Wow Phil that is gorgeous.

Only a few piles of snow left here and there.

Here is another of the garden,looking from the far end in an area not yet developed. Phil

I always want to take a walk in your garden when I see your photos.

What is the red tree? I first thought was Japanese Maple, then I quit thinking.

Lovely.

bk

Looks wonderful Phil. Maybe by mid-May we'll be somewhere close. Keep posting.

Thanks
Paul

I can even SMELL Spring when I see your splendid hosta path. Thanks!

-Babka

Thanks.all! Yeah Bkay,that is a Bloodgood Japanese maple,planted just last year. I had moved one from another place on my property the year before last,and it looked OK all year,but last year,it just never came back,so I replaced it last year,and those are the new leaves,so I guess it took this time. I have two more in this area. One is a green trunked,green leaved tree,and the other I moved from another place in the garden last year,and it came back nicely. The other one has leaves that are almost purple they are so dark. I planted them in a triangle. There are very few hostas in this area,but I keep looking for more,as this is an area with a lot more sun. Phil

Beautiful! If I took a picture today, all you would see is rain and maybe a few snow flakes before it's over. Most of my hostas are still hard little noses, being stubborn about coming up the rest of the way. Can't say I blame them.

Sandy

Lovely Phil. Is the upright hosta in the upper center of the first picture Sagae?

Gesila

Lovely to look at the real live hostas in your garden! No hostas are up yet in my garden here in NW IL.

Still need to do spring cleanup but I'm waiting for the last of the left over oak leaves to fall to do that.

Thanks for making my rainy day with your post.

Connie

Yep, what they said. Beautiful.

Thanks for the inspiration
Beverly

Very nice scenery!
I might never get there. Someone is eating off the hosta pips.
Bernd

Yeah,Gesila,that is my biggest Sagae,really big this year. Bernd,the culprit is probably a rabbit. Some of mine were nibbled off this year again. They have recovered,and you can't even tell it now. They don't seem to go after them when they are leafed out,because nothing has been touched since then. Phil

Here's another pic of Sagae,with Leola Fraim and one of my Halcyons,plus a Gold Standard down hill from Sagae. The Gold Standard is the one in the center,and Leola Fraim to its right,then the Halcyon,and in the back right is Blue Jay. Phil

Phil, I'm looking for Niagara Falls in the first pic. If I remember correctly, it was up the hill behind the blue vessel...more to the right?

Pretty spring beginnings in your gardens.

Deb

Wow Phil, look at the size of those leaves on Sagae! They looked big from the far away picture, but I didn't think they'd be this large. I think a picture of your Sagae should go in the dictionary to depict the word "stately"!

How old is it?

Gesila,if you could have seen that Sagae when it was planted in 2oo6,you wouldn't believe it. It was a very small,one-eyed plant then! It has only 6 eyes now,but the leaf size increases every year. Not at all like the pics you see on the Hosta Library. It must be the location in shade of Dogwood trees overhead. Whatever,it seems to like the location,and right now it is still growing new leaves. I have another one in a place farther down in the garden,which is older,but it is nowhere near this size. Phil

Deb,the Niagara Falls is in the last pic of Sagae,and it is uphill toward the left,with a small holly in front of it. It's a little hard to see,because it is still growing out. Phil

Phil,

That classically good looking pot; does it stay outside in the winter or do you store it inside? Does it have drainage holes?

It really is perfect.

Jon

Love that green pot. Is it also a fountain? I'd be jealous of your hostas if I weren't covering the ones that have eyes every night while the weatherman chortles about a possible record low.

My garden in the woods looks terrible now, but maybe the ugly 6 ft. fence will keep the deer and rabbits out. Sure liked it better when it looked like yours.

To inquirers about the fountain. That was an outdoor fountain,until I left it out when we had a freeze,a few years ago,and the top froze with the water still in it,and the top part broke from the freeze. I don't use it for a fountain anymore,just an object d'art in the garden. And yes it stays out there winter/summer 24/7. It is actually glazed stoneware,very thick,and has no bottom,so water from rain goes straight thru it. It seems to be holding up very well,but we don't get the type of hard freezes you all get up north. Phil

Your garden looks beautiful. Ahead of mine here in Ohio.

