Do you have that Dancing Queen planted in a wire trash basket? I recognize it because I use those upside-down over young plants all the time to keep the squirrels from bothering them. But it looks like you have it sunk down in the ground with DQ planted in it? Is that for voles?

I do plant the hostas in the ground in a wire trash basket from Dollar Tree, something I learned here and online. I have lots of voles in the backyard garden, and they have quite an appetite for hostas. I have not had any further loss to voles with the wire baskets. Mesh holes are about 5mm. I keep the basket rim about 1 inch above ground. The white baskets are more visible than the black ones, which is bad for photos but good for tired/clumsy gardeners

Beautiful day.

Dancing Queen

Here are some more. Storms tomorrow.

Azalea on the garden path.

Bluetooth and friends awaiting their placement in the garden

Cathedral Windows

Twilight

And these.

Great Expectations

Tattoo

Monkey Business

That Dancing Queen really likes the spot light.

Here is Pea Pod, bought from Bob Solberg last year. He did not recommend it because "it has too much Tokudama in it." I really like it for the lily pad effect.

The elusive Jack in the Pulpit.

And Canadian ginger in flower

And roses and irises.

Chinese Flying Dragon is filling in nicely, part of the hostility hedge I grew from seed.

More thorns.

Hostas Restless Sea, Roy Khlem, Sugar Plum, and Raspberry Sundae. Severe thunderstorms and hail in our forecast this evening, alas.

I like Pea Pod too!..I like solids..and I like round leaves..and Pea Pod is both!..so will you move your pots into a covered area?..I moved the few pots that I have into the garage a few days ago to get them out of the cold..we have several days of frost coming..

I will move the pots to as much shelter as I can find. Last year, a sudden hailstorm sliced my garden into ribbons. Raspberry Sundae went from the most gorgeous plant to an eye sore for the rest of the year.

Nicholsworth, here is Pea Pod last July, behind Monkey Business.

utog..portability is a great advantage of pots!..but it is work to move them..and it happens more than just once too right? Lol..Pea Pod is cute!..and it's a lighter green than "grass green" so it adds variety..

Undertheoaks, I've only grown in pots, so take this advice if it works for you. We have some horrible hail storms most years (none so far this year, "knock wood"). I used to cover my plants with sheets for hail storms. You have to get them off the plants immediately, as they get heavy when they are wet. I have also used row cover and turned pots over top of another pot and put a rock on it. I suppose this method will work best with hosta in pots.

We had a huge hail storm the year that the arboretum had a Chilhuly exhibit. It didn't destroy too much of the glass, though. It did a number on my hosta, though.

bkay

Thank you, everyone. I have moved all of the potted hosta to areas with over-head shelter. There are hostas under benches, under the deck stairs, under the eaves of the house, under the patio table, under boxwoods, etc. Those that could not be moved and are still somewhat small have been covered with pots. I do not have enough rocks to secure the pots, so this may be interesting. Harder to find plants (more expensive) got priority as the pots became scarce. I took some more photos of the plants far to large to cover, like Montana aureomarginata, Spartacus, Climax, Diana Remembered, Royal Wedding, and so many more. Then, I went inside and had a cold beer.

I will try the sheets for the big ones after I have finished the beer.

Everything was fine. Storm ended up being strong winds, lots of heavy rain, and debris. No hail or tornadoes in my county. The plants survived, mostly unscathed. Tonight, I removed all the covering pots and sheets, and relocated all of the Hostas that were hiding under benches, tables, deck steps, bushes, and eaves. Only one Hosta may have been damaged in the shuffle, and I think it may have been lost under the deck stairs since the last shuffle. Old Glory will rise again.

Undertheoaksgardener, you have a beautiful garden! Impressive! Glad the storm wasn't as severe as was predicted. Your azalea is a show stopper!

Last 2 pictures for today, again from 3 days ago when I thought I was saying goodbye to these early risers for the season.

The dead tree garden where nothing would grow until 3-4 years ago. It is in the flash flood delta of the dry creek bed. I figured Giants would suck up the water best. Brother Stefan peeks in from the left, then the rapidly unfurling Eart Angel, then Cloudburst, then M. Aureomarginata with Dancing Queen in foreground. Tree is dawn redwood, gold leaf.

