I'm flabergasted by all the beauties shown here. I meant to comment on some of the special things I saw above, but by the time I got to the bottom, my brain was so rattled I could not remember who showed what.

I just remember that I want Deep Blue Sea!
Maybe Dragon of the Seas?
And I started with Dee's Golden Jewel, saves a lot of trouble waiting for Jewel of the Nile to revert....hehehehe

All these pics here in this thread are fantastic. Mocc, looks like you really had some good 'leaps' this season : ) Regarding Deep Blue Sea, Mocc, even if its blue melts in the heat, it's of such nice form and stout substance it still looks good.

This is Dress Blues

Don B.

Mbug, your Dream Queen is spectacular. This is mine...

Dick Ward

Dancing in the Rain. I started out with three and only this one survived.

Dream Queen

Dorset Clown

Dawns Early Light

Dick Ward gaining size in my difficult to grow area. What a wonderful hosta!

A young Delona's Smile growing in a spin-out bag

Deep Pockets

Dark Star acquired in 2011. Love it!

Dark Shadows, new 2014

Dixie Chickadee, new 2014

Like everyone here, I like DANCING QUEEN. Mine's finally becoming a more symmetrical clump.

First, before I forget it, I must try Delta Dawn. I have Delta Desire, but the wide white margin on DDawn is truly outstanding.

Then I see that Irawon has Dawn's Early Light looking gorgeous, and I wonder why that one won't grow for me. At least it hasn't DIED YET. But, I have enough to keep me busy in the garden come spring, so I will simply meditate on the reasons before rushing to replace anything which disappears.

All these pictures, this year especially, are inspirational. Thanks everyone. Anytime you contribute one from another region of the continent or hemisphere, and it is not necessarily mature, you are helping someone make a choice. Thank you for that.

Deja Blu 2nd year

My Dream Queen

No wonder Dream Queen is so popular....so much colour transition during the season makes it interesting.

here it is in July.

Delta Dawn

Paul

Yep. Gotta get a Delta Dawn. Looks good enough to be a FRAGRANT!:)

Deliverance in May

Deliverance in early Summer

Dick Ward on the left.

These photos have me seeing Dream Queen in a whole new light. Gorgeous coloring and another "must have" for '15.

You got it, H! Hostas like these have so much "vogue" to them, Madonna-style...know what I mean?

Edited to add: When I look at some of my pics, it is hard to believe that they aren't enhanced because they sure look it...similar to Hollywood airbrushing! Lol
I am stunned by the beauty of colour in the spring...the powdery, smokey, blues, ever so soft, ever changing, then the transition as they settle into their summer colour.

Makes you really appreciate them.

This post was edited by josephines67 on Fri, Jan 2, 15 at 20:19

Thank you, Paula and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and all our hosta friends here also! Hope your company isn't working you too hard. looking forward to your spring pics!

These submissions are exciting!

Jo

I got my Dark Star in 2012. I liked it then. But this year I thought it looked so cute.

Irawon, just wanted to say that's a GREAT shot of Dawn's Early Light. What a beauty!

Don, that Dick Ward leaf is so appealing it's hard to take my eyes off it. Fantastic coloring.

Dance With Me

Devil's Advocate.

{{gwi:2126343}}
Dancing Mouse
6/10/14

WOW, what a lot of beauties in this thread.

Seeing everyone's Deep Blue Sea and Devil's Advocate makes me happy I bought them in September, a little late to be planting hostas in my neck of the woods but hoping they survive the winter. Also glad to see the good variagation on Dark Shadow, which I got too.

Mocc, HostaTakeover, thanks, just a lucky shot. Dawn's Early Light is only 3 years old and just starting to fill out. Steve, I like the way you have yours nestled in amongst the rocks. It seems to have taken the move in stride.

Newhostalady and Jo, beautiful light blue colour on your Dream Queens. Like everyone else's too. Nice to see the difference in variagation as the season progresses.

Have to get a Dark Star once it becomes available around here. Love the colours and form.

Everyone's Dance With Me looks so much better than mine...it's been so very slow to get going.

