guacamole - never fails
Moonlight Sonata - loooove
Krossa Regal - need I say more?
Garden Party

Stop it please, you all are killing me. As a fairly recent hosta fan, every time I open one of these threads with photos my wish list grows. I wonder if DH would be willing to work a second job to support my new habit?

Question though - regarding Sum and Substance you said "it has it's risks" - what does that refer to? Just that it is so common that it is more likely to have HVX? Or some other dire news?

Hi Rick! That one is a baby 'Flemish Sky'! It has really taken off for me and is one I've duplicated,
because I love it so much!! It's such a lovely 'blue'! I highly recommend every garden should have at
least one of them.

Here's the new one this year, after being heavily watered by the nursery:

And, here's the one you saw but this year:

Janice,

Thanks!!!

It has also been a favorite here. So far it remains at the top of my blue list.

Krossa Regal and Liberty are two of my favorites, but the prize goes to...

ATLANTIS

I hope someone agrees and has a pic to post. Thanks
-Sprout

I love big blue ones, see these, might be Blue Umbrellas :

But then there I have beautiful S&S, Francis Williams, Liberty, Atlantis, Cathedral Windows, Brother Stephan, Great Expectations, American Icon,...
Bernd

There are so many, but I often wish I had even more Krossa Regal...I have 4, in three different gardens and keep finding new places, in case I ever get more!

Also, stained glass is up there for it's huge pop of color, even if she is a latecomer every spring!

I want to apologize for not posting back much. As of right now, I have VERY limited access to the internet. MY laptop had a bad battery, and we never bothered to get a new one, we just used the power supply/charger all the time. Well, we burnt it up. Have been waiting for what seems like forever for our new one to arrive in the mail. We live out in the middle of nowhere....ugh. So, every now and then, I can sneak my kids laptop. Three teenagers use it, so, only at this time of night, when I lucky, I get a hold of it. Hopefully, I will be back on mine ASAP! Then you all will get tired of me ;P

LOVING all the pics!

hey_j - Thanks! I love crickets, too! I love all bugs actually.....well...except for earwigs and June bugs! They freak e out a bit! Ha!

Hope all is doing well with this extreme heat we are having!!! Stay cool and enjoy your gardens through the windows! :)

I will ALWAYS have these in my garden..... slong with some that have been mentioned that I dont have pics of (June, Regal Splendor, Sagae)

ARISTOCRAT

OLD GLORY

KATHERYN LEWIS (before the deer ate it)

BRIGHT LIGHTS

Hosta are so much about foliage but I can't forget the flowers. The gorgeous, freagrant flowers of Guacamole place it high on my list.

I was given a hosta this year with no ID and I couldn't do it until it bloomed. WOW! Too bad the flowers are so small. But they are great for pics. So my 'NEW' (LOL) H. ventricosa is near the top of my list.
Les

I love the 'big blues' too and Alexa, I love your picks, as well! Your 'Old Glory' has much nicer margins than the two I have!! Mine don't get much direct sun, or didn't till the *Ash* has come down! We'll see if it makes a difference with the margins--next year.

Does yours get much sun?

Janice, Old Glory is probably 6 years in the ground undisturbed in that location. It is in dappled shade until about 3 PM then full sun for 90 min or so. I used to have a Mayan Moon next to it that was just as glorious (reverse coloring), but I was over-confident and dug it up to split it a few years back so I could send a piece in trade and it has never recovered. It is puny by comparison, and is sulking again this year.

Thank you, Alexa--it does seem to like it's spot!! Abiqua Moonbeam is a lot (if not the same) like Mayan Moon, and is one of my very favorites (given to me by Davemidohio) but has not taken off and become a nice big clump for me. It has no direct sunlight so I purchased one to put in a spot that does get some afternoon sun (late in the day) and it's bigger so far--but it was bigger to begin with, I have to keep in mind! I'm so sorry yours got spoiled. That's why I am soooo reluctant to mess with mine, that and mine are nothing compared to most of everyone's who post here--they simply don't like to multiply like most of yours do!!