Hosta flowers valuable addition to the garden!
Like most people I mainly grow hostas for their leaves. But, this time of year, I get reminded of what valuable additions the flowers can be. In particular, I planted a division of one of my big blue ones in the patio bed at the end of the driveway three years ago to try to shade out some couchgrass that was trying to invade the 'moat bed' (bed along the top of the ditch by the road). The leaves are not very blue there as the area is pretty much in full sun all day. But the flowers have been spectacular and a great addition to the front garden. The hosta started blooming at the first of the month and has been putting on a show ever since!
July 10 with clematis Henryi blooming in the Chinese wisteria 'tree':
July 17 with secondary summer bloom on the wisteria (clematis still in bloom too)
This morning - hosta flowers starting to drop
At the back corner of the garage a plain green hosta that we brought with us from our other house 16 years ago makes a nice edging at the corner of the narrow bed along the garage. The hostas look good out of flower too, but the flowers add color and flow that enhance the companion plants:
I'm starting to pay much more attention to hosta flowers now, looking for where they would suit the more flowery areas of the garden too instead of just the shady 'green' garden. Where/how do all you hosta fanatics make use of the flowers? What ones would you recommend for their flowers and versatility of placement?
Comments (6)
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Decor in the hosta garden
Comments (30)Oh boy, I still have serious rock envy. I tried to get the sewer guy to move some of the big rocks he unearthed when connecting us to the city system up in MA. He said they were too big for his small equipment to move, and the big thingy was not able to manuever into position for it. So I had him line em up down by the road. When we packed up a PODS to move lots of stuff south, rocks were part of the load (along with the hosta). Down here we have roots but no rocks--not even a small gravel anywhere. DH could not believe my focus on rocks, but I told him it costs a lot to get a load of rock delivered and PLACED. Free is always better. And already on location is the best yet! A fountain is something I'm set on having. And a flower pot pond for mosquito fish. I have the pot, just need to seal it and add the fish and water plants. No pump....See MoreNew to gardening. Huge hosta is brown and holey. What do I do?
Comments (5)The symptoms of "brown and holey" without a photo are pretty vague...but they are also pretty common! Don't cut it down. Seriously. Just leave it alone. Hostas aren't like other perennials in that way where you can cut them back and they will be bushier or better. If you want to get rid of it...just dig it up, don't bother with trimming or leveling. Holes are likely from slugs or some kind of other damage (hail, twigs). Brown is likely from not enough water, burn, or something common like that. We are at the time of year where the hostas are going for the down turn of the growing season...and the hottest, driest time too. If the brown leaves are crispy & break up in your hand, you might want to cut those parts off. If there's flexibility to them, just leave them be. Post a pic for better ideas. It's likely fine & just needs some TLC next year. It's also helpful when we can see overall site conditions (light, surroundings, etc.) Gayle...See MoreAugust in my hosta garden
Comments (79)See you in September! Plantings over the drainage pipe. The best hosta addition this year. Heat Wave has been perfect all season. Today is August 30! Scrawny plant with big potential. Marilyn Monroe in its second year, with first flowers. This plant was supposed to be Paradise Joyce, but it is clearly June. It has matched my June's coloring all season. I bought a replacement Paradise Joyce this season, and like June much better so far. PJ has been dingy blue all season and is just starting to show a hint of central lightening with very narrow margins. The plant below is beautiful and gets to stay forever...June....See MoreApril 2021 in my hosta garden
Comments (117)utog..another silhouette pic!..this one's great too!.. your garden's looking good!..we had 2 inches of rain Wed night..I had standing water (common in our high water table neighborhood) in my usual spots..so I didn't walk around in back today.. my still unclipped ratty winter foliage on an Autumn fern..they're slow for me.. the Japanese Painted ferns look fresher than the Autumns beside them..maybe because the Japanese Painted ferns die back?.. n2hostas..my green ginger is a good spreader..plant it with some space..but my craziest groundcover is this Lamium galeobdolon..can you see the variegated plant behind this bleeding heart?..that's it.. miles..there was a post a long time ago where someone used a wide shallow container for mini's and had success.. when I clean, weed and top with compost these plants will look prettier.....See More
DelawareDonna Zone 7A
8 years agoI'm not quite sure what you mean?? I think they are foils for one another.
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
8 years ago
keswick_sniders
8 years agoDelawareDonna Zone 7A
8 years ago
DelawareDonna Zone 7A