Your garden appears similar to mine, wooded, hilly. My question to you is how did you approach gardening in this? I have lots of weeds, poison ivy, wild honeysuckle, etc. I'd like to clear some of this out and plant some hosta and other desirable woodland plants, but just don't know how to get started. Do you have any advice.

I follow your posts and like your general gardening approach. It seems that you use the logical and easy methods and don't baby your hosta! I like that.

Thank you for sharing Phil! Since you are only about a zone warmer than me I am hopeful that my garden looks similar soon.

When did your hostas start to leaf out? 2 weeks ago? I'm jealous - mine are barely peeking through the soil so far.

ConnieMay

Hostahosta,what I did in this part of the garden,which was started in 2006,after the power company cleared out some of the trees near their power lines,is this. I,too had a lot of wild honeysuckle,which I'm still battling,cleared out a lot of the brush and the honesuckle. Three bagfuls,if I remember. There were already native ferns,and lots of rocks,which the larger ones are still in the same place,as they were, probably a couple hundred pounds each. I made paths,as the topography allowed,and put in mulch in the garden beds before there was even the first hosta in there. All the plants there,have been planted since 2006. I added plants each year since,and that is what you see. This garden is on the side of a hill,and I have lots of Trilliums that come up every year,and they are multiplying every year. I let them come up whever they appear,and just garden around them,and the native ferns also. I also have some ferns which I added;Ostrich fern which spreads around under the bigger hostas, and some Autumn ferns which are just now unfurling their fronds. Also have a couple Heucheras,and three Japanese maples, in a part seen in some of the pics. The original part of the garden is a path down through the woods from my driveway. I had to build a staircase down to the path,with ten steps,which tells you how far down that is! Then the path wanders downhill to the bottom,where there is a small creek,the you go up to the part of the garden seen in the pics. There are hostas all along the path going down to the bottom. This is an ideal place to grow hostas,because of the high shade from Oaks,Poplars,and Dogwoods,and I also garden under a red Maple,in the new part of the garden. I hope that describes the garden for you. Phil

Phil, Yes. Thanks for your description. Sounds a lot like what I am dealing with. I'm just working on it little by little, section by section. I have lots of ferns. I'm envious of your trillium. They are in the area but not on my property. I also have many spring ephemerals such as spring beauty, mayapple, and tons of violets.

Do you just leave the leaves where they fall or do you clean them off the hosta beds in the spring? Please keep posting pictures. Barb

Barb,I only rake out my paths every spring. There are sooo many leaves from the Oaks that it is a daunting task every year. I do remove some leaves from the beds,but only enough to expose the hosta eyes. Every year,it is a hassle just to find places to put leaves. I don't haul them away,as I don't have a truck,at present. Besides the cost would be enormous at the landfill. I started a few beds by piling up leaves,and then putting dirt on top which eventuall makes a pretty good growing medium. Hostas like acid soil,so it works!,Yeah Barb,it takes a lot of work,but I didn't do it all in one year,and besides I'm not a spring chicken any more! Phil

Here is a pic looking back toward where the Japanese maples are. Phil

Phil, from 1 eye in 2006 to 6 eyes in 2013 might sound a bit slow growing. Until you look at your hosta. It is a lovely plant.

I mention this because my Sagae was new last year, and it began with two or 3 eyes. This season, it's second, there are about 7 eyes. Not as elegantly tall as yours though.

Wish I remembered where I saw the picture of that Sagae that busted the barrel it was in. I saw it and said, "I want that!"

I went back in my old pics and found this early pic from probably 2007,of Sagae. One leaf of the present plant would cover up the old one! Phil

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Here is an old pic of the stairs going down into the original garden. There are 11 steps there. Phil

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Wow!!! Dang Phil, now you're just showing off! And I don't blame you! :)

Don B.

phil , your pics are always great . but the new stair pic is wonderful . looking forward to more great inspirations.

Very nice Phil! I'm hoping the rest of the snow in my yard will melt this weekend.

Val

Phil - I'm coming to visit. Put the coffee on!! lol
Jan

Thanks everyone! HH,the pic may be one you've haven't seen,but it is hardly new. Some of the hostas shown are not even there anymore. I just used it to illustrate how the stairs go down into the garden. I had to construct those from scratch,just to gain access to the woods. Phil