Steve, that Dream Maker is gorgeous. I haven't seen it before. Is it your creation? I'm just beginning to appreciate the streakers and hope to add more. And that pic of Designer Genes is perfect too.

McT, that shot of Dress Blues showing the petioles is magnificent.

Peren.all, I really like your grouping of those 4 handsome Dixie Chicks. I have one... and... it's puny.

Don, you've got me interested in Deliverance...it seems to keep its colour well.

Mbug, your Whirlwind makes me want to go out and buy 2 more to make mine fuller.

Gary, it looks to me like your DéjàBlu has those white lines that mine never gets.

DEJA BLU

I lost my Dream Weaver due to root competition. This is Don Budd's and I'd like to pull a Paul Aden. How'd he ever pull it off??? Boggles my mind!

Ira,

Dream Maker is not my creation. It's a sport of Blue Angel. My plant is in its second year in my garden, and I would say that it's growth is slower than average. But as you see it has beautifully uniform streaking. I don't know how fertile it is. I haven't tried to make crosses with it yet. It's available at a few places, but overpriced. I think Casita Azul has it for $35. That's a fair price for a streaked plant.

Steve

Steve, I just checked and one of the nurseries here in Canada has it for $45 Cdn...I'm so excited. I hope I find one as uniformly streaked as yours, now that i know that's important for stability. I really admire the patience it takes to make deliberate crosses but I'm hoping nature will do it for me if I add a streaker to each of my hosta beds. I'd really like some variegated seedlings to add to the yellows, blues and greens I've been getting.

I found a bunch of photos from early this year. I have to add one new to me this year. I had a Diamond Tiara for years and it did well, but developed a virus and I had to trash it. When Chris had this one, I had to try it. I assume it will do as well as it's mama. It's not the greatest photo, but a really pretty little hosta.

Note: This is a first year plant.

bk

Diamonds are forever

DELTA DAWN

I'm arriving a bit late to the Hosta alphabet (it's my first one) and I have spent more than a few days looking at everyone's photos first. They are inspirational and educational. I love seeing different peoples' photos of the same cultivar... I have more than doubled my wish list, I've seen potential IDs for several of my noids that I can now try to follow up on, but best of all, I am seeing what some of my scrawny juveniles will grow up to look like in the coming years...

My own garden is still very young (I only started planting Hostas in 2012), and most of mine are not very impressive, especially since this year some hungry deer came through and ate the best of my best.

I do have a few beauties that I'm proud to share.

Designer Genes

Dance With Me
{{gwi:2126344}}

Dark Star

Deane's Dream

Deliverance (new 2014)
{{gwi:2126345}}

Diana Remembered (?)
{{gwi:2126346}}

Dress Blues
{{gwi:2126347}}

Dancing Mouse

Dancing Queen

Delta Dawn

Devon Blue

Dinky Donna

Bennie, this is what my Diana Remembered looks like...new in 2014.

Thank you Jo so much. I was not sure if it was another Fragrant Bouquet.

Bennie,glad I've revisited the earlier letters of the alphabet. Deine hosta sind sehr schoen. Hoffe dass du mit uns bleibst.

Bennie, a question re Deane's Dream...does yours colour up or transition at all during the season? I don't have this hosta but I was attracted to it (it's particular shade of blue) back in 2012 ... it's a hosta I don't hear much about.

I, too, hope that you remain with/amongst us. I remember some of my German without having to look it up!

Irawon, perfect German! My respect.

Josephine, I have two Dean's Dream. One at a more shady place, the second with a very good deal of sun the whole day. The first holds his color almost the whole season - except temps >30°C in shadow, than the wax tears away. The second is huge, about 120 cm diameter - expected are about 70 cm according to description. The upper most leafs loose their wax >25°C and direct sun.
It is really a beauty and very easy to grow (for me, I have very sandy soil).

The pic above is taken from the sunny spot.

Thank you, Bennie! I was able to pinch and zoom on Deane's Dream. What was surprising was that each time I enlarged it further, it would get refocused a few seconds later...which is unusual. Usually when you expand a pic it loses clarity the larger it gets.

Deja Blue 7/7/2014

Dragon's Eye 7/31/2014

Dream Queen 6/15/2014