I am lucky to have Iris (Versicolor) growing rampantly and wild all over near our cabin. Unfortunately, in one small grove of them (about 4 plants), some ground hornets decided to make themselves at home, so I have to enjoy them from a distance. Also, they tend to bloom at varying times with some blooming in early June, and some not blooming until early July. They are truly one of my favorite flowers, and provide a nice green background for other flowers once they're done.

You have to think about zones, too. Most of the people who have been successful with Great Expectations seem to be in zone 5. As a hosta lover, you're lucky to be in 5, it seems to be the perfectly balanced spot. We can't have all those lovely things that grow in zone 6, or better yet, zones where it doesn't freeze, but nature gives us spring bulbs and hostas. I'd buy anything that catches your eye and is in your budget. Just remember to check how much sun they like before you plant. As a general rule, the less green the hosta has, the more light it needs. Anything that says plantaginea (probably messed up the spelling) likes more sun. Blues like more shade and only dappled sun if you want them to stay blue. And they all like to be kept moist. Of course, there are exceptions. Great Escape is a mix of blue and white. It follows the blues in not liking a lot of sun. The white rim burns. If you post on the forum, there's always someone who's already growing your hosta variety and can make suggestions.

Follow up to last years posting (above). Last fall I discovered a burrow going through my raised bed (yes you read that right) with no entrance seen. VERY early professional (pest control) guess' say it's a Mole. We'll see how many survive from the list above. Empress Wu performed spectacularly last year, but my Gorgon and Sum and Substance where held back by this unexpected visitor. Peter Kelley - St. Paul, MN USA Follow my adventures in hosta growing at HostasByKelley

I've long had the impression that imperialism was at work there and that Great Britain was a kind of museum of things and plants collected from all over the world. Conjures up the patriotic song: Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves! I was thinking more about the surrounding landscape than gardens with the comment about visiting. I like seeing diversity in different places and the trend toward a universal, generic look is depressing. Maybe I'm imagining this but that is what it seems like is happening. If the nurseries where people shop everywhere all carry the same popular plants these are what you will see everywhere. It results in the same kind of repeats of McDonald's & Strip Malls which look exactly the same no matter what state you live in or where you visit. Doesn't matter where you live, the plants look the same in people's gardens. I find that boring and rather creepy. Oklahoma has been one of the worst for having a lack of sense of place, identity and local pride because what grows locally in the prairies has been considered unworthy for use as ornamentals and without value. Case in point. Recently they adopted a hybrid tea rose as our state flower because the lowly wild Gaillardia is not good enough or classy enough. The reason for this decision was the Japanese (mind you) plant breeder who created (!) it named it Oklahoma Rose. It needs winter protection. This really ticked me off. What suckers for flattery we are. Now I ask you, what the heck does that hybrid tea rose say about our state? I picture a room full of well dressed female socialites making these decisions, probably one of them is married to a senator or something. All I know is I didn't get to vote on it. When I see the large botanical gardens or local small private ones using native plants that are suited and native to the place they are located in I don't think of it as a style or fad or movement. I think of it in completely different terms and lately I've come to take it quite personally. I don't know why because in the past I didn't care much or think of such things at all but once I started seeing what has happened all around us with the disappearing prairie and noting how fast its disappeared and still is, something happened to me that was akin to grief and a strong sense of loss. I reacted to your statement because if people think of it in terms of just another passing gardening fad it becomes trivialized and shallow. Designers such as Piet Oudolf and others are helping to bring attention to and save something in my way of seeing it. That might not be their intent but they are legitimizing the use of what has long been considered weeds or plants of little value.