Two weeks later the first pips could be counted :-)

You may find some cacti and succulents in the pictures...

The weather changed a lot last summer, not only from day to day, but from hour to hour...we had very strong wind nearly every day and dark clouds were often to be seen...

I love hosta in May...

Hi Karin..I took this pic last week..I have Clausa pips..Pieter said they're the first to come up for him too..they must be an early variety..

they're purple and are covered in mud..easier to see in person..this is all that's happening for me..

just a few days ago pics didn't post for anyone..it's still happening 🙁..

Dan Wols hosta, Skywriter, Effervescence and Peppermint Twist.I was able to purchase three more of his gorgeous plants last week :-) Can't wait to watch them grow this summer.

Part of the Valley's corner...

your Dan Wols are as beautiful as your Valley's..💕

Ann, there's not much to see in my garden yet, so I'm going through last years pictures and hope that the stairs will soon be covered in green again...

This is what it looks like at the moment...

But at least the plum tree is flowering again :-) So there is hope for more soon.

Back to 2021

Mid of May, starting to really fill up the small garden.

I needed shadow nets over the whole place. The sun was not nice, without the nets there would have been much damage, even with the cacti.

at the moment I have bloodroot, daffodils, forsythia and some wildflowers..pale blue one is chionodoxa (glory of the snow)..

I was having trouble typing..I didn't realize I was on Houzz..thankfully my pics posted..used my shortcut to get on Gardenweb..back to say I don't need netting for shade 😂..I can't offer succulents what they need..

it's on my to do list to relocate some hosta that need more light..I can move them from deep shade to lighter shade 😂..

it is phenomenal how many plants you fit into your garden!..you're an excellent space planner..

Karin it is great to see and hear from you! As always really inspiring. I hope you have a better weather year this season. We never know what to expect now do we. Terribly hot and dry here the last two years.

Karin, your garden is beautiful and well-loved. You have such an amazing variety. Thank you for sharing!

peren, the weather is nothing that can be relied on anymore. Our winter was too warm, too wet and too grey. The days with sun could be counted. And then in March it finally was sunny, but very cold nights and the hosta pots were frozen. But it did not rain the whole month. Last week we had Snow...so it will be interesting to see which plants survived. The TC hosta are not longer plants that can be left on the driveway and still thrive :-)

There were big problems with rotten crowns and roots during the last two years, not only in my garden, but all over Germany. There is an ongoing discussion what caused this, fungi or a new virus? I lost at least 30 plants to that new disease, others lost even more. I can only state that OS plants do not have those problems so I think it has to do with mass production.

Here are a few pictures from my Valley's collection...

So nice to see you and your plants back with us. Your garden wins the beauty by square inch prize in my book. Also, thanks for warning us about the cacti before I pricked my eyes on them.

a screenshot of what popped up on my Facebook today..2 yrs later on 4/4/22 my hosta are dormant other than 'Clausa'..a good thing since we've had cold temperatures..

I haven't kept a journal and don't know when my hosta usually appear..was 2020 early or is 2022 late?..I tend to think that 2020 was early..

Nice to hear from you Karin. I've been missing your lovely hostas.

Saija

Good to see you back. I hope this will be a good year for your hosta.

NW, my garden in 2020 started 3 weeks earlier than it did this year, for which I was very grateful. I needed lots of garden time in 2020 and 2021 to get through the pandemic.

Karin, please keep posting. Your Valley's and Frisian collections are to-die for.

Thank you all for your kind words. My garden is still my island and it's like holidays to be out there. I had Covid in December (even with two vaccinations) and that cost me a lot of energy. I can't wait till it is warm enough to stay outside for more than half an hour.

Ann, there is not much to see in my pots either, but I don't think 2020 has been different here. I always check pictures and look back on two or three years. Last year we had snow in the middle of April and frost beginning of May. Many hosta had problems with this. They didn't die, but looked ugly all year long.

I completed my Frisian collection last year but have not made many pictures because the plants were small and in June and July we had too much rain, I hope this will change enough.

Also added some new to the Valley's OS as every hear and I really hope they will not be harmed by the warm winter.

And I started a new collection with Chris' hosta. I know the hybridizer for years from a fb hosta group and she had send me some of her (then unnamed) seedlings during this time. Now she is on the way to become very well known for here hosta and they are sold all over Europe. I think Naylor has a few because they work together with Fransen from the Netherlands.

This is Chris' Satellite and the nice blue green one is from Dave.

The Frisian corner was so crowded in June that I did not take single pictures :-)

undertheoaksgardener..that's interesting that your hosta also came up early in 2020!..I had a feeling mine were early..

Karin..I've never had Covid..my sister and brother-in-law both had Covid in March..they were vaccinated..their cases were mild..I hope your energy returns soon..

Clausa has lots of pips now..I didn't look everywhere but I checked Pineapple Upside Down Cake and didn't see pips..

Chris does have unique hosta..lots of rugosity..is that the correct term?..

looking forward to pics of your new ones..

your Frisian corner is full!..

my lot is getting full too..Lol

that's what plant lovers do isn't it? 😂..

pics taken April 6..Clausa has leaves..these are Clausa that came up in my path that I didn't plant..in fact I remoed them last year!!..

Plantaginea has pips..also some exposed roots..I'll replant lower in a few weeks..my ground is wet so I didn't walk around but I bet I have more pips..

Ann, I will have a look in my garden this weekend. I think I saw a few pips in the pots :-)

Karin..look what I missed..Lancifolia..it's hard to keep track of all of my space 😂..

the bad news..cold tonight..maybe snow flurries tomorrow 🙁..

my kitchen window view today..

