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Under The Yella Umbrella

User
10 years ago

Let me preface this with my reason for this particular album.
I was out in the Back40 hosta hotspot with the camera couple of days ago now. I'd bought a cheap market umbrella from the grocery story and had put it up a few days before that. I had snapped a few pictures but not paid much attention to the results, I was looking at angle, getting in all the new scapes, remembering the name tags were showing, etc.

So I did not notice the effect the new yella umbrella was making on the color in my shots, the hosta. But last night I put all 2992 pictures taken this year mostly of my hosta, on SLIDESHOW FULL SCREEN. And I sat back with the music on and the lights down low. It all looked normal (I did discover my camera lens needed cleaning after a session in the rain) UNTIL, we got to the pictures taken after I put up the translucent yella umbrella, over the table with Green Mountain hosta on it, under it, around it.

And I almost fell off my chair. Did I.....MOI....take those pictures? I must have been inspired, I thought. But no. I realized it was the effect of being under or around the glowing filtering effect of that yellow umbrella. For a while, I thought my camera auto adjustments had blown a fuse, because everything thereafter that day had to have a piece of that yella umbrella emphasizing the color in every hosta.

So if any of you are looking for a market umbrella to use near your hosta in containers, and you expect to have company over who wonders about why you are always in the garden, make that new umbrella YELLOW. Then put your most gorgeous yellow and variegated green/yellow hosta near enough to catch the glow......your guests won't be able to take their eyes off your hosta. At least, that's how I feel about it.

I'll put some of the shots in my Flickr album "Under the Yella Umbrella" here now, for you to see in GWeb sizes. If you want to look at them full screen, I'll link to the album below, and you can put it on slideshow for the best effect. And the only filter was the magic yella umbrella. Enjoy.





















Comments (20)

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    sorry, forgot the link to the set of pictures. Full screen will work with these, set for slideshow. Have fun. The names and all tag words are included with the photo at Flickr. But most are shown somewhere in the pictures. This way, you must get involved in the photo, participate in viewing it, really see the picture.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Under The Yella Umbrella

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I thought I had this Hosta Thing bad out here where nobody knows much about them, but I must take a back seat to your addiction. You've got it BAD, and nowadays that word means GOOD. You are unbelievable, Mocc.

    -Babka

  • don_in_colorado
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fantastic, Mocc!

    Don B.

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks! Coming from the ole DON'T BLOCK THE EXITS Queen herself, that is high praise indeed.

    For a better peek inside my Back40, I neglected to put this shot in the series. It shows the long view, more or less, down the length of the Back40, about half way anyhoo. I feel like a kid playing in the sandbed, building pathways through this maze of hosta. I almost know where each one is too. See, there is some value in keeping them in "classrooms" or special classes, like blues here, golds there, at the extremes, and then a mingling of green and fragrant and variegated or infirmary.

    Currently, Green Mt holds the table. Mason Hollow has the bird bath. Naylor has an umbrella. Solberg has a satsuma tree. Hallson has a pedestal AND part of the sasanqua bed sharing it with WadeGatton. Moving towards the Teahouse, I have the Savory, Avalon, MITS, and by the bananas I have mini bowls and more WadeGatton and JimsHostas. I pulled out some of the "special" fragrants to border the path to the gate where our sweet neighborlady chats with me.

    Even though I love keeping the fragrants close together, I decided that BY NURSERY is more important to contain or isolate virus from a common source. I give the ones I pull out that way in a "mixed group" more space between pots, where they come from different nurseries. My biggest investment is probably in fragrant hosta, but cannot swear to it. A lot of them are much cheaper than new varieties. In any case, I do not want a pox to take em all out at once. I'd be a basket case!

    And thanks, Don. My DH is falling under the spell, he is quite the enabler. And good with chemicals and maintenance.

  • esther_b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Simply amazing and beautiful. A treat for the eyes! Keep them photos comin'.

  • Gesila
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Isn't that Banana Muffin a cute one! Your Hoosier Harmony is extra nice, this one is usually a tough one to grow. I may have to pot mine up!

    Gesila

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Esther, thank you. I appreciate it, coming from a perfectionist such as yourself. My love is focused on the leaves.

    And Gesila, that Hoosier Harmony stays in the same spot with the rest of his class from Mason Hollow, getting enough light for a yellow leaf....although he is much brighter this year than last. And, HH is a fragrant hosta.

