Wow, looks like a tropical paradise.

the garden looked not too bad.

==>> the queen of understatement ... lol ...

thx for the pix

ken

Hi Karin!..I'm happy that you decided to suffer through using Houzz and post pictures..we love them..I think I can spot the Valley's in your pictures :-)

Hi Ann,

today seems to be a good Houzz day :-) I tried so often during the last months, but always with no success and so I gave up :-(

The Valley's are in the first three pictures of the last comment. I'm already waiting for Jeroen's new list. I will surely add a few more to the collection :-)

If you have facebook you can find a new post about Valley's in the group American Hosta Society I did a few hours ago.

Ken...

thank you :-) Queen of understatement...lol

It was hard work to water all those pots and I did not show the ugly ones...Luckily my trees have grown high enough to provide more shade, otherwise there had been much more damage.

I bought a lot of succulents this year for the sunny places...

And with the succulents came a few cacti :-)

I got a few old Mammillaria from a collector for nearly no money at all and now I'm hooked...

And the sunny windowsills are full in summers to come :-)

Meanwhile I have nearly as many succulents and cacti as hosta :-)

I did not show the ugly ones

==>>> they dont really exist ... lol ....

i was always surprised... how the ugly ones... might wind up at the top of the list the following year ... or.. even better.. just die.. and good riddance ... lol ..

there is a theory ... that extra sun.. and/or extra stress can increase root growth ... and bingo.. next season.. they go nuts ...

ken

I've also read about the theory of root growth in extreme situations. Mother Nature is not wasting time and energy on already damaged plants, preparing for next season instead.

Fingers crossed that it will be like this, a few rare and expensive ones had been ugly this summer...I would hate to loose them :-(

Hi Karin..I just saw your comment above and the additional pictures..you mentioned Facebook..what a surprise!..today after commenting on your Houzz post I saw your Facebook post on my Facebook timeline!..technology picks up on everything we do..this should be good for a laugh..my only succulent..a pitiful aloe..it has many flaws..the 2 short stems on the bottom right were leaning..I tried to straighten them and they fell over..I put them back in the soil but I don't expect this piece to live..I think your thumb is greener than mine..you grow everything!..I don't water it much and it's in the best light that I have but I doubt if it's enough..I might not have what it takes for succulents..

just seen your pics on FB. Was missing it for entire summer, glad you posted, enjoying it!

Hi Ann,

Aloe need sun and I'm really afraid your woodland garden is too dark for them. Can you find the sunniest window for it? I overwinter them with between 15-20°C and give only a spoonful of water every 4-6 weeks. And in summer they are in full sun because they only get their nicest colours when they are stressed...

Yours is Aloe vera, you can use the sap for burns or stitches. Mine was bearly brown in summer but is ok again....

lindalana,

thank you for your comment. I was also missing the forum with all the nice enablers :-) But as I do not have much time left for posting I only visited the groups that were ok to post.

Hi Ann,

luckily my good old head gardener is still with me, checking every new plant...he had a lot to do this summer :-)

I have only two Elephant Ears left, overwintering them did not work out in every case and the rest suffered from the heat and too much water brought spidermites :-( So I decided to keep only two because I do not want mites on the rest of my plants. No good pics because I had to hide them in the shadiest parts of the garden.

The red canna were new this year and I really like the foliage, it brings colour to the hosta collection. And they love sun...

Their beauty lasted long, I finally cut them down end of October

You have so much room for EEars :-) I kept one Alocasia and one Xanthosoma. The Alocasia is getting bigger with every new leaf and I will keep it for sure.

I will try to sell a few hosta in spring to be able to buy some new ones. I already sold 50 this year to make room for the ones I had ordered during winter :-) But at the moment I can resist to order more, I only want a few new Valley's and maybe I will swap a few with Dave.

