Some people are just weirdos. You should probably stay away from that lady, DD. ; )

Don B.

Those ones bloom nicely. They simply do not like hostas. I have an 'Aphrodite' which seems to let its single scape dry up again, it is doomed too, will be replaced by 'Fragrant Queen'.

Donna, may I ask a question about the garden you created.

You mention the orange ribbons on the ones to be removed, and the landscapers coming to do the work.

When you created YOUr garden, in the common ground, did you get any such help with the spade work?

I have a great deal of respect for your ability to work with other people where a concensus of opinion is required. I'd be stomping all over someone who wanted to do it in a different fashion from the one I envisioned. Yet YOU have such finesse to create a lovely garden that is inspiration for those who see it.

Of course, one cannot command another person to appreciate a lovely fragrant hosta doing its best to brighten the corner where it is located. You noticed, you tried, but some folks just don't get the message.

I think about early 2013 when I tossed three of my maturing fragrants--Fried Bananas, Guacamole, Fried Green Tomatos--when they seems afflicted with a virus, which I now realize had to be (at least in the case of two) merely frost damage to the early emerging eyes. I still think about losing them to my ignorance.

Know when I realized my mistake? This spring when I had a lot of frost or cold damage on the same varieties!

Mocc - When I look over the garden I created, even I'm amazed at the transformation over the past five years. It was woodland, and did not become common ground until the walking paths were installed approximately 15 years ago creating the island. My prior interests were only in creating the perennial gardens surrounding my condo.

Rule of thumb here is that you cannot plant perennials unless you maintain them yourself.

So my motives for creating the garden were somewhat selfish in that I needed an outlet to satisfy my gardening instinct, and it was 40 ft from my front door.

The condo association did honor my request to remove some unsightly plantings done by a former neighbor, and the landscapers just naturally mulch the garden every year because they don't know its history - which makes me a happy camper.

To make a long story short, it has been trial and error. The ground is riddled with roots from the trees left on the island. Initially, if I could dig a whole, I planted a hosta. I'm continually amazed at those Fried Bananas. But having lost a few hosta along the way, I now realize the importance of ground preparation, and do the best I can to amend the soil. The association won't pay the landscapers to spade the ground because it is not a project they initiated.

I have the blessing of the condo association and the grounds committee to do whatever I want because its on my dime.

With my son's help I relocated 5 plants last weekend. With the new hosta I planted this year, my work is done. Just in time because my stamina is going downhill.

In conclusion, I would like to say that people often stop on their walks or sit on the bench to admire my work, and that has made it all worth while.

DD