I'm checking to see about Angel Eyes, so far it is not listed as having any sports, so I must go another direction for it. But Guardian Angel originated as a sport of Blue Angel. Then GA has 6 sports of its own, including Fallen Angel, American Blue Guardian, Luc's Birthday, and Fire & Brimstone. It's other sport, American Angel, sported one of its own, called American Angel's Fire. (Info from MyHostas.be/sports/index ) Then, checking Blue Angel, I discover that Angel Eyes is another sport of it, just like Guardian Angel is. Quoting from the description MyHostas gives of this plant, first sentence says: "This is a white centered form of 'Blue Angel', similar to and possibly identical to the recently registered 'Guardian Angel'." You can go to the website and read the rest of the info there. So it seems you are keeping it all in the family with your new selection. Perhaps you can give it a couple of years and see whether they are identical or not. Under Guardian Angel, followed from Blue Angel link, it gives another sport, Comanche, for GA. It also lists that American Angel (VanWade) is a "superior" version of GA and its color holds true all season. Said to be a Large hosta. But I recommend you look up and read all about it. Fascinating trail of hosta history in this web site.

Hi Mark. Just leave it alone. I'm always amazed at young hosta plants and the fact they don't look the way they should. Why? They are young. The roots can only support so much plant...ya know? The stalks and foliage out of the ground are a result of the root system. With that said...if it was new last year...unless you dug it off a mature specimen out of the ground...the plant/pot you bought from a nursery was likely fertilized to make the leaves bigger, lusher, and taller than they would have been left to it's own accord. People want to walk out of the store thinking they bought a really big plant for the money. Give it a couple years. And, with THAT said, I can also vouch for the messed up weather this year. I'm seeing deformed leaves, melted out leaves, drawstring effect...just misc oddities here & there. I chalk it up to the extreme weather fluctuations we had this year. Nothing you can do about it other than take notes on what's interesting and odd, enjoy them for what they are, don't expect perfection, and work on new beds for next years' purchases. Also, with all the above said, if it's not variegated this year, there's a chance it's a dud. My GA lost all it's variegation after the first year. It's on it's 3rd year now, and if you get really, REALLY close up knowing what you're looking for, you can kinda make out the variegation. It's all blueish green and growing nicely. I've made peace with the situation...generally. Gayle

Guardian Angel seems to be a variety that comes out of tissue culture with a wide range of coloration among the plants. Some have very light centers even as juvenile plants, some show only very subtle coloration as young plants, and most are somewhere between these two extremes. The ones that are solid colored should be culled by the lab, but this does not always happen, and occasionally I see a solid colored plant. After working with a number of these small plants over the last 5 years, it has become obvious that juvenile coloration is the best indicator of mature coloration. In other words, if you want a GA that will hold it's coloration and look great all season, buy a plant that looks very good at a small size. The less showy baby plants will show some coloration in the spring as more mature specimens, but they will never be as showy as a plant that shows excellent coloration at a very early age. The plainer baby plants also seem prone to green up fairly early. Location will play some part in retention of coloration, with more sun generally producing better and longer lasting coloration, but this is not always consistent. My original GA is in 3/4 shade, with no direct sun, only heavily dappled light. I picked it out as the best colored plant out of a large group of juvenile GA, and it retains it's flashy colors all season, with very little darkening, even in August. The lower leaves darken a bit, but not much, and the rest of the plant shows excellent coloration right through the fall. The second GA I purchased was more intermediate in it's juvenile coloration, and was planted in about 1/2 sun, but it still loses much of it's coloration by mid July. I have 2 more this year that have quite good coloration as juveniles, and they are retaining it quite well so far, in spite of being in only 1/2 sun. If your GA isn't showing good coloration now, it is likely one of those that will look good in the spring, then fade to a darker coloration by the middle of the summer. The picture of the GA at Hornbakers, which is only about an hour from my garden, looks like Blue Angel to me. GA has a slightly more wedge shaped leave, but more importantly, GA has a distinctively ruffled, wavy edge, shown very nicely in Shade Tolerant's picture. Even those GA that lose coloration retain the ruffled edge throughout the season. The plant at Hornbakers may have been mislabeled, or it may, over several years, have reverted back to Blue Angel, or sported to a solid green plant. Golden Meadows is another variety that is quite variable in the retention of it's coloration. Most GMs go solid dark green fairly early in the summer, but I have one that keeps some coloration, although it's muted, most of the summer. I've seen a GM that had quite distinctive coloration all season, although again, more muted than in the spring. Grow your new GA out for a year or two, and if you are not pleased with it, consider buying a new one with better coloration. This is a variety that will be around for quite some time, as it's quite popular and sells well. The price has gotten to a reasonable point, and it's easy to locate. I've seen several on the Hosta Library auction site that had excellent coloration, so if a local nursery doesn't have it, that might be a good source. It is also possible that your new plant is stressed from being potted, and next spring it might surprise you with beautiful coloration.

Talley-Sue - yes, it was gaping. Kathy was in no condition to assess her wounds for a couple of days. She is fairly big breasted and only found the wound when she was able to take a bath a few days later. I would say the wound is about the size of a dollar coin. I even missed it when she first showed me her chest bruising but I wasn't looking that closely at her breasts just the bruising. The wound is under the breast on the outside. It actually looks like a bullet hole not that I have ever seen an actual bullet hole in someone's body. She is still finding bruises that she didn't know she had. Kathy did call her Doctor right away but like everything else you have to wait for an appointment which was today. Kathy did tend to her wounds like a nurse would do and she had a fellow nurse come and check her out. She wasn't mortally wounded so she waited to see her doctor. Kathy went to her family doctor today - he had all the reports from the hospital and he noted again where all of her injuries and bruising was. She has to go back again next week. I went with her to do some errands today and I could tell Kathy was in pain and asked her where she was feeling it the most. She said her breast and wearing a seatbelt wasn't helping any either. She said she might have to start taking a Percocet during the daytime too because of the pain. One good thing she wasn't skittish behind the wheel of the rental car. She is a little more wary of the other drivers though. We weren't out for more than a couple of hours and she had to get home because she was exhausted. Kathy has nothing but good to say about the people at the hospital and the EMT and police and good samaritans that were on the scene. If I was her I would probably be moaning and groaning but Kathy is not doing that and she is allowing us to help her. Kathy's insurance company has the police report but when she goes to see the lawyer I am sure he will get a copy. Anne