Assembly line . . . long view.

A closer look.

See anything that's growing in your garden?

This post was edited by josephines67 on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 22:42

Another bunch.

This is the coolest flower "clump" I've ever seen! It's on Sagae.

I LOVE your bunch photos!

-Babka

On the right is a bad case of sunburn on my new American Sweetheart. I left her in full sun for a day. By the time I realized my stupid mistake the white was already translucent. No going back once it's burned. Every time I look at the ugly melt-out it reminds me of my neglect! My bad, for sure.

I LOVE that you LOVE them!!! Such a great opener, Babka. Thank you for setting such a positive tone to this crazy thread. I think I'll pour me a glass of Cab. Sauvignon.!

Here's another bunch.

I wouldn't say so :)
I keep a notebook of everything i plant now by year and location. (Trying to undo my sins of not keeping track of IDs in the past) So far this summer I've bought and planted 34 different hostas.

I've moved several older ones around as well and will continue to do so over the years as they grow or I find something that might look better in that spot/light.

Maybe the last one...

Thistle, I too keep records for tracking growth and have various lists. Part of my enjoyment is also moving plants around to showcase them better. The garden is always a work in progress and I can't wait each morning to get out there with coffee in hand to see what's new!

Glad you stopped by! :-)

Jo

I think you need to assign each a designation to their rank.. and play Hosta Chess with a friend ! hahahah

Hosta Guacamole to Sagae ....CHECKMATE !

Is that astilbe? I just love astilbe and HEAR it's supposed to be fail proof. Except for me. But I tried again this year with a dozen planted among a new-ish bed I made between two dappled willows along with 7 hosta. (Squash casserole, Captain Kirk, emerald ruff cut, drinking gourd, Minnesota wild, prairie moon, and Irish luck. There are also 2 janes planted nearby)
Here's crossing my fingers they all do well.

Your various hosta are gorgeous. I chuckled at the chess idea. :)

Thank you! I'm still chuckling too at the chess reference, Leafwatcher! I happen to know how to play chess! Learned from an English receptionist at lunch hours when the bigwigs were out of town...what great fun!

Yes, that is an astilbe and I have several of them. They are all in various stages but this one is early. I have Ostrich Plume which is tall and gorgeous, White Diamond, Visions in Pink, Amethyst, Kohln, Sprite (a small/dwarf peach coloured flowers), etc.. etc.

They, like hosta, can take a bit more sun but need lots of water. I have Hennie Graafland that likes the sun, but is sited where it gets morning exposure only as it got crispy two years ago and I had to relocate it.

Beautiful layout of pots, Jo. Just wonderful pictures throughout this thread. Want to say my thing and go back and browse slowly.

When you are massing pots, the thing to remember is to allow the viewer space to mentally walk a path through them. If you just want to lead the eye into the mass, it would be best to arrange them with a spiral of the colored ones you have MOST of, like a flowing river. Or maybe an undulating band of them with the other less common colors helping to define the edges. The common color river is what leads the viewer's eye into the layout. Think of it as good painterly artistic policy, and what you are looking at is an objet d'arte.

You might fancy a band of blue across the top for the sky . Then yellow beneath that, and then green for the ground.. .

Love the pots, Jo. Since I've been moving pots, my rearranging furniture in the house has almost totally stopped. :)

Maybe another dozen or so.......just to fill in any empty spaces.

Lol, Mocc! All good advice, thanks so much! This is just a scramble, for fun...although I'm getting colour ideas by studying the pics. I'll get it wrong, I know, but the fun is in experimenting, right? Wish I had as strong a back as I had 30 years ago! Lol hauling pots around is good exercise though.

Mug, you make me laugh...you sure know how to squeeze every last inch out of the space, don't you? (I'm visiting Hosta Fever again very soon ;-) Lol. But, I've still got to plant these puppies! Oh well....

Jo, you have a perfect opportunity to set up several BINGO cards. You can do it in real time.