34°f (1.111°c)..too cold for new hosta and daffodils 🙁..

We had sun, snow, hail and rainstorms today. Weather is changing within minutes. Thunder and lightning...I hope it will be better tomorrow...

So the only pictures I was able to take was of my new cacti delivery I got today :-)

Some cacti are already flowering :-)

from what I hear the weather is crazy everywhere!..

keep your new plants inside Lol..

I didn't open the shed..I knew the pots needed to stay in so I decided to keep it closed and conserve any heat inside..a Facebook memory popped up..

2021..I took my pots out of the shed April 5..the pale pips were turning green and leafing out by April 8..

Ice is almost gone on my lake in minnesota. we are about a week ahead this year. ice out is always a good forecaster of temps year to year. you can see little golfers on the course across the lake if you look hard.

forcing some hosta for early blooming. its the easiest way to get late ones to bloom with mid bloomers. aside from bloodline i am forcing skywriter and mango lettuce. its always tricky. if you get it wrong you can sabotage your chances for the year. i usually keep some of those variety outside as well to hedge my bets. i start out with them under lights to keep them from getting too leggy. then to a window.

some might observe weaker petiole color indoors. they seem to need strong light or direct sunlight to ripen the anthocyanin in the leaf as well as the petiole.

Ducks and geese are heading north. another sign of spring.

Karin, I am also so happy to see a post from you! I have missed your lovely garden…..like most here, it’s still cold. We also have had a terrible drought in SE Wisconsin for the past two years. Snowfalls very, very limited and rains have been behind as well. My records from last year showed a half unfurled Liberty in early April. Not even a pip yet this year…..please take time to recover from the virus……some people have had long term effects so just take it slow. 🙏🏼

debra

hosta_maker, I no not much about Minnesota, but if asked I would say that hosta take even longer to unfurl than here in my garden. So I can understand that you are keeping some inside to unfurl :-) I saw geese also and some grey and silver herons, which I really like because they are rare. But with climate warming we have more birds and insects from other regions now.

A glimpse at the weather yesterday, it has been a mix of sun and dark clouds all day long and the forecast for the night was still cold. But from today on the temperatures shall be above zero. So I hope that the hosta will come out finally.

I worked outside for an hour, but the wind was so cold that I gave up :-(

But I found pips in some pots and so the new season is officially started. Tywyn from Dave is already showing leaves to unfurl, I hope it will not be harmed by the cold nights. I gave up to run out with blankets or bubble foil...

My tiny Echinocereus davisii spent all winter outside and they are getting flower buds now.

Thank you Debra,

this virus took a lot of energy away and I really hope that spring and being outside will load up the batteries again.

Karin

freezing Saturday to beautiful on Sunday..my pots are out of the shed!..the nights are warm enough to leave them out..

I checked the dates on the old photos below..pots are out 5 days later in 2022..in 2022 the pots came out April 10..I might have lost one..

the dead leaves were attached..they wouldn't pull off..I cut them..no pips..soil was dry..I watered it..didn't check the roots yet..hoping for a miracle..I think it's a Yellow Polka Dot Bikini..

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is up..

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini is a late riser. You’re probably OK. Keep it watered, but we’ll drained.

undertheoaksgardener..that's good to know!..it's in a very small pot..I intended to plant it but didn't..I'll be sure to keep it watered..

I hope the weather stays above freezing..but odds are I'll be putting these pots in my garage at some point 😂..

the good news..I only have 8..a much easier job than moving your pots!..or Karin's..

My pots were out of the shed a couple weeks ago and then back in and now back out again. Looks like I'm a day ahead of you. Hoping I can keep them out. I always lose a few from the plant hosPOTal - the ones that were struggling before the winter.

steve..I didn't feel safe taking them out until yesterday..just like you I'm hoping the temperatures stay decent..spring temperatures are unstable..🙁

I felt bad about that small pot..the big ones weren't dry at all..I never watered any of them (I never do)..but the small one could've used water..

Karin..our forecast tonight says severe weather..possibly hail..I moved the pots into the garage..the hosta look much better after 3 days outside..

everything is waking up!..more pics someday when all of the hosta are back..👍

fyi..the big one is Diamond Lake..

I hope that there will be no hail! It is nice to see the green on your trees. The weather was not too bad this week and the hosta are making progress. My OP seedling from Francee looks promising, the nice purple from the mother and the yellow from ???

I named it after my grandson Jakob's Sunny Day, here's a picture from last year

I brought out a few of the cacti, the bubble foil helps to protect them at night.

Sometimes I use the shelves for hosta too.

Karin..up until now the rain sounds normal..nothing wild..

the purple and yellow pips are pretty..I love the name Jakob's Sunny Day..it's special 💕..that's a beautiful hosta..I'd buy it if I saw it..

so both of us have been moving plants..my job was faster but some people would think we're both a little crazy 😂..

update..no hail 🙂..

Good job francee doesnt set many pods

i brought this one in early to get a jump on growing.

….well it was supposed to be the elusive streaked blusher. as you can see it settled white center and went sideways. ths sun will probably obliterate it. back to the drawing board.

After a week with sunshine but still cold nights life is coming back into the garden :-)

And the first parcel of the season arrived...

3 new hosta from Dan Wols, Valyrian Steel, Big Red and the beautiful yellow Karma Chameleon. Pondering Parsipanny, Autumn Frost and Ben Vernooij complete the group picture.

My grumpy cat enjoys the sun as much as I do.

Inside the living stones are giving birth to new plant babies...

it's chilly but my garden looks as if winter is over!..

Lancifolia..

brunnera..I clip and clean after it warms up..

Clausa..it's relentless 😂..