I don’t have a number but I would say roughly half of my hosta are solid and

half are variegated.

Arcy, I love how serene it is looking.

I have about 15% greens. I got into the greens over the past 2 years. My garden was too busy with so many variegated hostas. The greens not only break up the variegation and relax the garden; they also tie it together. Sometimes shiny emerald green is just the thing to put between 2 variegateds. Sometimes a tall, stately green, or a corrugated one, or a dark green. They really make the garden harmonious.

I have a ratio of about 75% solid colors, 25% variegated. Of the solid colors, maybe 45% green, the rest blues and yellows. I find endless variations in size, form, shape, plant,and leaf habit in the green hostas, and this mixture creates a very calm, serene appearance. The variegated hostas stand out beautifully in the garden, but are never overwhelming.

Oh yes. Plenty of greens. They form the backdrop for the non-greens.

Wow so many nice full garden pictures. Some day I'll get there. I definitely was biased against anything non-variegated in the beginning. After a couple years I started buying more solid color ones. The answer is it depends. How many of these would you call green?

Umm, I have a confession to make. I love green hostas. The last one I bought was lakeside looking glass. Or, maybe Church Mouse, if you consider that a green. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow

Liquidfeet, you have created beautiful gardens!

I can't even guess how many greens I have. Now I want to count them up sometime. Some greens are plainer than others, but there are some I would say have that extra special something.

Clovelly - look at those pie-crust edges!

Irish Luck so shiny with wavy edges....

These are pictures from 2 days ago. In one, you can see baby Worldly Treasures planted between Afterglow and Silk Kimono, in front of some wild holly that I keep cutting down. I like the color and shininess of the holly, but not the pain. The other picture shows a new Niagara Falls and an established Pea Pod owning their space. The greens are what taught me that hostas like my yard.

I love green hostas. There are many versions of green, from chartreuse to almost black. Their leaves can have wildly different shapes. Then the growth habit matters once the plant is mature -- it matters a lot! Oh, and sandyslopes, I LOVE shiny hostas. You are in Utah? You must ski. Excellent place for snow!

Liquidfeet, you are sure creating oasis of calmness and serenity. Thanks for showing you palatial space!

Steve, sure green is not the same. I would say some of them are blue and some chartreuse. It is like painting, right?

UTOG, love your hostas, grow them too. What is the green with upright habit?

I know it is not for me but I do love seeing how much design you are achieving with green hostas.

Lindalana, the bottom picture has three green hostas in it. On the left, the tall upright is a newly planted Niagara Falls from Glenbrook. Behind it is a young Nigrescens, almost too small to notice. On the right and soaring to the top of my favorites list is Pea Pod with white flowers and emerald green tiered cups.

Sandyslopes, I agree with you, some greens are extra special.

UTOG, you should submit your Pea Pod pictures into library. The only one they have is not showing much. Well, now I have one more green hosta on my list.

liquidfeet, yes I'm in Utah and live near some fantastic ski resorts! And yes, lots of snow, but all I do it shovel it, not ski in it, lol. .....And I just planted another shiny green hosta Silver Shadow, which is a sport of Devon Green.

Pea Pod just made my list too and I was thinking the same thing about the Hosta Library. Also noticed Bob isn't selling it or the precursor Sugar Snap any more. Is there a name for the plant a sport comes from? Parent or mom don't seem right.

Sandy - How do you like Silver Shadow so far? It's been in my shopping cart before (along with a similar sport, Lucky Number with a slightly wider white edge).

Yes Linda, I think there's only 1 green in that picture and it has green in its name (Devon Green).

Sugar Snap has been in and out of my shopping cart several times. Bob talked me out of Sugar Snap in favor of Honey Bear, but I like the leaf form of Sugar Snap better. He says there is too much Tokudama in it (and that line). Sweet Sunshine was an original cross, I think. Then Sugar Snap as a sport, followed by Pea Pod. I can see why a breeder does not bother marketing an all green. Many people pass them by, sort of the theme being discussed in this thread.

Devon Green is really nice. I have a young Silver Shadow. It is similar at this early stage to a young Francee, but the margin is cream instead of Francee white. It seems like a good plant, a subtle variegated that acts more like a green with a white sparkle.

lindalana..what an interesting post..in answer to your question I'd guess over 100..I LOVE green hostas..when I moved here I decided to move the variegateds out of the front..simple green hostas relate to my trees and shrubs..if I had only blue hostas for instance I think the garden wouldn't look unified..

I just wandered through the main hosta bed and counted 27. I know there are a few more, like Manhattan, Elvis Lives, and Cutting Edge in the smaller beds. And some meh hostas that were free gifts, like Betsy King, The Gathering, and Ahhhs. The newest, Midnight Oil, hasn't been planted. So maybe 50 out of 440ish. I didn't count the light greens, the viridescents like War Paint, or the ones that are almost blue.

I really like some of the greens. The very dark ones, like Lakeside Black Satin. Some have red petioles, like Marilyn Monroe, Cherry Flip and Razor's Edge. Bridegroom, Manhattan, and Hacksaw have cool shapes. Irish Luck and Invincible are super shiny. Teaspoon is an old favorite. Maekawa is interesting because it has a white back and is such an old hosta.