I think it was Paul who had the BINGO game with hostas in all the spots. Never played it, don't know how it works, but I favorited all of his Hosta Bingo photos.

What I'm waiting to see is how you will deal with all the pots as they go dormant....too late for planting then, right? Are you the grasshopper who played all summer? :)

I love the pictures, or did I say that already? Makes great wallpaper too.

"I can't wait each morning to get out there with coffee in hand to see what's new!" Love it, I can relate.
I don't know how you folks can keep up with all the watering. I have started with containers this year and it looks promising but the heat of summer is still coming and 2 weeks vacation. Hope they survive.
Sorry if this is a hijack but 'twas on my mind.

"I can't wait each morning to get out there with coffee in hand to see what's new!" Love it, I can relate.
I don't know how you folks can keep up with all the watering. I have started with containers this year and it looks promising but the heat of summer is still coming and 2 weeks vacation. Hope they survive.
Sorry if this is a hijack but 'twas on my mind.

Oh my, the chess game out classes the BINGO game, hands down. But I don't mind. Leafwatcher is on a roll tonight!

And OldDirt, I can relate to that concern of yours. Watering is a chore. Summer heat is here, but will remain in place for another 60 days and more., almost 90 days actually. But I try not to think about that.

Jo, I can tell from your new hosta choices you like the softer color combos. Especially blue. I love the dark greens, but also my hostas can turn a much darker green since I keep many in as good a shade location as I can find. Your latitude is kinder to hosta colors in the sun.

Unless we mention Squash Casserole! I did not see one of those in your pictures, is it already in the ground?

Did you honestly start with 67 hosta? How many......well, I don't want to ask that, since it is tantamount to inquiring a lady's age.....it just isn't done! Sorry. Ignore this last.
:)

(I have a total number to share soon, by the way.)

This would be my dream nursery to walk in and see all these different cultivars to choose from. I'll take that one, and that one, and that one over there, and that one, and ...what the heck, load them all up! :-)

Sandyslopes, right behind you! Lol. Thanks!

Mocc...well....the count is well over 100 (as you predicted when I joined the forum) and rising. You know, I was going to go over all the previous posts where you ordered hostas from the various sources and add them all up, but it was too much like work! Lol. I don't know if Paula or Don kept up, but I couldn't. I'd missed too many posts! :-). You'll tell us if you want us to know. My guess, however is 526-550 but I have a feeling that is a low estimate.

I see one problem. There should be a clear space in the middle so you can sit and admire them all! Its breathtaking! I want them all! I am not keeping track of my 'numbers bought this year' I'm still living in denial that I have a hosta problem. :) Some of those blues (which I kinda thought I didn't like so much are killing me!)

PS--First photo blue cupped leaves on the left? Is that love pat?

This post was edited by Kate1970 on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 8:37

Gee, Jo, you sure know how to pick 'em and grow 'em. They're all lovely. i think I see Neptune, El Nino and Guardian Angel in the bunch. Am I right?

Do you have to create a new bed or do you have spots already for all these lovelies? I'm trying to stick to my resolve this year to have the hole dug before I buy a hosta. I've broken my resolve twice already.

I'm exerting a lot of self control by asking you to identify only one in the third picture... the yellow ruffled one, bottom right.

This post was edited by irawon on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 9:54

How much fun is that?! I plan to put my potted ones in the ground come fall.
I love all your pictures-can't wait to see where you plant them!

Thistle, I have found that my astilbe do best (growing and spreading like mad actually) near one of my bird baths. The water gets changed every or every other day, so they get tons of water and they seem to like that. My others struggle. They definitely do not like dry spots!

Cynthia

What I itch to do is to have a seat in the middle of all that beauty, and have some elevated even on a downturned pot...just to allow the eye to catch it, pause, admire, and move on with a rhythm set by the plants themselves.

