Hi - I grew up in Ogema, MN on the White Earth Indian Reservation so was pleasantly surprised to find someone looking for the Ojibwe word "Sun". Here is a link that might be useful to you.

I name my beds based on shape and/or content - Oak bed, big rock, little rock, hosta haven, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ojibwe Translations

By location, main feature or predominant plant variety. E.g. "fern garden", "birch tree garden", "front yard sun garden", "driveway garden". Not particularly creative but then again, I use the garden names primarily for the purpose of tracking plants and not much else.

Thanks sharlened - I appreciate the website and have added it to my favorites. I like the word "ozaamaso" which translates, according to the website, as "gets too much sun". If my Sum & Substance could speak it would have been choking out all this summer "bashkobiizo" - scald in the sun. But my Sagae would be saying abaasindeke -bask in the sun.

I hope I am not being perceived as disrespectful by any Ojibwe readers. This is certainly not my intent but the opposite as a sign of respect.

Les

Mine were named like hosta_junkie last year when I only had 76 hostas.

This year, I have named four gardens and subdivided each into beds. I have an Olga Petryszyn hosta in each bed and named the bed after her hosta, for example, Pachysandra Garden, Key West Bed.

The only exception is my Land of the Giants Garden which has Great Plains (an Olga hosta), T-Rex, Jurrasic Park, and Empress Wu. Can't divide that one into beds.

Les, Van Wade has a ton of hostas named after Indian tribes. I got one when I visited his Wade and Gatton this summer, named Greentown, after an Indian tribe in Ohio.

No offense taken, after doing some geneaology research, I found that my grandmother was 25% Native American. She lived her entire life denying her Native American heritage. We have several hosta hunting/genealogy research trips planned next summer.

Gesila

Gesila,I found when I lived in northern Arkansas that most of my closest friends there were decendents of the "Trail of Tears" Cherokee. But that is another story. I still want to hear from you'all who have unusual names for your hosta beds. Come on - you can't all call them my bed by my oak tree. And I am no way critical of those of you who have "beds by my oak tree".

My main reason for naming my beds are, like hosta junkie, to keep track of my plants. But I like to make everything "fun"!

Les

Like most of you, my garden names are usually derived from some feature in or near the garden. Even though most of my gardens are connect and flow around the yard, I find it worthwhile to section them off with names so I can keep track of my hosta collection and where the different plants live. I have 17 named gardens and here's a sampling of the names:

Robyn's Nest is a circular garden with a grassy middle.
Bird House is the garden surrounding my potting shed
Memory Garden to honor my brother - the plants in this garden all have names that remind me of him.
Gold Star has a Gold Star Dogwood in the center
JC's Garden was named after my neighbor
Katsura Garden has a weeping Katsura Tree
Salsa Garden is my husbands vegetable garden
Siren Garden was inspired by a siren statue

Last Fall I planted a bed of hostas between 3 walnut trees and a pine tree on a slope. I took some leftover stones and made a low loose stacked wall to create a level step.

I have named this area 'Hosta la Vista'.

Jon

When I have more time I will post a photo.

I love it. "Memory Garden" to honor a brother is similar to my "Theresa's Angel Garden" and "Hosta la Vista" is a fun name. If I had a "Salsa Garden" it would contain all of the kin of Guacamole like Fried Green Tomatoes, Salsa (duh!), etc.

Les

A, B, C, etc.. based on first to last .. and then by row and then column within .. so a given hosta might be A35D ... bed A .. row 35 ... D or 4th deep into the bed ...

conifers.. by pasture.. north pasture.. south .. middle ...

and then bed within based on compass point... for instance.. MP [middle pasture] A [starting on the east] .. MPB ... ETC ...

KEN

Only have one garden,and it's name is Hosta Vista,and that's all I am going to have. I don't have unlimited property like some of you. Phil

So, what do you do after you select a garden name, put a sign in the middle of each bed with its particular name, such as a town has street names on its streets? I have one sign 'Welcome to my garden'. My lot is less than 1/2 acre, why name garden beds?
Bernd

ken - sounds like a warehouse location system I once installed (lol).

