So this year Albomarginata is slightly slower?..I took these pics today Apr 8th..

#1 Plantaginea..#2 Clausa..the ones in the path are taller than the Clausa in the ground next to the path..I need to move so many of these..

They are all slower, I would say at least 4 weeks later than last year. But what matters most is that they grow at all after the awfull winter!

I was outside all weekend, potting, repotting and planting a few into the ground and I love this kind of work even if the back aches :-)

Found some rotting roots in Montana Aureomarginata and tried to clean it thoroughly and it fell to three parts and I put them in the garden in the hope that it will fare better there. Some hosta can be divided easily without cutting them and others cling together like crazy...

I thought I would divide June this spring to get a division for a shadier spot, but I could not do it, better do buy a new one...

Also planted June and June Fever in this sunny spot, they did well in sun last year...

The landlord cut the trees this weekend and I can finally carry back the pots to their old places, they will get more light now that a few big branches have been removed:-)

a screenshot of my post from Apr 21 last year..I can't imagine that my hostas will look like this in 13 days..my hostas are slower too..

my sisters are at it again..a mama and 4 kittens..so many homeless animals..these will have a chance thanks to my sisters..

Oh, they are so cute. Look at the long white hairs spreading out on that little leg and the heads...I would not be able to resist :-)

one of my sister's cats looked about like these kittens when she got him..dark fur..a little ratty..but he's beautiful..black and white like your cat..I wouldn't have guessed he would turn out so pretty..

Very cute! My son was home and took his cat back with him. So that leaves me with one cat (who couldn't get along with his cat) and one dog. The mean cat was still looking this morning for the cat that left--ha, ha she has no one to bother and the dog which is quite large won't pay attention to her.

All the hosta pictures make me wish that spring was here but there's still snow flying in the air but it will be near 70 later in the week!

Those kittens look a lot like my little visitor. He was here for the whole weekend. Sleeping under the hedge near Regal Splendor seems to be something both cats like...I hope none of them will have a meal of hosta leaves this year as I remember that my cat chewed at the leaves last year...It has been very warm here and you can watch the hosta grow! The strong wind is makes the soil look like dust and the hosta need a little water already :-( I took out the agave,cacti and aloe yesterday and I have to give them some sun protection...this is also crazy...

The begonias are growing and I will have color for the hosta shelves...and I will be busy watering all summer long :-( Will try to raise a few coleus from seed too...

I thought the same thing..the kitten's dark fur with variation does remind me of your cat visitor..your begonias are pretty..I was pleasantly surprised today to see so many pips..can't wait! :-)

When I came home from work yesterday I did a quick check in the garden and there are a lot opf pips to be seen now :-)

Harry van TrierHi Ho SilverInvincibleBlueberry a la ModeLove SongTerpsichoreVentricosa will be divided this weekend, looks like Dave's Empress, only smaller:-)Sum and Substance, from two eyes to five, so I'm happy. The big ones need their time...

The soil is already dry from the strong wind and I had to water at least a little. Lots of roots had been heaved out of the ground during this winter...

Forgot Wheee! It had struggled last year so it is good to see it again :-)

I worried all winter because it had been so extremely wet but the hosta showed me that they are really tough. Hopefully we will be spared such a late frost period like last year...

Got two nice coleus cuttings from a friend...

Today is succulent day, I need to remove lots of babies from the agaves and pot them...

I didn't take pics but I saw pips everywhere today too..it seems like they popped up overnight..

This is so weird this year. Normally ? I'm ahead of a few of you by at least a month.

If I start scratching around the tops of pots I can find something.

Normally ? MA, First Love, Frank Lloyd Wright, Battle Star and Marrakech are almost leafed out by now.

This year, Empress Wu on the Bank, ( the potted one is not showing yet! ) and a few in the greenhouse have started to move.

A grey misty cool day again.

Sunshine in very short supply this Spring.

Dave

Today it should be in the 50's here--what a change from all of the cold and snow. The yard is a giant mess of leaves, fallen branches and stuff that I didn't have a chance to put away last fall. This weekend should be wonderful to get out and do some cleanup. The daffodils have big buds almost set to bloom and some daylilies are already up a few inches--naturally there are lots of weeds that need to be pulled but that's for another day. Karin, how do you get the coleus to root inside? Every time that I have tried, they rot in the glass or jar. We grow lots of them in the summer and we really like the giant ones that are available now. We also get lots of begonias like yours. I stopped trying to overwinter the begonias in the house since I don't have a greenhouse and it got too messy to water and care for them each winter. Eyecatcher is very interesting, hmmm maybe add it to my list?