But Undertheoaks is right. Unless there's something really special about it, it is easy to pass over a green hosta.

And what's wrong with Tokudama? They're slow, but beautiful. OK, I admit I've tried to get Tokudama Aureonebulosa to grow for 8 years and it's still tiny. But I've seen such gorgeous ones in other gardens, I keep hoping it will take off.

MadPlanter, I created a thread for Pea Pod. :)

Here we go;

The many shade of green potted combo: the two on the left are seedlings, the one on the right is Fresian Pride.

Candy Kisses :

Candy Kisses in combination with Strip Tease and Pandora's Box:

The Razor's Edge:

Gateway Arch

Mirage NR (Livingston)

Lakside Looking Glass

The above two in combination with Korean Snow (bottom of the picture.) and the two biggies are Minnesota Wild (left back) and Gone with the Wind (right back).

And there is always Royal Standard:

Green can ease the transition from yellow to blue as Stir It Up does here with Delona's Smile (right) and a blue seedling of Reptillian (left)

Kempen Red Twist -middle

Kempen Red Twist from above:

Beverly, I agree wholeheartedly RE Royal Standard. It is a glorious plant in color, habit, etc. Also, greens make transitions better and unite the garden. Go greens!

beverly..your photos are proof that greens aren't boring..they're beautiful!..

Such an interesting thread here...... some of you have made such beautiful, Serene gardens using green hostas with such artistry. Liquidfeet, thanks for sharing your lovely property. Love a virtual garden tour any day. I tend to go for variegated, streaked, blue and yellow/chartreuse hostas. I think when I started, I probably had mostly green. And I tended to plant randomly. Now I give much more thought and planning when I order and where I plant.

debra

I'm not buying any more patterned hostas unless/until I get rid of some that I have... I have 53 that are either variegated, medio-variegated or streaked (only 2 of those). And 57 solid - 19 blue, 16 gold, 22 green. I think it's a little unbalanced in favor of the patterned ones and its hard to figure out where to plant them so they're not competing visually. Editing is in order here in my garden. I agree with Beverly though - I really like a nice green hosta... especially if it has some interesting leaves. I have Fluted Fountain (love this one!), Candy Dish, Devon Green, Nippers, Lakeside Storm Watch, Celtic Uplands... to name a few. They're all really pretty, IMHO.

I also (try) to use many solids to balance and enhance the colors in the variegated hostas near them. I say try because those variegated ones really grab my attention when I am at the nursery and forget that I will need to have something to "go" with it in my beds. Kind of like a plaid shirt with solid pants.

I once worked with a great cancer specialist who would wear a polka dot bow tie with plaid shirts and different striped pants. We could see him from afar coming down the hospital hallways. OH my eyes!

it's almost 10..I was out late and didn't finish in time to get a pic..I planted a bowl with solids only..blue, green and lime? or is it chartreuse?..I need to know the proper name of that color Lol..pics tomorrow..

One of the few places I managed to plant using green to show off the variegated hostas. Those flashy ones are just so tempting.

Cherry Flip and Bridegroom in front of Love Pat, Kabuki, and Empress Wu, Oh Cindy, Katie Q, and War Paint in the back

steve, it's my second try with Silver Shadow. I'm not sure what happened to the first one. This new one is a very small mail order plant with only a couple of leaves so I don't have much to say about it yet, except it's dark green, shiny, and has that fine almost white line around the edges, so what's not to like about that? Crossing my fingers it does well.

Silver shadow here. Very sharp hosta, lovely at any point of the season. Super slow for me. Picture does not do its justice.

Here are some of mine surrounding an old tree stump. I have no idea of the name, but I am sure all of you will know.

Wow, such gorgeous gardens, I am so jealous of those of you with tons of space. I tend to like the flashier, variegated types as well as blue and chartreuse hostas. I always have the best intentions to buy green but somehow I am always distracted by the others. I bought a few at Wade & Gatton last year just because they were so cheap--Greentown and something called Sturdevant (was supposed to be a old cultivar that isn't available). I have a King of the Woods and a Steve Moldovan. I also got a couple from Rob Canning a couple years back some Lakesides he had for sale but now I can't figure out which is which--I'll have to post a picture and get some help here in identifying them. Does Lakeside Prophecy count? I love the corrugation.

A friend of mine never has anything but green hostas, he says the variegated are unstable but I still love them. Embroidery is perhaps the best green I own. I also have a large Gunther's Rim which started out as a Gunther's Prize and is slowly losing its "rim"

Miles, I have little of real estate either on suburban size plot. Yeah, I hear you and dream about at least an acre... I think principally I disagree with these " you must have fillers, blah blah" statements that are usually run in " helpful how to" articles on design. Granted, you want peaceful serene garden, use same or similar low tone plants and put few shiny for for focal points.

I go for " lets create Sunny perennial border with hostas" look. And of course it does not help that I collect hostas and my need to squeeze one more hosta in overwhelms any design lol

Invincible in ferns.

Lindalana, I can sure identify with there’s always room for 1 more. The same philosophy rules in my sunny daylily beds but I am now trying to get rid of old cultivars there since I need room for newer ones. The old ones go to relatives who aren’t that fussy and like my huge free clumps.