Niagra Falls

Northern Exposure

Only one for me.

Both Beautiful Niagara Falls!

Besides a couple of Noids, the only (surprisingly) N I have is a 2-yr. old Northern Exposure.

Thanks Jo but mine really needed to drink from the waters of.

Laurie, I'm assuming you are on a well in the country and have to be careful with your use of water, unlike some of us city dwellers who, even with being curtailed during summer with our water use, can still water our plants every other day if need be.

That being said, your hostas and perennials all must be strong and healthy for they barely display the ravages of drought to my eye. Most look to be well established and from what I have seen from your pictures of newly prepared garden beds, your preparation prior to planting is key.

They are still beautiful and only you know the difference. Kudos to you as a gardener. I admire your skill and artistry in planning a garden, not to mention your dedication. I am constantly studying your pictures in terms of placement of plants and get inspired each time.

Night Before Christmas

Noah's Rainbow, Looking at the HL I question this plant. Anyone know the story on it?

Neptune, suffering from last frost damage...but it has the potential for a favourite...

Niagara Falls...new 2016...

and Night before Christmas...new in 2015...

New day

Ooh, look at that white line in several leaves...lovely hosta.

Night Before Christmas

tj

Beautiful N's everyone. I only have 3 N's.

tsugajunkie such a beautiful Night Before Christmas, I struggle with mine, it appears to be a slug magnet. Last summer I moved it to a new location with more sun and with pine needles as mulch, hopefully it will be happier there and one day look like your plant.

Thanks, Beth. Mine is in a pretty dark corner, maybe an hour or two of morning sun. Slugs bother nearby hosta, but tend to leave this one alone for some reason. Pine needles make a great mulch and I wish it helped with slugs but my most heavily needle mulched hosta are the most slug ravaged in my yard.

tj

Jamie, your nigrescens is amazing, I hope my wee one gets there one day.

Niagara Falls, new in '15'

nigrescens, new last spring.

Night Before Christmas

Mountainy man, thank you. Nigrescens is a great hosta. I think it is indestructible. Its almost 20 years old. First 15 in the shade, and the last few in full sun. Didn't seem to notice the change....Yours will be huge before you know it.

Ira, love your Nancy. Its on my order for this year. How long have you had it?

don't have very many N's,,,,but here they are,,,

and a pitiful looking Norwalk Chartreuse,,,new in 2016

and a 2015 pic of Northern Exposure,,,new in 2007,,,not sure how he escaped the camera last year,,,

thanks for looking,,,jill

Night Before Christmas....my one and only N

Yes Jo, rural and on a well. The well is excellent and has never given cause for concern, however last winter we had relatively little snow and then the severe drought. When it did rain locally it went around us. I could not water early in the season because of circumstances and by the time I could have the water table was already low with no rain to top it up. At that point I made the choice to err on the side of showers and laundry, just in case.

Thank you so much. A year like this soil prep and amendments (compost) certainly pay off in a new bed and the established plants are less stressed. I did give a jug of water to 2 perennials, a Rheum and Astilboides tabularis. I gave a couple of mini hostas that were on their 2nd year a drink too but everything else had to fend for itself.

Kind words indeed from someone who has a real flair for placement and contrast in the garden.

old_dirt, that Noah's Rainbow looks like my Crowned Imperial...

The Hosta Helper says about Noah's Rainbow, that it should have white stripes in the middle of the leaves, so questioning yours might be right :-(

Noah's rainbow is a streaked green gold sport. It reverts very easily and is difficult to maintain as a streaker. It was tc'd and the non-streakers should have been thrown out or sold as green gold. That didn't happen.

i got the last piece of original stock from ron snyders nursery before it closed and i have to divide it every few years. it's down to one streaked eye again.

i did get seed from it this year. Finally.

I didn't realize how few "N's" there actually are.

Neptune.

Nippers

Nightlife

Night Shift

Niagara Falls which survived it's transplanting a couple years ago and is doing well.

Thanks Jamie, Nancy is a favourite... 6 years old and in the same spot for all those years. It's one of those hostas that doesn't take long to look good and it's consistently done well with root competition. It's a brighter yellow in spring and does go to chartreuse and then, green later in the season. Here's a picture of it in spring from another year. I'm sure you will be pleased with it. Unfortunately, I seem to lose interest in taking pictures by the end of June, so can't show its progress in one year.

I'll have to remember to take some progression pictures this coming year.

McTavish, love the way you've sited your Niagara Falls in an elevated position. Doc and Peren.all yours are impressive too and wishing all the NFs in this thread an optimum growing season as well.

Last year was a terribly dry year but at least we got some rain and my dear husband gave the hostas extra waterings with the hose...they just couldn't seem to be satisfied. I may have lost a few in spite of his efforts.

Peren.all, what is the plant to the right of your Niagara Falls? That is a very attractive companion planting.

I've added Night Before Christmas and Northern Exposure to my N wish list. Tsugajunky, I'm really glad to hear that your NBC wasn't bothered by slugs...it's a beautiful specimen as are the rest. How old is yours, if you don't mind my asking?

Irawon- As I recall I planted my NBC 10-12 years ago. Maybe even earlier.

tj

tj - All the NBC shown are wonderful but yours is spectacular. I hope to get mine planted this year but it will never look as good as yours!

jamie81 - Your nigrescens is such a beautiful specimen.

hosta_maker - New day is very attractive. I cannot find any info on it, is it one of yours?

irawon - I really like Nancy too. I will look forward to seeing progression shots next year.

irawon - The plant to the right of NF is a seedling of Geranium phaeum 'Samobor'.

peren.all
new day is one of mine, it was a rare streaked seedling from a solid, ...out of daybreak, it sported one spring from a yellow white streak to a green with yellow margin and random white streaks, i've divided off the pieces with white to try and increase that look.

Peren.all- spectacular shot of your garden. The foliage's what I find so attractive. I wonder whether it would flower less profusely and would take less effort to control if planted in more shade?

hosta_maker - I hope you will keep us updated on its progress. It would be really interesting to see if it retained the growth pattern of 'Daybreak'.

Thanks irawon. G. p. 'Samobor' will grow equally well in sun (with moist soil) and shade. The flowering stems grow on separate stems from the mound of foliage so if you cut them early you could avoid seeding or indeed keep them from flowering at all. The flowers are a very nice bonus though to that fabulous foliage.

This is an expensive place to hang out. Neptune, Night Before Christmas, Nigrecens, Niagara Falls... all on the list now...

And Kathy - I love your blue hydrangea. Wish I could have that here, but our soil is so alkaline. I know I could work on acidifying, but to get it that blue and keep it blue --- too much! I'll just have to add some blue with other perennials.

Steve_mass posted a picture of yellow Hostas in front of a blue hydrangea a few seasons ago that was inspiring. I just hope Nefertiti and King Tut get big.

I purchased my Neptune in 2014. Last year I couldn't help notice the wave and size of the leaves. I think this hosta might become one of my favorites.

Some fall color:

Great photo of Neptune, NHL - makes me want one!

Edited:. Does your Neptune retain its blue throughout the season or does it darken to a green/blue?

Jo: As I recall, Neptune kept its blue coloring for most of the season. The first picture above was taken mid June. My plant was in almost full shade.