Dave, so sorry...here's a picture of Mikado especially for you! Still small, but now they all come out and there seem to be not too many casualties.

And, as promised, I already marked a piece of Funny Bones for you:-) But better to wait until next year for a division:-)

miles, Eye Catcher was never on my list, but normally I buy the ones my belgian hosta friend recommends. He never fails to know what I like :-)

For the coleus or begonia cuttings I can only say I always use filtered water, the level in the glass not too high and I don't keep them in water too long. As soon as they have fine roots I plant them and water carefully. I don't know if I will overwinter all begonia and coleus, maybe I give some to my neighbours and my daughter in law...

My favourite new one so far is Blue Skin, a hosta from Danny van Eechaute, I love the purple stems...

Gorgeous purple stems. I think I keep my coleus cuttings in the water too long. I overwinter some variegated ginger which has done well and some other ferns, etc. I really need that greenhouse but that's not likely to happen. I will have to walk around outside tonight when I get home and see if any pips are up yet.

I can join in the fun now. I found out that letting the leaves stay on them longer doesn't really slow them down, so ....here's Satisfaction. The one on the right unfurled today.

Victory has a bad case of Galium aparine (sticky weed), which was about 30 ft. away last year and popped up here somehow. Grrrr, weeds are too good at what they do.

Here's the stray cat I've made friends with. It took her a long time to trust me, but now she likes me to give her belly rubs. :-)

sandyslopes..weeds will always be faster than we are haha..my tallest pips right now (Undulatas) were not the first ones to show up (Plantaginea)..my Undulatas (planted on the east side of my garage) will be the first to unfurl..pics later!

sandyslopes, leaves do not slow down hostas but are a perfect camouflage for slugs and snails :-) I try to get rid of them as soon as I can in spring, but sometimes weather or other things keep us away from gardening.

Such a nice cat, interesting fur color.

A few more from the first parcel start to show...

Sherborne Swift

Pistache

Tenryu

Munchkin Fire

Dinky Donna

Celtic Dancer

So much fresh green and so little time to enjoy. The new office software is driving me crazy, working more than 10 hours and new problems every new day...I'm really too old for such things :-(

Karin..you have so many hostas coming up!!..I'm ready for my turn!!..I like Tenryu..uprights are my favorite and I love the cupped leaves..sorry the new software is such a hassle..I was outside 6 hours today doing the usual clean up as well as some "pruning"..don't know if you have boxwood blight in Europe but we do in parts of the US..I planted boxwoods every fall when they were on sale..no problems for years..then in the last 2-3 years I had some ugliness..started reading and it's blight..started in Connecticut in 2012..confirmed in Ohio (state next to me)..talked to a Master Gardener and he said "I'm sure Indiana has blight too"..it's not on every shrub yet but will be eventually.. :-( ..I started removing them a couple of years ago..removed 2 yesterday and 1 today..I'm bagging for disposal..don't want it in my compost..then I'm picking up the tiny leaves that have fallen off (tedious)..sad to think of gardens without boxwoods..

Nicholsworth, I haven't heard about the blight--I really love boxwood.

Karin, so many nice plants, so fresh and green! I got Dinky Donna two years ago and have had to replant it since it wasn't doing well. Hope that it looks better this year. Hope your office software situation gets better. I've learned that no matter what they say about updates--the newer versions are always a pain to learn and there are always issues that arise which take a lot of time and are always very frustrating.

miles..looks like this..it's a death sentence..there's no cure.."how to manage" is fake news..

We had a boxwood hedge when I moved into my appartment, it was already old then (35 years ago) and I was never pleased with it. It constantly lost leaves and never looked nice. I was happy when the landlord allowed me to remove it. Now the red maple, magnolia and pine cone are in this place. The landlord had never been someone who trimmed everything properly and all shrubs and hedges were totally out of control.

Everything grows now...all my favourites are back and I can relax:-) A friend lent me a camera tripod and I took some pictures, the light was not so good in the evening, but I like working with the tripod. Now I need a macro lens...there are so many things I need for gardening :-)

Munchkin is adorable!..my boxwoods weren't planted as hedges..most of them were planted about 3 ft apart along each side of my paths..I bet your landlord appreciates how well you maintain his property..

I have two boxwood which I try to form a little...the one in the picture I would like to look like a column some day. It is growing slowly, each year it adds around 10 cm to my plans :-) It will be the background for Sum&Substance, dark green and yellow look good together. SS is still a baby so I will have to wait a few years, but it has three eyes more than last year and that's something for a big hosta :-) I love this part of the beds with the maple and peony and iris, hope I can get more views like this with the years...you really need to be patient...