I have access to a lot of flat, smooth water washed (river) rocks. Walking the riverbanks I spot a nice rock with good texture, etc. After washing it, if it still looks good I spray it with clear Krylon which darkens it and brings out the features, some of which are fossil. Then using a white Krylon paint stick I write the name or feature of the beds. My latest is "Fragrant Blooming Hosta".

Les

Les, That idea of using a paint stick on rocks to mark plants is great. I am going to steal it and label my plants and the areas of my property...The Dell, The Swale, The Great Wall, Foggy Bottom, Hosta la Vista, John Kerry Campaign Trail; down the side of a hill (goes this way and that, is all downhill and leads....well nowhere), Dogwood Patch...

Thanks for the great tip.

HostaLes, I was browsing all the Ojibwe words involving SUN as well. It strikes me as significant that the language has a great many words and nuances surrounding SUN. It says that the sun is an important part of their lives and culture.

I also bookmarked the reference, so I can come back later to browse.

JohnnyB, like the names on your property. You might have to rename the John Kerry Trail this election though. Especially like "Hasta La Vista".

In Mobile, we have
Blueberry spot
Pirogue Brush pile (for rabbits to hide under)
Back Forty
Sun Bed (demilune bed in western sun w/hemerocallis/canna)
Tropical South (palms, alocasia/colocasia, sweet potato)
Rose Bed (roses, rosemary, Italian cypress, dwarf boxwood)
Raised Veggies
Our Lady Allee (shady narrow walk w/ leriope & aspedistra & ajuga & violets leading to Our Lady's arbor w/passionvines)
New Orleans Courtyard
Hammock Shade Bed
Tea House North (dwarf boxwood, dwarf nandina, leriope & big pots of tropicals)
Tea House East (alocasia & 3 hosta & leriope)
Strawberry Bank (only strawberries)
Jasmine Privacy Fence (45 Star Jasmine on 100' of 7' high chainlink)

So far, my names are pretty plain and based on anchors or main features of a bed. I don't have any plans on changing that, but you never know. So far:

Main Hosta Bed (quite original =)
Hosta Point (triangular shaped)
Lilac Bed (with dwarf lilac as anchor)
Secondary Hosta Bed (used to be a holding bed)
Crab Apple Bed (crab apple as anchor)
Rhodie Bed (they dominate)
Viburnum Bed (a couple as anchors)
Thalictrum Bed (4 varieties)
Astilbe Bed (7 varieties)
Wild Bed

I have enjoyed this.

Cactus City (2 areas)
Hosta Walk (front yard entry)
Grassy Knoll (under the tree)
The Park (what is left of my grass)
Bird Bath (middle of yard)
The Nursery (for starters, sleepers and elderly)
Rainbow, which divides into 3 areas, Sleeping Kitten Farm, Whispering Winds Farm and Dancing Princess Farm (orchids)
Long Bed (cannas)
Incoming (holding spot)
Hosta Test Bed (need a new name)
Robert Choate Memorial Garden (front)
Radish Land (I grow radishes)

Mocasinlanding writes, "JohnnyB, like the names on your property. You might have to rename the John Kerry Trail this election though. Especially like "Hasta La Vista"."

I'll look for a big rock.

LOL Phil, I definitely do not have unlimited property (I have a 60 ft x 120 ft lot). It's so small I can count my trees (I have exactly 3, how sad).
And most of my backyard consists of a 2.5 car garage, a 24' pool, and a patio. The only grass in my backyard is an area about 5 ft x 12 ft; I could cut it with a weed-whacker!

Still, I have 10 named gardens; each in a different area of my yard. I like to make maps that I use to plot & plan over the winter, and having names for each area just makes it easier. Mine are a mix between location (Pool garden, Hammock garden, etc) and description of focal point (Winding Path garden, Rose garden, Arbor garden...) I have determined this year that, unless we get rid of the pool to make more garden space (unlikely), I am officially filled to capacity with 111 hostas.

