Wow there are so many. But for a hostaholic I'd choose Paisley Print as the first I'd guess then Foiled Plot.

Scott

Probably Lakeside Shoremaster,of which mine is distinctive every year. I also like Love Affaire. Phil

LS Prophecy is very distinctive, but my favorite is LS Symphony.

Here's LS Symphony.

Steve

I have Lakeside Prophecy and Cha Cha and like them a lot, have ordered LS Shore Master.
Bernd

I recognize Lakeside Cha Cha by picture or in other gardens.

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

bkay

A couple others no one has mentioned...a fully-mature clump of Lakeside Ripples is breath-taking...a huge upright plant with wavy-edge leaves (the pics on HL don't do it justice)

...and Lakeside Breaking News with its piecrust edge is quite distinctive... Maybe someone can post pics of theirs...

I'm a novice hosta grower. I'll never be a really good grower, as Texas is not their preferred environment. Learning about Lakeside hosta has been interesting. What I see in the Lakeside hosta is bling! There don't seem to be a bunch of run of the mill hosta. They are flashy, rippled, bright, corrugated, contrasting...and, certainly not bland.

I have one Lakeside, that Denny sent me as a bonus last fall. It's lakeside zinger. I'm looking forward to it. Since many of Mary's hosta did well in the Tennessee heat, maybe they would do well in Texas. I now want Lakeside Coal Miner, Cindy Cee and Shoremaster.

bkay

There are several that I really like. Metermaid is one of my favs along with looking glass, lagoon, and maestro.

The one Lakeside I have now is LS Kaleidoscope, and it is a pretty plant growing nicely in our mid 80 March weather.

I also have on order Lakeside Pebbles and Lakeside FullTide.
They looked great in the pictures.

I'll wait to see how the other hot hosta gardeners fare before I go further into this addiction, but I have a yen for LS Prophecy and LS Black Satin. I like dark green oily looking leaves, lot of substance, what I like to call a "jet green" looking leaf. From what I've read, the Lakesides have a lot of really dark dark greens.

Ah, but read further..moccasin. I tried two or three of those Lakeside really dark green ones, and even added Epsom salts as was suggested here. Although they were a nice green, they never got as dark as the ones pictured on Mary Chastain's website. My favorite is Lakeside is Dragonfly. I bought a Paisley Print last year, but it arrived in bad shape so I didn't get to see much. If it comes back this year it should be nice.

-Babka

Babka, epsom salts is it, eh? Well, after I soak my feet I'll remember to give the dark greens a bath with the water.

It is becoming apparent to me that hosta can be such prima donnas--regardless of living on the driveway!! :)

Do you think the darkness of the green improves with age? Or is it according to the amount of light/shade or soil nutrients?

JustMelissa said that the heat helps the dark ones look darker. So Moccasin, you and I should be in great shape for that.

bkay

Many years ago people here on the forum were speculating that Mary Chastain's soil was high in magnesium, hence adding a tablespoon of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) might help the color of the hostas look as good as they did in her garden. It didn't work for me in pots, but it might in the ground??

-Babka

Could it be the filter on the camera or the lighting? She was clearly a master photographer. Just look at the photos in the HL. Does anyone know if they looked that dark in person?

bkay

Someone once said to me that there may have been something in Mary's soil that caused the very dark greens to appear that way. Other folks haven't been able to reproduce that color with those plants.

Steve

Do you know anyone who actually saw it?

bkay

Yes, bkay, many people have speculated that it was the spectacular photography of the Lakesides that sold them. Most of them were only available thru her website. It wasn't until later that some went out for tc-ing and then became more available. Other hostas look similar, but hers always looked, well, spectacular. Just the same way that every hosta that McTavish photos is simply spectacular...and I want them all!!!

-Babka

I visited Mary's nursery twice in years past, and in person they were even more spectacular. She is a genius when it came to hybridizing. Andd coal miner and the dark ones were very, very dark in her garden beds. I bought over 50 directly from her and will continue to try to collect them.

flowerchild- Are they as dark in your gardens? Like Lakeside Black Satin? How about Sapphire Pleats? Is it that unbelievable color? Were they anywhere as good as they were in her garden? Oh how I WISH.

-Babka

Babka,

Why don't you try one, like LS Black Satin. Then you'll know for sure. Get it from Rob so that you know you are getting an OS plant.

Steve

Steve-

I DID have 6 or 7 Lakesides that I bought directly from Mary. Of those, the only one left is L. Dragonfly.

-Babka

Well,it's not just the photography. Here is my Lakeside Shoremaster from last year,and this is the way it looks. Phil

{{gwi:945820}}

Wow, that's gorgeous.

bkay

There are very many distinctive Lakesides. Don mentioned one of my favorites. Lakeside Breaking News. I think Lakeside Beach Bum, Cricket, Storm Watch and many others are very unique. Don't believe the epsom salt rumors. The key to the dark green is location. Heat does help the color. No direct sun. Plants like Lakeside Black Satin is a slow grower. I suggest you grow divisions in a lot of sun for a couple of years to get some good root growth and crown mass on them. Then move them to a nice shady spot. If you like the dark green try Lakeside Storm Watch, Black Mama or Ebony Echoes. They are better growers and stay dark for me in the right spot here in Michigan. Rob

When I placed my order last fall, I intended to buy Shoremaster. Probably enabled by Phil's picture. However, when I saw pictures of Lakeside Beach Captain at the Hallson's site, I went for the sport. I can't wait to see Beach Captain next month.

I found that the dark ones were not as dark in my gardens as they were at hers, but they still were very pretty plants. They are in pretty deep shade in their location here. Sapphire pleats was a very slow grower, but after 10 years in the ground, is pretty darn nice. Not as blue as in the pics in the library though. If I can figure out how to post pics here, I will.