Fabulous combination. The colors go great together.

too busy ...

move out the front middle one.. and use a solid color hosta ... a smallish one ... another problem is all three in front are the same size ...

my rule back in the day was something along ... starting with an edge in the middle.. blue to one side.. yellow to the other.. work a green in ...

to many highly edged or centered plants together... leaves the eye... no place to rest ...

and if you dont like my logic.. so what... that is why its called YOUR garden.. not mine ... lol

just giving you something to chew on ... spit it out if you wish ...

ken

Thanks Ken, I tend to stick to the rules as well. Actually I had a solid in there with Rainforest Sunrise until I purchased Luna Moth last year? Also I didn't think Rainforest Sunrise would take on that shape. That's Mother Nature for ya and why gardening is so interesting. Like a box of chocolates...... On the other hand I still kinda dig this grouping. It could because it is breaking the rules. My bad! Thanks for the chew. WW

No, it's not your bad. How can you say that? You like it...and its your garden....and personally, I think it works!!! Koffman likes it. You really weren't going to change it because Ken says it's too busy...were you? ;-). Ken's logic makes sense but some rules in gardening were made just to be tested and broken in order to allow our own creativity to flow. IMO! Lol

Hi Wendy, I love the above arrangement. Personaly, I don't think it will drive Ken bonkers but that's just my opinion and I hope he chimes in. The thing that I love about Ken is that he will give you his honest opinion, which might not please you but that's just his take on things, right or wrong.

On your grouping with Luna Moth, whatever pleases you is what matters. It's lovely but if you wan't a less busy, more tranquil combo, I would replace Luna Moth with a solid blue. What you have is dramatic and like it too. Ken is just expressing HIS preferences which may not be the same as yours.

Irawon, Somehow we got off track here. I am not offended in the least. I think Ken is hilarious and entitled to his opinion. For years I didn't know how to post pictures and now that I can I am thrilled and value all the input i can get. I am having so much fun. In the first pic I originally had a blue hosta there. I replaced it with Luna Moth last year. Blessed to have an iPad to take and post pictures with. Thankful for all the information you GW peeps have given me. Grateful to be able to spend time digging in the dirt. :). WW

I really love that second arrangement as well. Very nice.

I think the combination is great . You are correct to say " Mother Nature " has the last word on the matter each year is different, you never know what the flowers may do it is like a "box of cherries"

Bottom line - You do what makes you happy. I have a small sign at the front of my hosta bed that says "He (she) who plants a garden plants happiness." And that's what counts.

That second arrangement looks terrific to me!. Both very nice. I have 3 of Rainforest Sunrise. Two are growing more upright like yours and one is mounding and spreading. All about the same age and similar conditions. Go figure.

1. You guys rock! Oh, by the way that blue hosta in the 2nd pic was half that size last year. I had it in a pot without a tag. I suck at record keeping it may be deep blue sea. WW

Love the second one too - it kind of follows Ken's "rule back in the day ..." if you read it again. Wish he would post more pics of his gardens...I'll bet there's plenty of inspired placements there....sigh.

WW, that cupped blue one is something else showing the glaucus underside!

Thanks Jo, I have another noid I've been wanting to ask about will start another thread. WW

I think that arrangement looks great, Wendy! Watch for Luna Moth to start getting wiiiiiiider in the next few seasons. Or next season : )

Wendy - both are lovely!

I'm still in the process of creating beds in my yard, and establishing the 'bones' of the garden. This season I declared "the summer of shrubs" and my DH was worn out from helping me dig and plant earlier in May-June. I have some smaller things planted where appropriate... a bed with h. Rainforest Sunrise, epimedium and leptinella under a Japanese Maple. The south side of the house has blistering sun, so I have peonies, weigela, and a few other sun lovers in there. Oh, and I planted a h. Cathedral Windows in a mostly sunny spot on the north side of the house, and it seems to be happy and is growing...eventually it will have more just morning sun, and dappled sun/shade the rest of the day, after the crabapple grows bigger. I looks a little bleached out right now from all the sun, but I'm drowning it with water and it keeps adding new leaves and smiling at me.

But my point is... I would love to know the names of your hostas in photo #2. I will (hopefully next year) have a nice good-size, part sun/part shade bed in which to plant. The part sun/part-shade is already there, and it's a naturally moist location in general, but all in grass right now (another job involving DH and possibly DS). So I'm studying posts and pics and making my list....

I liked reading Ken's suggested rule above, it's good to have some rules of thumb... and I'm trying to get the feel for combining blues, golds, variegated, solids. Also trying to learn and be realistic about eventual sizes and growth habits. We have a suburban lot about 1/4 acre, so I have to choose carefully. Therefore all this info is extremely helpful and interesting.

Thanks!

Hi Windy, Yes, I have gotten great advice from Ken and many of our GW peeps. I love seeing other peoples creativity in the garden too, so inspiring. Makes me want to run outside and redo all my beds. My gardens have evolved over the years. For instance, I never intended for the grouping in pic #2 to be in rows. Probably a big no no. Seeing that I'm the resident gardener it's been easier for me to dig out a bit at a time widening the garden as I go. I believe there's a rule about that too. Width should be half the length? That garden was a brush area of sapling trees I had to dig out. It was a mess and a lot of hard work 15 years ago.

Oh, I adore your user name! My old user name was WILDernessWen. Rented a cabin with my girlfriends for many years we called it "WILDerness Weekend." It sure was fun:)

Back row: Paul's Glory (middle one reverting, I'm leaving it.)

Middle row: First Frost

Front row: Gold Edger - NOID- Gold Edger

My friends here on GW have identified the NOID as Abiqua Drinking Gourd. It's already doubled in size and will probably out grow that spot.

Thanks for looking. Have fun, WW

WILDerness Weekends sound like pretty much fun!!!

Windymess is an old knickname from my high school years. And now I find it kind-of works with gardening in my current environment... Kansas is a windy place!

Thanks for the info. I absolutely love First Frost! I saw it in person at the nursery and was so amazed by both the color and texture, and it almost glows. I think it looks so pretty with your solid blue, as well as the Paul's Glory. Love it!

Thanks!

Windy, First Frost in the spring is spectacular. Here's another pic of that same garden just a bit farther to the right.

Back row: Paul's Glory ferns and Halycon (fav blue hosta)

Middle row: First Frost, Old Glory,Halycon, and Punky

Front row:. Gold Edger, Touch of Class(2nd year) heuchera and a gangly looking Prairie Dazzler(2nd year to big for that spot, oh well.)

Always a work in progress. Should have planted a few jumbos back there, but it brightens up the dark corner in my backyard.

Gorgeous! And what strikes me is that it truly is possible to combine several variegated, medio-variegated, and solids together without it becoming 'too much'... the Paul's Glory, Old Glory, and Touch of Class are all pretty subtle and don't compete with one another too much (IMHO). So First Frost, as the only variegated, stands out a makes a good contrast. The heuchera looks good with both gold and blue tones. Sometimes I see too many different green/white hostas too close together and it makes me uncomfortable (similar to what I think Ken was saying as well). But this is quite lovely. And I like that they are growing together - it's very lush looking, and I'll bet weeds don't have a chance! I hope I'll have this kind of success.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Windy. Wendy :)