Cacti and succulents are so much smaller and very inexpensive and as you say, they don't need too much water. It was really exhausting to water all the hosta pots this summer. We had temperatures over 40°C and no rain for 3 months. The river nearly dried out and I can not remember that this has ever happened in my life. It's frightening...

Now it is still too warm for winter and raining very often, but that might refill the ground water. I was so happy that our well still had water, otherwise my plants would have died because it was not allowed to take too much water from the pipes.

The fall colours had been gorgeous this year as if nature wanted to excuse for the terrible summer and I was driving around with the bike a lot.

My Gingko tree grew nicely, I love the golden leafs...

and my red maple was gorgeous

Houzz is making problems again, the pictures are uploaded before I even hit the submit button...

I do have room for EEs..and they were free!..as I was leaving to go pick some up I said to my husband "it's not as if I ordered these"..he didn't say anything more lol..and some of the new ones are alocasias..so you sold some hosta?..I wish you lived nearby!..it feels great to refine and edit your garden doesn't it?..I removed some shrubs and it felt great..the ones growing beside the ones I removed look better..I'm curious..as you part with hosta what did you decide that you can live without and what do you prefer?..my favorites are solids of all colors but blues are my favorite..I love uprights..vase shape..cascading..maybe these terms refer to the same thing?..I love wavy, ruffled edges but plain edges are fine too..minis and giants are fun..what are your favorites?..

if you didn't see it I created a post in the hosta forum called "fall or winter?"..you can see my sad fall..your gingko and maple are spectacular..we're also too dry in the summer but not as dry as you..and also unseasonably warm this winter..
I hate the malfunctions of Houzz..I keep experimenting and failing..I can't place the text as I like..others can..different devices?..different tech skills?..we have several devices but my pics are on my android so I work with it..

Karin, your garden with all it’s beauty and variety is stunning and tour worthy. How do you manage all of your hostas in pots? You must be in a warm climate? I know they need a dormant period. However do you do it?

Ann,

I sold a few beginner's hosta and some that are similar to others. It was not too hard, I had them for more than four years and love changes. Sold a lot of divisions too or got other plants for them. I will be busy in spring because some people from the cacti forum want to swap cacti and succulents for hosta :-)

Favourites? Too many to tell :-)

djacob,

I'm in the middle of Germany, 400 m above sea level and we also have winter. It is not so long but can be frosty, -20°C for a few days can happen. I simply leave the pots where they are in summer, just put them a little closer together. Here's a picture from last week, too warm and wet for a normal winter...

Karin..both of us are plant lovers haha..but it's sensible to keep only the very best..as time goes on you realize which plants are favorites..happy trading buying and selling this summer!..I wish my climate was as mild as yours..

is that a Holly fern on the bottom right?..my neighbor's died so I've never tried one..I've seen just a few for sale here..

I bought the fern as Cyrtomium fortunei Clivicola, a fantastic plant, wintergreen and what might be a problem in your garden, it likes a bit of sun. I dug it out from a very shady corner and it looks so much better in the new place where it gets sun until noon.

I love ferns, they go together nicely with hosta. Most are without name but that's no problem for me.

your ferns look great!..you do have a holly fern!..I didn't know the botanical name..I love ferns too..I don't have pics of all of them..pic1..ostrich..matteuccia struthiopteris..pic2..Autumn fern and sensitive fern..pic3..more Autumn ferns..I have several other types too..for pic1 I included the botanical name..the rest..I'm too tired lol..

a pic of Japanese Painted ferns..Autumn ferns and some labeled "hardy fern" lol..no pics of my Tassle, Male or Christmas fern..I'll get some in 2020!

Thanks Karin, I didn’t realize hostas could be kept out over winter without tipping them so water doesn’t accumulate, or without storing in a shed or covering over with fir branches and such. -20 C is 4 degrees below 0 F. That is pretty darn cold. Today it’s in the mid 20’s F and that’s already tooooo cold for me. Of course I don’t like cold weather, but lived all my life! Go figure! :-D