And the first Hosta I bought, the illustrious Queen Josephine, in full satiny perfection. It does well all season in the part-sun spot. I divided it into 5, gave away 2, and planted 3 in separate baskets right next to each other for a bigger clump.

Under the oaks--I would love to see a picture of your dry stream w/hosta and other plants. I am trying to do this in my woods. Your hosta are beautiful.

We have had cooler weather this week--Dogwood winter is what we call it when the dogwoods bloom and it is cold. We have Blackberry winter when the b berries bloom and that should be the end of our cool spells. The lowest it got was 35. Then we had tornadoes and bad winds/thunder storms Sunday night/Monday morning. Luckily we just had bad storms and wind and lost of sticks came down. Spearing some of my hosta. Others near us got much worse so I was happy with what weather we got. My heart breaks for those with trees on their houses and beautiful flowering trees snapped off 2 ft above the ground.

Agreed regarding gratitude for the weather, however imperfect it can seem whe one longs for endless days in the garden. Some homes took a lot of damage this weekend from trees falling. We had quite a bad year with trees falling 2016...

Frankielynnsie, here is the garden in the dry creek bed 3/28/2020. The creek will get about 4-6 inches deep at the break in the liriope in front of the dog, and flow quite swiftly. It creates a delta when it bifurcates around the oak tree in the center of the path behind the dog, in part due to tributaries as well as a buried French drain I found opening just in front of the stumps along the fence-property line. Several swales direct the creek around my home, as evidenced by the creek taking four 90 degree turns as it zigzags from my neighbor's front yard to my backyard. Everything I would plant would die from blight or voles. I studied the water flow. I shored up my patio with a rip rap I made from large granite rocks, 10-20 lb each. I dropped the largest granite stones in the middle of the creek just before it turns toward my garden, which helped to create a slower, wider flow. I put down landscape cloth in the high flow areas and covered the cloths with tons of pea gravel. The pea gravel washed away in the next flash flood. My downhill neighbor was kind enough to allow me to collect my lost gravel from his backyard. I tried larger gravel, finally settling on pond pebble in the center of the path and river rock on the sides. I required urgent repair of a hernia after hauling so much gravel and rock in 2012. I planted lots of ferns and Hostas. I told myself that I was terraforming my wreck of a garden spillway. Many plants died. It was a steep learning curve. I am pleased with the result. I only have to replace gravel at a rate of 3 bags per year now. My uphill neighbor saw how I suffered, and so he corrected the water flow in his yard. My downhill neighbor discovered his backyard again and has learned to work around, beyond his creek, which often flows ever-so-slightly much of the year.

Wow, what a big project. Congrats on getting your neighbors engaged.

Ditto, do you have any more plans for it, or just maintenance from now on?

Maintenance for now. Flowing water is not a force to be resisted.

Today.

Ben Vernooji, one on each side of the front porch. Orange-yellow margins. :)

The project I started 2 years ago. That tiny Tuff Stuff hydrangea on the front left will bloom soon. The Hostas have red or purple petioles. I sit on the front steps downhill to the left with a beverage of choice and watch the garden grow. The blue Hostas are Parisian Silk (love!), Blueberry Muffin, and Infatuation. The others are Home Depot NOID, Rasperry Sorbet (at downhill foot on left of the left hydrangea), Fantasy Island, Tom Terrific (just started to unfurl), and Tea at Beattys.

Afterglow in a big pot in part sun.

Climax in part-sun in the ground.

Liberty

My front walkway minis.

Picasso, Cameo, and Miniskirt

Crumbcake and Lakeside Paisley Print (not mini, died back from sclerotia 2 years ago, full recovery)

Many minis. I am surrounded. Pilgrim, School Mouse, Teaspoon, Munchkin Fire, Mousetrap, and Limey Lisa.

And I just like these.

Waterslide in front of Tangerine Tango and Coconut Custard, with Frosty Morn on right.

utog..it's early but your pics look like summer..

