My Favorite Hostas

Hostas are a must have shade garden plant. Having as much shade as I do you know I have hostas. I guess I probably have about 30 cultivars growing in Tiger Gardens. Each year I get ambitious and try to document them all. And each year I fail miserably because trying to identify them is just a pain in the a#$. I just don't have the time or the need to really know what is what. Lately I have gotten better with labeling hostas as I plant them though so maybe one day I'll know all the cultivars, maybe not. 


At one time I did know what cultivar the above hosta is but it, like a lot of information, has slipped from my mind. I know this is a fragrant hosta that has wonderful blooms in mid-late summer. This hosta is huge and does not fade away in the garden when the summer really gets hot. If anyone recognizes it please chime in and tell me what you think it might be. I think it is 'Guacamole' but I am not sure. It is an excellent hosta!


I mention the above hosta because it is a hosta that is not only large and fragrant, but it stays looking good all season long. The problem with most hostas here in my gardens is that many of them emerge looking great in the spring only to fade away to ratty looking barely there plants come July or August. What fun is that in a shade garden? So, despite hostas being a must have shade garden plant they are a plant I do not ever go out of my way to buy or to plant. The ones I have are divided and spread around and I satisfy my need for hostas in this way. There is however a very wonderful hosta that I thought I would share with you all besides the above one.



I have no doubt about the cultivar of this wonderful hosta; it is 'Christmas Tree'. This hosta is my most favorite hosta for its vigor, its good looks, and its ability to stay looking good all season long with no care from me. I started with a few pots years ago but have worked hard to spread this hosta around to all of the gardens. 'Christmas Tree' is a large hosta that has substantial leaves which I think helps it to stay looking good during the summer. 


There are a few more hostas I have luck with in Tiger Gardens but they will have to wait until I identify them and that might not be for a long time....


in the garden....




Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

A Hosta Garden Tour

From In the Garden

One of the benefits of belonging to a garden club is you sometimes get invited to tour gardens you might not otherwise see. Such was the case when Beachaven Garden Club was invited over a member's daughter in law's garden. It was quite a garden too. I know hostas look great in May and June then kind of peter out later on in the summer, but this shaded garden had some pretty spectacular specimens that I think would look great all summer long.

From In the Garden

The drive up to this wonderful home on the river was quite a treat. Do you see the huge limestone blocks above? They were brought in from another home the owner's in laws used to own. They were simply spectacular and made quite a presence. The home was also surrounded by huge river rocks. All of we ladies in the club were simply drooling over the rocks-myself included. I don't think you can have too much stone in the garden.

From In the Garden

The hostas were no slouches either. I had no idea hostas could get so large here in the south but these ones were as big as ones I had seen growing in my home state of Maine. They were huge! Of course there were little ones to play off from the big ones, brightly colored ones and subdued ones as well. There was quite a mix.

The hostess was most gracious and invited the club in for a spot of refreshments and to enjoy the gorgeous river view. I think I can speak for all who visited to say a very hearty thanks for the wonderful tour of your garden Debbie. It was splendid....

in the garden....

Speaking of garden tours, last May my family and I had the pleasure of touring Freda's lovely garden in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Well, if you are a subscriber to Southern Living magazine you may have noticed her garden in this month's issue-so you too get to tour her garden through the magazine. Freda is quite the designer and has a wonderful garden. If you haven't visited Freda do so and enjoy her tips for a deer proof garden and beautiful cottage gardens. Also, go get that Southern Living magazine and let her know you saw it! Blogging is great in that it brings folks closer together and makes the world a smaller place where we get to see magazine worthy gardens and the such-in person and on the web as well as through published work.

One more note, please weigh in on the poll on my sidebar. Thanks.




Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Happy Healthly Hosta and a Stumped Stump

Posted by: Dawn

Have you ever had one of those days? Yep, this was one of them; a day that it took forever to get a simple task done. Move this giant hosta and pull the stump out. You see, this tree was a pin cherry, a pretty pin cherry. This tree even had a robin's nest in it with live babies. It was fun to watch mom feed the tiny birdies even though they were really ugly they were cute when hungry! Anyway, my husband has always disliked the pin cherries, so when we moved from our mobile to the house it was time for the cherry to come out and the hosta to be moved.

Now, this hosta is just starting to grow in this photo, there are two; one on each side of the tree. Between them, they grow to about 4 feet in diameter. The other side of what used to be the deck had another pin cherry with 2 other hostas but my dog saw to the demise of it. He continued using this one as a potty place and I had to stop him on the days before we moved it. The others didn't survive his indiscretions but this one has although I don't know how. I was amazed in how little dirt the hosta was thriving in. You can't really see from the photo but the small roots are extending from, what looks like a wooden block.

Transplanting called for drastic measures, this hatchet was handy.

The second hosta had the landscaping paper growing within and also needed the hatchet treatment. (No plants were harmed, just a plant's surgery,) //*o*\\

We ended up with four substantial divisions from each plant and after two weeks of settling into a new place, all are doing great and growing fast again!

