Hostas in the Garden
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By two ponds and under a canopy of trees Bill has established an expanding collection of hostas that do well in the shade. Each hosta is planted in a hole from which the stones and soil are removed. Bill amends the soil and after planting each hosta he adds mulch. In our dry summer weather we hand water these plants.
In the summer of 2015 Bill planted more hostas along the path to the Nature Trail. He added pieces of partially rotted pieces of hollow tree trunks some of which we had already planted up with boxwoods.
​As our ground is so filled with rocks and pebbles, each hosta has its own planting hole. A mulch of chips is added. Poison ivy is a problem along this area of the garden. We don't use any chemical deterents but are sorely tempted to make life easier for ourselves!
We confess that we do not recall the names of many of the hostas we have planted. When we first began planting a garden our neighbour gave us numerous plants of the old fashioned hosta which we dubbed Hosta ordinariensis. It grows with enthusiasm in many places in the garden. Here it fills an area at the base of some old lilacs.
At the base of this little wall there is a patch of Pheasant's Eye daffodils, fragrant and old fashioned, and the remnants of the garden that were planted long before we came in 1977.​
Hostas are planted to indicate turns in pathways, to soften some of the hardscapes, and to frame art installations.
One year we were dividing up a number of hostas and ended up with more plants than we knew what to do with. In desperation we planted left overs along a rail fence and they have done very well.
Each spring we look forward to the unfurling of these generous plants and to adding new varieties to our collection.
