A few still looking good

10 years ago

This is the time of year I start to lose interest in my garden. The never ending and futile war with the slugs takes its toll on me, and of course it won't be long now before the nematodes show up. But I took a stroll out tonight after a long day of rain and some things caught my eye.

Remember Me- I have two of these, but this one lives in a plastic pot inside a bottomless hypertufa ring at the corner of one bed. I leave it there all winter and, despite the shabby treatment, it thrives

Loyalist in front of Thunderbolt. I put a copper ring around Loyalist this year and it has paid off- it's never been so pristine for me

Aliyah's Grace, however you spell that. Really aglow tonight at twilight. I bet the color would be great with more sun. I love the leaf shape of this one.

Golden Friendship has very, very thick leaves. This one is at the top of a slope and I enjoy seeing the underside form of it as a walk up the hill

Emerald Ruff Cut. My nemesis hosta. I detest this one in the Spring, because usually every leaf desiccates and you get those ugly brown spots. Every Spring I say I'm getting rid of it. And then it goes and puts up more leaves and starts to look pretty good about now. Bah.

These two are from dryer recent days

Lakeside April Snow...many slug holes, but ok from afar.

Shimmy Shake...just liking this one a lot this year

This post was edited by coll_123 on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 21:18

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Comments (13)

tarheelbelle
10 years ago
Great pictures. Your garden looks beautiful. I especially like Golden Friendship and Lakeside Emerald Snow.
What are the copper rings used for?
Michelle
coll_123
Original Author
10 years ago
Oops, I messed that up- its Lakeside April Snow...I'll edit my first post!

The copper rings placed around the base of the hostas do a good job repelling slugs. They prefer not to climb copper.
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flower_frenzy
10 years ago
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you for all of the beautiful pictures. I thought 'Lakeside April Snow' was especially pretty and 'Remember Me' is looking lovely as well. Do you buy copper rings intact, or do you make your own rings out of some sort of copper material? I live in the PNW and the slugs here are a huge problem. Last month I saw 2 of them that were the size of small birds, I kid you not!

This post was edited by flower-frenzy on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 21:54
bkay2000
10 years ago
Great photos, coll, and a really nice garden.

bk
jadie88
10 years ago
Beautiful Coll! Next Spring when Emerald Ruff Cut is bothering you, I am sending you a postage-paid box addressed to yours truly! ;-) Kidding, of course, but it really is lovely. I had it on my list, but didn't someone mention that there is a look-alike that gets a bit bigger and doesn't burn? Sort of like OBL is the "non desiccating" version of FW?

Thanks for sharing you beautiful garden!
coll_123
Original Author
10 years ago
Oh jeez, if there is a non desiccating version of ERC, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!! Seriously, is it sooooo ugly in the late spring....and I never would have bought it had I known that. My garden is just too small to put up with that. But maybe it is my zone, jadie....I also have zero tolerance for the hostas that drawstring, but I've read somewhere that southern gardens don't have a problem with that. So if I send you ERC, you'll be getting Barbara Ann too, lol!

Flower-frenzy: as much as I love your part of the country, I have heard about those gigantic slugs of yours and i think I would freak out if I lived there. Although right now my slugs are pretty beefy themselves. I am really trying to keep fighting the good fight, in the hopes that I can make a dent in next year's population, but it's tough. I buy copper foil and make rings myself. It has to be at least 3" high. The problem is that as my hostas mature, many are now overlapping neighboring plants, and slugs can access the "protected" ones that way. But if you notice, Loyalist has nothing overlapping it, and doesn't have a single slug bite that I can see. The copper works very well.
paul_in_mn
10 years ago
Enjoyed your pics....indeed looking good. Like the Shimmy Shake.

Paul
WILDernessWen
10 years ago
Coll, Your gardens are beautiful and i get inspired every time I see your pictures. One ? I have is about companion plants. Do you plant your hostas first and companion plants after? I'm struggling with color and texture. Maybe this should be a new thread because there are many GWF hosta peeps I'm inspired by. WW
mbug_gw
10 years ago
beautiful gardens .....Loyalist stunning!
coll_123
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, everyone!

WW, I think of my garden is a work in progress, which means I move things around periodically in an attempt find the right composition. So just about all of my hostas and the companion plants have been moved at least once. I haven't bought any companions recently, however....I'm basically out of room so I've decided that any open spots that happen to become available are going to go to hostas, which are my main focus. But when my garden was first started, I did buy both hostas and companions and tried to figure out ways to combine them. But I think a lot of companions are less of a hassle to move, so I would say I put an emphasis on finding the right spot for the hosta....especially the large ones.
WILDernessWen
10 years ago
Coll, I wrote this long message and then it disappeared. Basically, I need to redesign a few beds. I started this am and the little I did made a huge improvement. I can't think right now so I'll just say thank you. WW
josephines167 z5 ON Canada
10 years ago
Colleen, your hosta are to ooh and ahhhhh over!

Where to start? Remember Me looks so beautiful with that deep coloured lily....and the pink perennial behind is a begonia? It works so lovely in your colour scheme. That Loyalist ...you are among the fortunate ones...it grows for you where some of us lost ours...it not only grows for you, it Preens for you! You must talk to it, right? Absolutely gorgeous garden! Lovely complimentary companions. I just can't say enough.

I saw copper products to deter slugs in my Lee Valley catalogue in the spring. Should have gone to Toronto, browsed the store and bought some. Obviously they work. I won't forget for next year. I can definitely use it for Fire and Ice, which replaced my Loyalist and some others. Nothing detracts from a stunning hosta more than those ugly, unsightly holes! I'm sick of them too.

Thanks for sharing and spreading joy.
Jo
almosthooked zone5
10 years ago
Coll , as always your garden looks just beautiful. I finally see what you mean about moving some plants to different areas. I found some are getting too much sun, some could use more and some are small and hide behind the ones that grew really big. You always have such great suggestions and don't mind sharing your knowledge and ideas. So far I haven't lost interest in the gardens and everything is green and growing good including the lawns this year. Another week or so of hot weather expected so it is water, water, water and too hot to do much more then drag the butt around with the hoses. Love every minute of it too.
Your Remember Me is just beautiful and can hardly wait for mine to look as full and large as yours. I bought it for a friend who passed away but she did get to see it as a tiny one anyway