Wendy

Wendy-you know you are a hostaholic when you have a hosta garden in the shade under your hammock(LOL). I only have 1/2 acre but a number of small areas suitable for hosta thus trhe names to keep them straight in my head.

I like the rocks as markers for several reasons. First is they are natural looking and can be attractive. Second, unlike tags they are almost impossible to move and lose (I remember the lesson taught on this forum re: lose vs. loose-LOL) with a leaf rake when cleaning up in spring.

I will probably have 3-4 names before I settle on one for a new bed, but that is easy to change using MS Excel. My spring project is around an ancient lilac. It lives on the north side of my attached garage but is seperated from my Noopiming Garden. Needs a different name but could be Ojibwe, like Anishinaabe which translates (I think) t0 "The First People (ancient people?)". Who knows yet what will stir my coals.

Les

Hi first time poster here but I have to tell you about a friend of mine that has a "Good & evil" garden, she has Holy Mouse ears, Strip Tease, Glory Halleliuah, Climax, Lakeside Black Satin, Earth Angel, and a bunch of others

I like that! Welcome to the forum cmerc. Funny how "Good & Evil" carries a different connotation than "Good 'N Evil" in my head. "Heaven & Earth" has some possibilities also as does "Independence" with Loyalist, Liberty, Old Glory, Patriot, etc.
Les

Somewhere I ran across a discussion about naming things.
We name the things we love. We do not eat things we name...except maybe the RADISHES and VEGGIES, but not creatures like a pig we name PETUNIA maybe.

So I am reminded of this quality of us human beings when I see so many gardeners naming their flower beds or other parts of their gardens.

And yes, I have a garden beginning to grow beneath my hammock too. The Hammock Shade Garden. Designed for any small hostas in the front, but the big guys in the back.

HostaLes, this is brainstorming at its finest. Your spelling of the ancient ones is probably pronounced much like my word for them....Anasazi. Or maybe you could make a Kokopeli bed, the great magician/creator from the tales of southwestern Indians/Native Americans. Spirits like Kokopeli seem present in many ancient cultures. How would you choose plants for a bed like that?

CMercantile, I once tried to have a Biblical garden of flowers (not shrubs) at my church, so Good & Evil is a great choice.

A bed called Kokopeli would probably not appropriately have hosta in it (LOL). I have long been fascinated by the world-wide universality of variations of the word "Mano" as it applies to a great spirit or god in so many cultures. In some native american languages it is "Manitoon". In others it is "Manitou".Biblically food from God is called "Mano". Some of us believe we were made in the image of God so we call ourselves "man" and refer to ourselves as "huMAN": etc.,etc.---etc. I'd not made the association between the name Anisazi and Anishinaabe until you mentioned it. I read in the Michener book Centennial that the name Arapaho translates to "The People", which seems to have nothing in common. Pronunciation is important. One would have to properly pronounce Ojibwe to see how it could have been mis-interpreted as Chippewa.

Ojibwe is a very complicate language. I am tirelessly working on how I would be identified in Ojibwe as "he who crawls through his hosta gardens with a camera in one hand and a clipboard in the other".

Sorry - this is straying from how we name our gardens.

Les Hwcthgwaciohaacbito (LOL).

just a single brief note to that exploration of Mano.
In north Alabama, Little River Canyon area, they have a lot of caves. The main part is called MANITOU CAVE. It is not entirely explored yet, it is quite extensive. I never made the connection that it could be a place for reverence if not worship.

I checked online and found there is a Kokopelli B&B in Killington VT, on the Appalachian Trail. And another Kokopeli in New Hampshire as well. Considering that the ancient ones were not insular, but were in fact consummate traders, which was one of the occupations of Kokopeli, I'm thinking that there was trading with the northern tribes many moons in the past. Trading in plants would not have included hosta in those days, but it would have involved lots of herbs.

And Michener is one of my favorite writers because of his slow way of wading into the story, from way back in time.
Who is it among the hosta breeders who has a series of hostas named for Native American tribes?