Your temporary arrangement for fun, Jo, is feeding my love for moving things around to combine, highlight, emphasize, and overall appreciate what you have to call your very own. They are ALL gorgeous. Beautifully grown.

How many of those were mail order and not viewed before they arrived? How many of them %-wise did you walk into the nursery and say, "I'll take THAT one." Every one of them looks to be hand picked, prime plants.

You should be so proud.

Computer background.

Too much what?

i skipped the verbage after the pix ...

but if i understand the process ... and correct me if i am wrong ...

after the kids and grandkids left ...

you were so freakin stressed... that when it all boiled down... you rolled around in your hosta...

to your hearts content ...

Jo's hosta stress relief 101 ...

just needed to be in your own world.. eh???

ken

ps: thx for the pix ...

Irawon, thank you for the appreciative comments! Wish I was less impulsive, but that wish is mostly fleeting! Lol

The pretty ruffled one is Marrekech. It is in its viridescent state as much as it's going to be for the rest of the season. It emerged a bright gorgeous yellow...you'd think it was the sun itself. I could entice you more and post a pic, but do you want to be tipped over the edge, lol?

First Frost is your guess re El Niño. Guardian Angel yes! I have to look at the pic again to see what looks like Neptune...brb...that is Arctic Blast that looks like N. I think.

To answer your question re having to dig a new bed...I'll be filling the side beds (replacing some perennials with hosta) and expanding at edges (cutting sod out) in other areas. Grass looks great (I am the caretaker!) if I say so myself! LOL but it is overrated....small property but ideal for a retiree. Have to have something to rest the eye upon and nothing does it like green grass IMO....but it doesn't have to be big at all. ;-)

Cyn, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the pics! I'll be thinking of you too as I plant away :-)

Astilbes are beautiful, aren't they? Wish the plumes would last longer with the colour retention. I am waiting for Delft Blue to start producing flower/plume scapes. It is a bright beauty with dark foliage. Do you have one?

Mocc, we are mutually appreciative of each other's hostas and I think that's great! You live in a sea of hostas! I don't swim in reality, but I sure can go the distance in your sea in Alabama! ;-)

Your comment about them being hand picked is bang- on! Early in May I sent Cindy @ Hosta Fever a list, asking if these hosta were available and would she reserve them for me. When I picked them up, they were exactly what I would have chosen! The only reason I had Cindy set them aside was because I missed out on some that were sold out last year. I always usually hand pick them myself so that would be 100% to answer the question specifically. That is half the fun of it. Other than the special streakers from our very own forum friend Devon Smith, I have never received a mail ordered hosta-YET. ;-). Thanks again for your kind words...they fill me up but we all feel about the same about compliments re our hostas, don't we? Like proud parents! Lol

Unbidden and Harry - gotta love it - short but sweet...you're great!!!

Ken! What? You skipped the verbiage? I'm crushed! But got over it quickly, lol. I was laughing by the time I read your entire post! Well...you basically got it right because you live in the hosta world too and understand only too well.
There are days when the kids' energy depletes my own but on the whole, yes, there is that peace when you can roll around the hostas in your own corner of the world! I crack up picturing you doing the same! It's not easy raising kids on your own...been there, done that, am compassionate and understand! Thanks again for the laughs and for dropping in here. :-).
Hope you enjoyed the "greenery".

Jo, thanks for the reply. I've been looking at Marrekech and now want one. I've also been copying the names of your astilbes as you're naming them.. for research later. I like them too, they're such great accent plants for hostas. I like 'Sprite'. Do you have 'Perkeo'?... that's another small one. A couple of years ago I also bought a mini from Wrightman Alpines that's really cute called 'Willy Buchanen'.

And you know, you're so right about them liking lots of water, some of mine scorched last year in the heat of summer. So this year I'm following the advice of someone I happened to talk to at a nursery. He told me the way to water an astilbe is to fill a pail of water and pour it all on. So, that's what I've been doing this year,literally. Each astilbe gets one watering can full each time. I'll see whether it makes a difference.

