You have a beautiful garden. Thank you for sharing.

It is a lovely garden almosthooked.

As to your question, the hostas in my garden this year look better than ever before this late in the season. I attribute the better appearance over a longer period of time to more water (such a surprise) and less heat. This summer has been the coolest in the last 20 years and has been accompanied by significant rainfall. I also increased my watering regime to about 1/2 inch daily on my irrigation system.

The truth seems to be that more water makes a huge difference.

It's been a mild summer in general, so they're looking quite fresh for the most part. Yours look great, Faye : )

Don B.

REALLY looking good in B.C. Faye! I agree with Dougald and Don about the weather. My hostas almost all look so fresh still! I have not had to water for over a week as we've had an abundance of rain. This week coming up, starting with the week-end, promises hot-July type weather again!

I'm hoping I can plant more hosta...silly me can't add....I have more than two dozen still in pots (in more than one place) and here I thought I only had twelve or so! Lol. I'm cramming them in just to GET them in the ground...they will do fine for one year, then....fun moving them around again!

Why don't I just buy a small tree for some shade and be done with it!?! Argh!

Here's one of the latest planting...I realize it's tight in there, but as long as they are IN...for now....so I can go back to no more losses.

This post was edited by josephines67 on Fri, Aug 22, 14 at 19:03

Taken this afternoon

Jo and Dougald your plants are holding up nice too. Dougald your path is so inviting. I love the turtle Jo. I have a few that are getting holes in some from either ants or slugs so did another application of slug be gone around those ones but not too many
My waterfall garden is filling quite nicely seeing it was planted last fall and some this spring.. Very peacful sound that water makes when tumbling down the rocks

This post was edited by almosthooked on Fri, Aug 22, 14 at 21:20

almosthooked; now I have to yank out all those boulders, put in a liner, run power and get filters, pump, etc., etc....Oh Man!!!

Jon

LOL....you see how easily you got him with just a pic, Faye? But WHAT a pic...beautiful and serene.

Thanks to a freakishly cool summer which has turned steamy tropical but still not hot the past couple of days, my hosta all look beautiful as if it's still spring here in Iowa. The only sign of real fatigue is (finally) the ferns are losing their green and crisping at the ends.
Small sampling of one of my garden beds with a two-year-old Sum and Substance still looking happy.

'Christmas Tree' pic taken three days ago. Fairly typical of most of my plants right now, I'm very pleased to note. Hostas just love the mild summer.

Don B.

'Yesterday's Memories' looking happy, hydrated and fresh.

Don B.

South side of my property with a tall Aspen tree providing high dappled shade to hostas, ferns, heucheras and lamium of different types. All loving the perfect warm, rainy climate. This part of the yard is a treat, because I just started planting hostas here with Noooo rhyme nor reason. Seemed to turn out OK. I'm gonna give a few plants some extra watering to prepare for winter sleepy time.

Don B.

My hostas look great for the most part due to more rain than usual here. However, i have more slug damage this year , rarely have had any. On the other hand, have not seen a single japanese beetle. Hooray for that.

Sherry

Love the lamium free to run and scratch...There's 'Sugar and Cream' that you gave to me, BKay. I like it more every day. Had a fantastic second flush, and is sending up flowerscapes right now for the first time since it came to Colorado.

!!!viva summer!!!

Don B.

Close-up of Sugar and Cream. Reflushed like a CHAMP and repaired itself nicely!

Everyone's hostas are looking superb!

Have we noticed that no one past Zone 6 has responded to this post, LOL? You know how you guys all tolerate "The great pip emergence of the south" gracefully while all of you are still basically frozen tundra? Well, here's payback time! Our hostas are headed towards a nose-dive, starting to suffer from all the heat and we get to see pics of still pristine hostas! Oooooh, payback is harsh!

There are still hostas that are looking good here. We have had a milder summer as well, but hey, it's still the south. Hot is still hot, it just hasn't been sweltering. Some are looking pretty tired, getting crispy edges.

Keep those pics coming, though, as all Hosta nuts would say, love to see the pics, whether they're mine or not!

Funn, so true! I have some which are now heat dormant, and I set them in cooler shady spots to take a rest. It happened before with Stained Glass before I knew it wasn't dead, and it returned with a big flush and even bloomed for me. That's why I have TWO Stained Glass, I thought it had died.

But there are those still trucking along too, the fragrant family with some yet to bloom. And Squash Casserole and its family all are pristine, making me very pleased to have them. I moved most of them into the early afternoon sun (they also get morning light as well), The new lattice shade screen breaks much of the really killing sweltering heat of long afternoons. Our humidity is up near 100% all the time. Even a rain does not cool the air that much, but my sprinkler system with the 5 foot high heads misting things might be expensive but they cool the air very well. I think it must lower the air temp by 20 degrees. What my thinking is, the mist does not splash.

I have an order of companion plants/shrubs due to ship Monday, hope they arrive with no problems from a potential hurricane. One thing about a hurricane, it generally breaks the long hot spell for a short time. Don't wish it on any community though.

First Frost is a knock out for me from spring through fall.