so I may have to call it quits for this year with ordering and hone my Wishlist until January

KEY WORD ===>>> MAY!!! ... lol.. yeah right .. been there.. said that.. never happened .. lol...

now straighten me out on this: My BF ... since they were planted by MIL

whats that all about.. a boyfriend and a mother in law????

give them back to her.. or make space.. to get rid of some pots on the porch.. so that.. wait for it.. you can buy more..

there.. consider your problem solved.. go order more.. lol

ken

Ludi, nice haul this year. Keep throwing some solid blues and greens in the mix - they help create a foundation for the variegated ones.

Paul

Queen of the Seas

That Black Walnut tree sounds like a good place to plant Hosta. They don't mind the jugalone that the Walnut gives off, thus keeping down the weeds. Just make sure they get a lot of water so as to deal with the root competition. Make a new bed there.

Then buy more.

Steve

Ken, I am a proverbial pimp what can I say . . . KIDDING !!!

OMG I am such a prude I could never fathom.

But seriously, looking back and re-reading my OP I can see how one might be a bit confused. My apologies for being vague.

I know we don't tend to get personal on here, but Ken did ask . . . so my apologies if I offend anyone.

Basically, I have been in a committed relationship with my BF for almost 3 years (in Nov). However, since Pennsylvania does not honor civil unions/same sex pairings (nor do I think they ever will) we are unable to wed in the traditional sense. I don't feel right calling him DH and leave it with BF.

But for all intensive purposes we are 'married'. Like I stated in my very first post I moved into his house 2 years ago.

We also live with his mother, thus MIL.

The both of them have been in this house for the past 8 years. MIL used to be a voracious gardener but fibermyalgia (spelling?) and a myriad of other health complications has forced her to stay indoors mostly. She just isn't able to get outside and do the things she used to, especially with this heat we have been having these past couple of years.

We have a 3 story with plenty of room for all of us so it works very well as far as privacy and comfort are concerned. She is incapable of taking care of herself at this point and relies heavily upon us to maintain the daily chores. Which we don't mind and are happy to help if it keeps her out of a home.

The house is traditional old school Philly and built around turn of the century. When they first moved in MIL was able to get outside and do more gardening than she can today, but that was almost six years ago. When she could maintain she had bought and ordered all sorts of different perennials to go into the existing landscaping. But over time things declined and now we have what I so fondly refer to as the jungle.

Last year was a bit hectic with me moving in and all so I didn't really get a chance to do any sort of gardening. But this year it is a different story now that I am more settled.

For the record, I am 27 years old and work almost 50 hours a week for a mutual fund broker/dealer. I wish I had more time to mess in the garden, but at this point in my life I recognize the fact that I am blessed at my age to even have half the amenities I do, let alone a (soon to be glorious) garden to play in.

I am not originally from Philly. I grew up on the western side of PA on a 122 acre black angus farm. Pennsyltucky they call it My mother remarried when I was 11 and her second husband has been a farmer all his life. So we moved out there from the suburbs of Pittsburgh to his families farm. BIG TRANSITION from urban to rural. It was a one story ranch in the middle of a hay field and I have horrible allergies (kind of ironic for a garden enthusiast).

So for the years before college I was a FULL SUN gardner. My mother always enjoyed my passion as she reaped the benefits of a beautiful garden while I was growing up. It was great because she let me have full reign in the yard. I bordered the deck with daylilies, hardy hibiscus, bear's breach, sedum, the list goes on. We also had numerous containers all around the deck that we would fill with annuals. It was always my favorite time of the year when we went to all the local hot houses and combed the isles for annuals.

But then it was off to college to study Economics and with a college life there is virtually no time to garden when apartment hopping year to year.

I always managed to maintain a healthy collection of house plants since I could move those with me.

But then I got the job in Philly 3 years ago and due to cost I could not move any of my plants with me. So they went to mother and she within the first year killed all of them. But I still love her . . .

But now it is a whole different ball game. I am no longer in full sun and must say I am rather excited to live under a canopy of sycamore and black walnut. We have maples of course but I despise them. And good lord don't get me started with the English Ivy, it is EVERYWHERE out here. Gorgeous but voracious at the same time. The creeping green :p

I also have a healthy ever growing collection of orchids under grow lights that I started when I moved to philly to put some green back into my life. But that is a whole nother thread/forum.

Gosh, this has turned into a small novel. I will no longer dull you with the details and say thank you for reading and as always enabling.

Yours,

Ludi

ENABLERS . . . ALL OF YOU !!!

I got so caught up in my response to Ken's initial reply I didn't see Steve and Paul's replies.

Steve - I had been meaning to bring that up in another post (I still might) but I had wandered onto an older post from you (or a reply) that addressed the herbicide that comes along with Black Walnut.

It is refreshing to hear that hosta don't mind it. I will be curious to see how the companion plants I choose will fair.

We have three on our little plot of land and the squirrels love to rip em apart and scatter the mess all over the place so there is definitely an abundance in the soil. Doesn't help the fact that BF feeds them peanuts. We have the fattest squirrels in the entire neighborhood I swear.

Paul - I do also have the Wishlist which has many of the solids you are referencing. I must admit though I am fussy when it comes to choosing alternate blues since I am so spoiled by these mature clumps of Elegans.

Here are a few of the foundational hosta I have lined up:

Awakening Angel
Candy Dish
Choo Choo Train
Devon Green
Empress Wu
Fluted Fountain
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frisian Pride
Garnet Prince
Hoosier Dome
Irish Luck
Jade Cascade
kikutii var. caput -avis
Krugerrand
Peacock Strut
Sea Gulf Stream
Teaspoon
Yellow Boa

I'm with you on the big blues Ludi; Elegans suits her name so well. I recently planted 3 Blue Angels, curious to see how they compare to Elegans.

Yesterday, I picked up a baby June (at least I think she's June, if not mislabeled), a Paul's Glory, Striptease, Golden Tiara, Patriot and a Sum and Substance. Oldies but goodies.

You have some great hosta on your list.