Empress Wu seems to like the new place with more sun...nothing compared with Dave's, but every eye counts :-) Those big ones need so long to grow, but they are worth waiting...

a pic from Jan 2017..a nice rich green boxwood..I hope a few make it..they were good for structure and winter interest..your maple is beautiful..I see a colorful heuchera..nice mix of plants..

The heuchera was killed by the late frost :-(

from what I've read everyone (including me) loses heucheras..

Mine (heuchera) were eaten by the deer. I will have to take a closer look at my boxwood. I didn't hear about the blight thanks for the info. Very warm here yesterday and today in the upper 70's but it will get cooler and rainy tomorrow and Sunday. Naturally, the weekend will have rain--I won't be able to do a lot of stuff in the yard that has to get done immediately. I guess it could be much worse, we could have snow. I've been busy getting my hosta list ready--Karin's pictures have resulted in many more "must haves" I really like the maple and your plantings--very well done.

Jipii, one hostabed without snow in sunny part of the yard. Nights are still freezing, but in days sun is shining.

Most of the yard is still covered with snow. We have next week warm weather 50-55F and that white stuff disappears soon, I hope. We might have even 64F end of the week. And nights are freeze free. I’m excited.

Little bit of green. Tomatoes and friends growing by the window.

Saija

Saija..yay!..the snow is leaving!..I've been outside already..it's beautiful..my husband made breakfast and as soon as my second cup of coffee is gone I'm going out..

Saija, spring is coming to Finland!!! Good to see that you can have hope for pips soon :-)

Got another parcel today (what a surprise)...minis and small ones and two more for my Oberland collection...perfect timing after a bad week...I hope you can read the names...

But it is so stormy here that I had to unpack inside. The wind never ends!

I like Heuchera, but I think I will replace them by something else if they make problems again. I ordered a few but if they also die next winter I'm finished with them.

Karin, more hostas! What a delightful surprise! It was 70 here yesterday and today. But this weekend will be cooler and rainy--just when I can get outside. It's been very windy for several days--that's usual for spring in my area. Only problem is my Great Pyrenees dog who is terrified of thunderstorms and now hates to step outside when there's rain. I have had to go to stronger medication to calm her down but that isn't working too well.

I had 2 heuchera which came up when we had a warm spell in February, they were promptly eaten by the herd of deer who run through the yard each day. I am anxious to see what survived and what needs to be replaced. I have had one heuchera for a least a dozen years that is intertwined with tree roots--I don't know how it survives. The rest of mine have done ok in the past but this past winter was horrible with all of the major temperature changes so I don't know how or if my new japanese maples and shrubs survived.

Saija, there's progress in your yard. Hopefully, the snow will go away in the not too distant future!

miles, it is strange that such a big dog is so afraid. Poor thing, who knows what's in her head. My cat is also chicken-hearted...big as he is, one bang and he is behind the couch...

taking a short break..it's so sunny that I can't see the screen to take good pics..but I have leaves!..

Lancifolia?..I see frost damage?..I like white daffodils..no ID..probably more Lancifolia?..I "shop" in my yard to fill gaps..miles-I love Great Pyrenees..hope she can overcome her fears..back to work..it's almost 80° but we're getting a big drop soon..Karin-love your bowl of goodies!..

miles, Great Pyrenees are so pretty. My last dog became afraid of thunder as he got older. I got him a ThunderShirt and it really helped calm him down. Smart dog would come to me when he heard thunder so I could put it on him. Maybe a ThunderShirt would help your dog and avoid more medication.

nicholsworth, nice daffodils. Looks like spring to me!

Found lots of pips today. It was the most beautiful spring day, blue skies, no wind, birds singing and I worked all day to get rid of the branches my landlord had cut last weekend and potted the new minis...

ZitronenfalterWhiskey SourDevon GreenBlue Mouse Ears

So many pips! We had beautiful weather last Thursday and Friday (naturally I'm in the office) but it turned cold and rainy on Saturday--I barely got one flower bed weeded. There's so much work to do but the weather on Sunday here was horrible, so I went out and bought some pansies to plant in a container. There are whole sections at our garden centers devoted to miniature plants for all of the people who create miniature gardens--including lots of small hostas--very interesting. I don't know why they are selling Curly Fries there since it will dwarf their houses and people!

I went out biking yesterday and found a few decorative elements for my minis :-)

and the forest was full of small white flowers, in Germany they are called Buschwindröschen...

I got my leaves cleaned out on Friday. I'm seeing pips everywhere (and even some Hosta leaves):

Karin..great pics as always..

steve..should be really fun soon!..