Yahoo! Someone who is familiar with Perkeo!!! How great! I picked this special, rarer astilbe three years ago at Humber Nurseries. It was in a clearance section near the hosta section (where else?) and was marked down to $0.99! A scrawny one inch little guy who needed me to grow was what I thought. Look at it today! Bloomed for first time last year. One blooming, more plumes arising. Not too great a pic, sorry but it's windy and very sunny and my back is stiff and sore from all that pot lugging, LOL. Love it! Did I mention A. 'Delft Lace' yet? May have misnamed it earlier here or in another post...Angie's maybe?

This post was edited by josephines67 on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 15:04

Jo, they look GREAT!

But, a "bit too much"? I'm sorry, I don't understand... ; )

42 this year, that's pretty good; I've only bought a dozen or so...

You said it; Buying the hostas are the way-too-easy part!

Cheers,
Don B.

I think you are Josy in wonderland, ...truly stunning!

Don and Luke, you fellas are just too kind! Thank you for looking. LUUK, that's what my kids say! ;-)

Too much? Not at all! It does look like you hand picked each one yourself because they look just perfect! Lots of variety too! You're one lucky girl to have been able to find these. Now the real fun begins---watching them grow and mature into beautiful specimens!

Jo - Your beautiful pristine hostas and wealth of knowledge blow my mind.

DD

Lovely, Jo! Isn't it fun to group them all like that? Definitely the benefit of pots, that's for sure. Arrange and rearrange at will!

Third pic, on the left in the center. Is that a June reverting? I thought you split that out last year, do you have another one?

NHL, thanks! :-). I'm liking this potting experiment - #1 reason is the hostas look really good and are too high off the ground for the slugs!!! I admit I've been good this year, not as lazy, and sprinkling bait around occasionally. I love how beautiful they are.

DD, thank you very much - you are too kind! I'm just the water provider, the hosta lover who speaks in a regular but low voice to all the "stars" in my yard. Lol

Funn,
>> thank you and yes, good observation! You remember - separated both Junes last year. At the end of potting so many hostas I ran out of one pot at the end and put a small piece of June in with the "revert". I so enjoy looking at them together that I have not yet separated them. These two will definitely grow beside each other :-).

>> I noticed recently I have one blue leaf on a June that may be getting a bit of colour in it...I'm observing it for changes. I will have to twist (ouch) it off if it stays blue. The ones last year had good eyes to cull but so far just this one leaf.

>> Oh, you SO got it - I love rearranging them! and having them at arms reach is so gratifying! Just this morning, while having coffee, the Queen and I visited (QOTS) while I was checking her for bugs, etc. cleaning off a few errant leaves from the small dogwood.

The best thing about having so many in pots, to plant, will make the job of placement a bit easier when you can switch colours so easily. It's reaching the final decision that is difficult!

I have to say that I think plants are like people...they respond to touch. I can't resist running my hands over the tops of seedlings as they are growing, or any plant for that matter! I read that if you want good strong roots, touch them, ruffle their tops...similar to patting your doggie - he'll waggle his tail, love you even more, and be the happy and healthy dog that he is meant to be.

bump for easy link

Hey Jo, as I was having my morning coffee I thought I would take a browse into the hosta forum and found this thread.....WOW....your Hostas look amazing. I'm going to have to ask for an invite so I can see your garden in person. And as for your questions about it being too much....when it comes to Hostas it's never enough. My day off this weekend and I ended up bringing home 5 new Hostas. I had reduced my number down to 797 as I was wanting to do and I'm up over 800 once again.....it's a losing battle just except it :)

Cindy, LOL! They should look amazing or else you are in trouble! LOL
Hilarious - what did you pick up? I'll drop by soon....to assist you in making more room for your next NEW ones!

Thanks for dropping in! :-)

P.S. You should stop by...and suggest to me where the heck I can plant all these, because I have a pressing want list that is clamouring for attention! Lol