08 Garden Art
August 7, 2020
10 Pierson’s Building Center
August 21, 2020
S ebright Gardens is located out in the fields where cows graze. If you ignore the cows and turn left, you will enter a grove of Redwoods (sound familiar?) which—because I was born and raised in Humboldt County, a Redwood forest was my backyard—always feels like home to me.
A Redwood grove makes a most beautiful backdrop for the hundreds and hundreds of Hostas grown at Sebright Gardens. You can see a tiny selection in the Hosta Shade House photo above. This nursery offers more than 900 Hosta varieties. Mind boggling! Check out their list in Sebright's catalog or the photos on their website or Facebook page. See if you don't feel a little boggled yourself!
They also offer companion plants such as ferns and the Gentiana lutea (shown in back of Taxus baccata 'Watnong Gold' in post 06) which I actually bought at Sebright. A year later it bloomed but then turned into just a weak strappy-of-a-thing. It is NOT Sebright's fault, it is mine. I just don't know what to do with this plant in our soooooo-hot summers here. I eventually dug it up and put it in a container. It is still weak and strappy.
(Here’s the thing, if I have to over-exert myself to get a plant to grow like it is supposed to, I put it in my holding area and mostly ignore it, thinking one day perhaps it might show me what it is made of.)
LEFT: Hosta 'Sum and Substance'
RIGHT: Hosta of the 'I can't remember' variety
When you put Hostas in your garden, please, please give them room to grow. Especially ‘Sum and Substance,’ which is among my favorites and considered one of the largest in the Hosta family because it reaches up to 5' tall and wide.
Hostas start playing peek-a-boo in spring and then really take off by June. They are in full glory throughout summer until the first or second frost. Then they die back to the ground for their dormancy period—which to me makes them about as low maintenance (low exertion!) as you can get.
Since they do die back, you should NOT forget where they are planted or—come winter or early spring—you might say, "Oh, I have an empty spot in the garden, I should put something there!" Me? Been there, done that. I’ve considered marking the spot, but, again, I would have to over-exert myself.
Hostas love partial to full shade, and oh boy do they ever brighten up a shady garden. There are a few varieties that can endure full sun depending upon your zone. Speaking of which, if yours is a humid, coastal, or rainy zone, consider Hostas to be a snail motel and take precautions.
Since I am a Foliage Gal, throughout my gardens I have quite the Hosta assortment. To me they are BFYB plants. I love designing with them because they give that ‘WOW’ factor, they come in varying degrees of greens and blues, and they pair well with other shade-loving plants such as Azaleas, Astibles, Ferns, Helleborus, Carex, Camellias and on and on (and on).
Hostas 'I can't remember these varieties' with garden art.
Hosta 'Curly Fries' and Impatiens (Sunpatiens)
FRONT: Hosta 'I can't remember this variety either' in an oblong container.
BACK: Cordyline 'Festival Grass' also in a container.
An unknown variety of Hedera (Ivy) wraps them both.
The contrast of the strappy burgundy Cordyline leaves
with the Hosta's large round green leaves is eye-catching!
I grow a lot of Hostas in containers because of those pesky gophers. (I swear, if it’s not one thing it’s another with trying to grow a damn plant!) But again, don’t forget they are in those empty-looking containers. Especially if you're like me and don't put plant labels in containers. For that matter, I don't put labels in the ground either. There's a game I enjoy playing called, Can I Remember The Name of That Plant? Ninety-nine percent of the time, I win.
Which brings me to Sue, who my daughter rightfully calls "Mom's little gardening friend." Sometimes Sue asks me, "What’s the name of this plant?" and I reply, "It's called, I’ll Get Back To You On That." Sue just shakes her head.
Here's a look at some of Sue’s favorite Hostas in her garden. And FYI, Sue does NOT do garden art. Zip, zilch, zero. Shocking, I know. Try to enjoy her photos anyway.
Hosta 'Halcyon'
Hosta 'Patriot'
Hosta 'Sagae'
Photos courtesy Sheri Lynn Burke and Sue McDavid. All rights reserved.
