Independence:

Inniswood:

Island Charm - on the difficult to grow list

Ivory Coast - 1st year - Sport of Sagae...wider margins....smaller....toward near white as season progresses

Paul

Here is a link that might be useful: HL Ivory Coast

Nice plants everyone.

hostapumpkinman, what is the Tokadama type in the uper right of your first picture? I have been debating about blue shadows vs Tokudama Aureonebulosa for the last few years. I like yours a lot.

Instead of individual pictures, I was going to use a garden picture that included both Inniswood and Ice Cream. I found several good ones of this section taken last summer. I thought a progresion through the year of this spot might be of interest to someone. This is a key part of my garden because it's right by the walkway to the front door. I want this spot to look good all through the season. I've moved plants in and out in the last several years because they didn't hold up well in the fall. The ones that are in there now are working well (except for the fact that they are getting crowded). These plants receive at least four hours of hot sun in the middle of the day. Notice how Carolina Blue stays blue for a long time. It is one of my best blue's.

Here are some other I's

Hmmmm,
I'm going to take a break from posting in the "I" thread.
My Invincible, Ice Age Trail, Inniswood & Independence are all young plants and not as showy as all of your above pics of mature plants.

H-p-kinman,
What is the plant (shrub?) in your top photo behind and to the left of Independence?

Melissa,
Great macro of Inniswood!

Paul,
You don't seem to have any difficulty growing 'Island Charm'! (gorgeous)

Mctavish,
Thanks so much for sharing your garden pics...you're an inspiration! Please tell me what the ground cover is, best seen in the August pic.

Message to all:
I'm not getting any house work done, and it's all your (enablers) fault!

But who cares! This is much more fun!
Thanks to all for sharing your pics. I am learning so much from all of you!

Julie

Great pictures! I love seeing the hostas in the garden. I realize now that mine are too far apart. I need to put them in drifts. They're not common here so I don't have much to go by.

Hmmmm, gotta buy a few more to fill in!

Debbie

Julie, that is Sweet Woodruff. It's a real spreader but wonderful in the spring. I don't think it's roots interfer with hostas or at least they don't seem to for me. Here is a picture of it in bloom. When it is finished I pull the top growth out at the soil level. It grows back over the summer and looks green and full in August and Sept. In the spring all that growth will be dead looking so I pull it off again and then it blooms in May.

Thanks, McT!

Sounds like a lot of work (pulling a couple of times/season), but I'm always pulling weeds anyway, so I think I will try a bit of Sweet Woodruff in a few spots.

Thanks for your response!

Julie

mctavish-the plant is Blue Shadows.It grows fast and does not burn.I recommend it.I cannot get Aureonebulosa to grow worth a darn.
lutosharedivs-the plant is an arisaema.Common name cobra lily or in reality a Jack in the pulpit on steroids.They are fun to grow.Got it from Naylor Creek.

Thanks, H-p-man.
The bloom is fascinating.
I think I will add arisaema to my wish list.

Julie

That arisaema is really interesting. I looked it up to see what zone it grew in. The first ones I found were all above zone 5 or 6 which wouldn't work for me but I see the one you have is zone 4. I'll have to look into this. Just what I need - more plants to buy!

Blue Shadows is now on my list. Does anyone have much experience with Dark Shadows? Both of them have interested me for several years based on the few pictures I've seen of them. I actually bought Blue Shadows at a local nursery a few years ago. I was surprised at how fast it grew. Ken finally pointed out based on a picture I posted that it was actually Paradigam.

Saying Sweet Woodruff is 'somewhat of a runner' is a strong understatement. However, unlike Lily of the Valley, it is VERY easily pulled up by the handful, and very susceptible to foot traffic, so it's easy to keep the path open. I do have to rip it out by the handful a couple of times a year around smaller Hostas like the Tiaras.

FWIW,

hh

hostapumpkinman - Nice Invincible, added it to my photo album of mature hosta. It gives me something to hope for...

Paul

Hosta 'Invincible', formerly a joke here, as it was in the top ten slug magnets. Now that we have slugs (mostly) under control, it's approaching it's name.

Thanks for all the good pix, fellow hostaholics!

hh

I have been sooo avoiding this hosta alphabet because my orders are done this spring and I don't want to see a hosta I can't live without (ok that's a lie) but I couldn't help it after all. Wonderful pictures (I am NOT looking at names) and I love looking at everybody's gardens!

OK HH - HOW do you have slugs under control???

HH, you wrote : Hosta 'Invincible'... was in the top ten slug magnets (list).
Would you please publish the top-ten hosta slug magnet list! I looked at Don_R's slug suceptible list of many more than ten hostas listed, and I have 18 of those, not good.

I will very probably not be 100% in anti-slug defense, so it would help me not to have any on that top-10 list to make life easier. Thanks!
Bernd