Thanks, NW. I am grateful for my garden every day. I was so tired after work today. When I saw those orange Ben Vernooji's at my front porch, the stress of the day evaporated. I again became the kid in a candy shop, running around with my iPad to photograph and share my garden. We are blessed with a long growing season here in NC. We never get the big, blue Hostas. And they never get tall. And Francis Williams Hosta looks like used toilet paper here. But, I do love our early spring and late fall. I usually have Hostas for 8-9 months of the year, March through November if early spring and late fall.

utog..I love your story..looking at your plants today gave you happiness..we gardeners love all plants..I like sharing pics too..I try to grow the foolproof ones..when I have a favorite I buy multiples!!..

Rainy morning pictures today.

Blueberry Muffin

Parisian Silk

Hadspen Blue, Chorus Girl, and messy to-do project.

Roy Khlem

And First Frost

utog what a great collection you have, thank you for the cheer you are bringing us! Yay I finally have pips on Teaspoon but nothing else is up yet. I had to cover Teaspoon since we still have night temps some as low as -7 C that would be 19 F. Brrrr.

Peren, thank you. Keep that Teaspoon covered up. 19 F is dead-of-winter cold for NC. It is incredible that it is so cold for you. Yikes! Our planet is so big and amazing. With the internet, it is easy to forget how far apart we are geographically.

Gardening is my happy place. Happy Saturday April 18, 2020..

I did it. I captured Bletilla striata Gotemba Stripes in bloom, in focus, with the iPad, at dusk today

Spartacus may be perfect

Spartacus is bigger than I thought he would be.

Sagae could be a giant after all. This is year 4 or 5, and finally looks big.

Earth Angel just unfurled this week. It will double or even triple in size. First world problem.

Montana aureomarginata, my "If you could only have one Hosta Hosta"

Moonlight Sonata is simply perfect.

More April 18, 2020 in NC. Remember, those of your in northern climes, that I expect awesome pictures from you in July.

Happy Dayz may be Orange Marmalade, but that is a first world problem.

Fails 10 ft rule (see below), but who cares? Diana Remembered, directly across from...

Royal Wedding. Totally the same plant as Diana Remembered, but I liked one enough to buy both. FYI, this is a different plant as DR in my garden. I am not convinced that it is inherently different than DR.

Baptisia Blonde Bombshell is not a hosta.

Neither is Baptisia Carolina Moonlight, but it is OK for a plant not to be a Hosta. I had to rescue this one from the voles in Autumn.

To end today, this is Polygonatum variegatum Angel Wing next to Carex Evergold. Neither of these are Hostas, either.

Remember, you hostapahiles up north, to post gorgeous pictures of Powder Blue, Francis Williams, War Paint, and Sapphire Pillows in July.Y

Today.

Touch of Class

Ferns, Ghost and Lady in Red

Solomon's seal, variegated

Orange azalea

Hans. I have hopes for this one, those it is slow and in its 4th year. I have seen a mature specime, and it is stunning.

Bletilla striata Gotemba Stripes

Undertheoaksgardener, your garden seems to get even better, day by day! Beautiful.

Welcome. Left side with Vulcan, Sweetness, and Diana Remembered, and right side with Royal Wedding, Happy Dayz, and Moonlight Sonata.

lots of fragrant blooming Hostas near the stumps, and Tricyrtis around the stumps. Very pleasant place to sit in the summer, especially in early evening when temp is only 90 degrees F. Will one day replace stumps with small bench.

another Happy Dayz, Climax, Royal Standard, Fragrant Bouquet, Last Dance, Blue Perfection, Coast to Coast, Deja Blu, August Moon, and Brother Stefan.

and to the right, so many. Spartacus, Sugar Plum, Guacamole, Secret Love, Stained Glass, Last Dance, with background of Brother Stefan, Eart Angel, Cloudburst, Dancing Queen, and Montana aureomaromarginata. Many more in the far background.

At the natural entrance into the garden, where the water has broken through the liriope border when the creek flows during heavy rain or flash floods. Hostas Raspberry Sundae, Raindow's End, Avocado, and June Fever.