    Banana Muffins is a real cutie. Round leaves pumped up like a real muffin. The yella umbrella gave a different cast to his color though, almost metallic in one of the shots. I think that must have been the picture taken on a stormy day. I'll have to check Corn Muffins out under the yella umbrella to see what happens with it. As you can tell, I really love the golds and yellows. They seem to brighten up shady corners very well. Although I'm trying to keep the proper amount of sun without burning them to a crisp.

  • jan_on zone 5b
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great tour mocc. What a super collection you have going there! I love the Spanish moss draping down - a rather unique feature for a hosta garden I think.
    The 'yella unbrella' is fun - with the addition of some solar lights perhaps you can get those yellow beauties to shine in the dark.
    Now how about a blue umbrella for the blues?
    Jan

  • irawon
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Moc, your yella hostas look super duper. I bought 'Corn Muffins' about a week ago, so look forward to seeing your picture of it.

  • almosthooked zone5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Moc I am impressed! So many hosta in one spot too. What are you going to do when the get big? You may need a dozen of the yellow . You do have it bad/good ?? but then again , you have easier access to purchase . So far I haven't pushed my DH over the edge but it is getting closer. I have to have another look and a pen but Bridal Falls and Marilyn Monroe comes to mind in the top of my list. Your woods must be A JUNGLE OUT THERE! Simply irrisistible wow

  • sidney1515
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a great name for a hosta, Yella Umbrella . . lol
    Thanks for the wonderful viewing. . . great fun!

    I had everyone gone out of the house and was going to go out and work in the garden. . . .Nope. . I turned on GW and there went my chore time. . .oppps! Ahhh, so many hosta to look at, so little time. . lol

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sidney, I think you have something there....Yella Umbrella.
    For one thing, it would be a "Y" in the alphabet....we need all those we can get. That would make the hosta very popular on the forum.

    I would consider a nice tall vase shaped yella hosta a fine candidate for that name. I'm in love with the yellow and gold hosta anyway. Oh and the greens and blues too. But I was surprised to see how many golds are putting on a real show. More than likely, it was due to the milder spring temps here, and they could be in more sunshine for a longer time. Now it is getting scorching hot, and extremely humid.

    Nice thing about it, when I walk into the hosta area, it is shadier in the late afternoon, and there is a difference of 10 to 15 degrees, maybe more. It feels so good, I love to walk through them at different times of the day.

    We have a family of Carolina wrens who raise their babies in a pig flower pot on our deck. (3d year they did it) and they stay in the area. I see them picking bugs out of the pots and the mulch. Raised our own Terminators! We call them the Pig Family.

  • WILDernessWen
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Moccasin, I so look forward to reading your descriptive and beautiful posts. I definitely need a few yellows in my garden. Now I can look at all of yours over and over. Thank you, WW

  • stoc zone 6 sweden
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your pics are beautiful!

  • blackgavotte
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    May God help me !!! Didn't know there were SO many hostas out there ! Go Moccasin.....thanks ! I think...

  • don_in_colorado
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Blackgavotte, are you familiar with The Hosta Library?

    If not, you have GOT to check it out.....

    Regards,
    Don B.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hosta Library Home Page

  • hostafrenzy
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm in love with your On Stage and Marilyn Monroe...stunners.

  • DelawareDonna
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have the umbrella - too hot for hosta

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    AlmostHooked, before hosta, it was headed toward being a JUNGLE OUT THERE....(Oh gee, I miss MONK on TV). With bananas, birds of paradise, bougainvillea, jasmine of all sorts, citrus, pomegranate, monstera deliciosa which I learned was breadfruit, alocasia/colocasia, aspidistra, tropical gingers, duranta, clumping bamboo... on and on. It was a tropical wannabe garden.

    Yet, the hosta fit perfectly. In the Tropicalesque Forum here on GWeb, they were always looking for plants with the tropical look which were hardy further north. That's where the hosta can play in a tropical garden, because of their beautiful leaves and exotic flower heads. All I have to do is think the reverse of keeping the tropicals alive. I keep them warm. I keep hosta cool. Simple. :) (although sometimes it is not so easy)

  • User
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Anyone recall the Catherine Deneuve movie, UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG? The song from it "If it takes forever, I will wait for you," makes me think of my garden filled with umbrellas, and of waiting for 50 years to get back together with my college sweetheart. Instead of 57 years married, we are now almost 7 years married. Nothing slow about us.

    Parapluies de Cherbourg would make a good hosta name.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Umbrellas of Cherbourg

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