Beautiful! And that Alvatine Taylor is fantastic, not only huge but beautiful. Haven't seen one of those on here before that I recall or else yours is just a standout.
Cher

This is the whole plant. Quite a bit of variety in the leaf markings. I need to cut those solid ones out.

tj

My favorite combination, just add in some japanese maples and a couple ornamental grasses and it is perfect!

Beautiful!! Wish I could grow conifers. Thanks for sharing.

It's a lovely Hosta and so nice that the solid leaves don't even detract from it. I see one leaf in the top back that looks streaked too. Like a whole bunch of Hostas together in one plant. I liked it so much and I had an order getting ready to be shipped from Hallson's that I had to rush to his site to see if he had this one. Guess I should be glad he didn't as this is my second order this year and just blew next year's budget. LOL Thanks for the great photos.
Cher

Cher- When I saw the pic I thought that leaf was streaked as well and went out to check. Just a camera trick as it is solid too.

gardenj76- That's an Acer palm 'Inaba Shidare' that the 'Alvatine Taylor' wants to eat as well.

In fact, its about to eat some Astilbe 'Visions' on the right, there's a Tsuga can 'Frosty' at the base of the pine you can't see, innumerable pulmanaria are buried and I rescued an Actea. Kinda reminds me of Shel Silversteins's 'Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout (Would not take the Garbage Out)'

tj

tj - Happy hosta certainly crowds it's neighbors. I like the full look & look forward to your lovely display when the Astilbe blooms through the parting leaves. No weeding when the bed is full!

How would you change it?

Corrine

Great combos tj!!!
How much sun does the 'Degroot's Spire' get? I especially like the vertical accent in that photo. It inspires a few ideas. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Dan

mary52- Thanks, and you can grow conifers. Plenty of zone 8 Texans (and Oklahomans) on the conifer forum.

Corrine- I don't think I would change it except to keep rescuing things before they get swallowed. At this point I might see just how big it gets. Its about 12 years old and still has a stong producing center.

Dan- Thanks and I've seen your dynamite combos. The 'Degroot's Spire' gets about three hours of morning sun then deciduous shade until early afternoon (so more sun when the leaves are gone) and then coniferous shade the rest of the day.

tj

Well,I must confess I don't know much about conifers. The combinations you have seem to work well. The only conifer I have purchased for my home is a dwarf Mugo pine,but it is not in my garden,just out beside my driveway. It has grown very well! I do have some native white pines on my property,but not near my gardens. Thanks for the excellent pics of yours. Phil

Your pix are to die for, tj! I never thought I could grow conifers because of the shade I have!
I wonder-----any chance any of those are growing in only indirect sunlight? All my hosta are
in mostly dappled shade with a few getting early in the day, some rays!

Gorgeous is all I can say!!! Well, almost all I can say!

Keep in mind that if it is deciduous shade, the conifers will get sun and grow as long as the soil temp is above 40 degrees(spring and fall-maybe winter too for some). None of mine are shaded all day and all year, though some Tsuga are all shade now. If your shade is from a Black Walnut don't use a fir, I grow all the others under the drip line of a neighbor's walnut. Conifers I've found that can take shade, in order of tolerance (most to least):

Yew (Taxus)
Hemlock (Tsuga)
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)
Hinoki False Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis)
Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika)
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

The last four really benefit from at least 3 hours direct sun even at this time of year and full sun (6 hours) in the off season.

tj

tj,
Are you growing any Cephalotaxus or Thujopsis? I have found both to be moderately shade tolerant. Also, are you growing any other species of Tsuga besides T. canadensis?

I have not tried Thujopsis yet and the Cephalotaxus harringtonia I tried didn't live through its first winter. But yes, those would be good choices for shade even on the high tolerance side of the list.

Other Tsugas I have are mertensiana and diversifolia.

tj