Hosta NOID, Krugerrand, and Icy Halo. These just unfurled.

Front steps. Halcyon, Monkey Business, Manhattan, Tokudama aureonebulosa, Tattoo, Fire Island, Teaspoon, Mousetrap, School Mouse, Pilgrim, Munchkin Fire, Limey Lisa, Hans, Praying Hands, Lakeside Paisley Print, pair of Ben Vernooji on the step, and pot of Picasso, Cameo, and Miniskirt.

The view from those steps.

Among the variegated daphne, ferns and tiny hydrangea, Hostas Parisian Silk, sick Island Breeze, NOID, Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Sorbet, Infatuation, Island Breeze, Tom Terrific, and Tea at Bettys.

I know I should not get attached to this plant, but here is Great Expectations on its third year, next to Camelot, Thunderbolt, Coconut Custard, and Cup of Joy. Cloudy days make the blue more intense. GE is growing well, better than Thunderbolt and Dream Queen by far. It is planted at the foot of a red maple, but don't tell Ken.

Vulcan, stable with never a reversion. BTW, this is best and easiest white-centered Hosta in my home garden trials in my 7b home garden.

Romulan, which is what I call my unstable Vulcan that throws a couple Captain Kirk reversions every year. I just separated the CK from it 2 weeks ago.

Percy Wiseman rhododendron that I planted 2 years ago. First bloom since planting.

As a follow-up to a description of my main garden in the dry creek bed, this is what happens when we get heavy rain or flash floods. Photos from 5/2018.

I had just planted more liriope on the borde, and had the white wire fence to protect the fresh plantings from the dog.

And the water as it enters the backyard on the uphill side. Note how the gate is dragged by the flow.

Utog, you have a huge garden and I really have enjoyed seeing all you beautiful hostas. My favorite one is tattoo. Never seen that before.👍🏽

Djacobz, here is Tattoo today. I bought from Tony Avent's Plant Delights Nursery on an open house day in early spring 2018. Tattoo has a bad reputation, which it probably deserves. I have read of it being hard to grow, especially for good gardeners. After reading of the experiences of others, I noticed a common thread. The better and more attentive the gardener, the worse the outcome. My plant got sick with sclerotia just over 1 week after purchase. I doused it with antifungals and watched the plant 90% die. I decided that I had to do the opposite of what I should do normally. So, instead of putting it in great soil, I dug up the native soil in my yard, a sickly red clay. I mixed clay and dead oak leaves and potted Tattoo in that. And then I try to ignore it, except for pictures. So far, it is not dead and has added one eye.

This will probably be the last post for April 2020. I look forward to reliving spring in your northern gardens over the next 6 weeks. Thanks for looking at my garden.

Japanese painted fern, liriope and wild violets at the base of the oak tree in the center of my backyard garden.

I love this nook in the garden. Last Dance, Fragrant Bouquet, Deja Blu, Royal Standard, Blue Perfection, and Coast to Coast.

Mystic Star and pulmonaria Trevi Fountain.

Passion flower Caerulea

Sagae and Invincible with autumn ferns

And Delta Dawn with orange azalea.

Happy spring, everyone.

Hosta Spilt Milk

Mango Salsa is not subtle. I love it. Thank you, Bob Solberg!

Infatuation is a delicately beautiful plant. I lost a 2nd year plant last year to sclerotia right after the unfurl was done and 3 lovely eyes were open. This is the replacement purchased last year. The petioles are 100% purple. Blueberry Muffin behind to the right.

Hellebores did well this year and are still blooming.

Helleborus Cherry Blossom has been quietly producing these sweet flowers for nearly 3 months already.

Helleborus Pink Frost. Nice foliage.

What part of NC is your garden? I’m near Greensboro.

Kathy, Wake County. Guilford is cooler, I think. Always gets more snow.

Today.

Krossa Regal, first year, arrived a couple weeks ago. Looks like a pretty one

Undulata Albomarginata, several years old.

Center of Attention, 2nd year

utog..what a pretty Krossa Regal!..I want every Krossa Regal that I see Lol..I think it looks nice with the other solids in the photo..