There are 2 groupings of four with a lady's mantle in between, and a bi-color hosta on each end. The bi-colors are on their second year and look pitiful next to the divided hostas. Ha!

On to Mr Stump....the other pin cherry stump came out with ease but this one fought. Look at how the chain dug in after the first pull with a four wheel drive.

The second pull managed to yank the chain off all together, taking the moist bark with it. I backed away for fear Mr Stump might retaliate.

For a junk tree they sure do have long roots, at least this one did. This stump has been sitting for a year now and gave us a whooping fit to hang on.

Finally it gave up. I have no idea how I managed to get this action photo!

Buh, bye, Mr Stump. In the Garden

Take the time to thank a military person for your freedom today. Happy Memorial Day to all!

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Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Strange Happenings In the Garden

By Skeeter

Last year, I had a voluntary Butterfly Weed pop up in my Georgia Garden. I can only assume I am the lucky recipient of a seed dropped by a bird. How ever it got here, I sure enjoyed it last year.

To my surprise, it returned again this year growing stronger and larger. I was afraid of loosing this plant over the spring as it is located in a real soggy area of the flower garden during rainy times of year. We had a lot of rain last winter and spring so it's feet were wet for a long time.

It bloomed one time for me last year but is putting on a much better show this year with still giving me blooms!

Here is a very blurred picture of what I assume to be a seed pod on the plant. Sorry for the blurred picture but it is too humid for me to attempt another picture. I spotted one "seed pod" last year and I do believe it has produced a second butterfly weed nearby as the foliage looks the same. It is too small to tell at this point. This years plant has several seed pods so I am hoping for more Butterfly Weeds in the garden next year.

Here is something I do not recall seeing on the plant last year! I am not sure if these are insects, or some sort of egg. With last weeks posting on the caterpillars munching on the dill, I did a bit of research and saw some butterfly eggs which looked similar to this. Could these be Caterpillar Eggs?

If these are Caterpillar eggs, then they would destroy the plant once they hatch as happen to the Dill. I planted the Dill for the caterpillars but I really don't want anything to eat my Butterfly Weed as I enjoy it way too much. I want the Butterfly's to enjoy the sweet nectar but not eat the plant in the stage of a caterpillar!

With the assistance of OJ kitty (Above) I took my fingers and rubbed each stem to rid it of this unknown stuff.

It left quit a sticky mess on my fingers but a little soap and water washed it right off. I sure hope I did not destroy something good for the plant. Does anyone know what this could be???

I also spotted these little stinkers on the foliage of a Gladiola. The Glads did not do well this year as they were spotted as they bloomed. Each bloom had black spots on them as if mold. Wonder if too much rain was in their beginning? Anyway, these caterpillars were only on one plant then gone the next day! Does anyone know what these were?

Here is a Canna which was given to me by Lola. Thanks again Lola! I will talk about the Canna another time as I am waiting to see if this one will bloom for me. See the perfect holes in the Canna Foliage? It looks as though someone has taken a Hole Punch and punched holes in it doesn't it? This happened to a few of the Canna last year but so far this year only to this one. Does anyone know what causes this to happen?

Here is a picture of the Saints mothers Hydrangea bush. She wanted me to ask you all if anyone knows why it only produced one bloom this year when last year it had many more?What could have happened to my grass? Oh, wait, the Saint solved this mystery for me. He was spraying off the siding on the house and with the last bit of chemical in the bottle, he slung it out of the bottle onto the grass. Arggg, it kills grass! The bottle read, "okay for the environment and would not kill plants". Hum, maybe that only counts when the stuff is diluted and not concentrate!

Okay, I must tell on myself as well. I was spraying some weed killer on the walking path of my flower garden and a few days later, I spotted foot prints in the grass from where my shoes got wet from the stuff! I did not think to snap a picture of that but wish I had as it was funny.

There sure have been some STRANGE HAPPENINGS, In the Garden...

Note: Some friends need our assistance so we will be off the Internet for the weekend. Everyone have a Great Weekend with family or friends!

Pine Straw to Plants part 2

By Skeeter

Today will be part two continuing from yesterdays post about the new area I am creating in my Georgia Garden. Yesterday, I showed you the Heuchera (Coral Bells), Spider plants, Black Elephant Ears and Hosta. Today we shall move to the right of that area to another spot where I have a little Rock Garden started.
Here you can see several different plants. To the top of this picture, you can see the post of my two water gauges. I rely on these to keep me informed of the rain fall when I am away from the garden or sleeping with rainfall during the night. I have formed this Rock Garden by the rain gauges to make them not so noticeable as they are not real pretty gauges. That is a big trick for me in the garden, disguise the ugly things with beautiful things. Remember my boat shed, air conditioner unit, propane gas tank? LOL...
Moving in for a closer look, you can see the focal point being a bit of Whimsy. These turtles are busy taking care of the garden with their shovel and rake. Right behind them are Elvis the Hosta I talked about last year. Click Here to see that if you missed it. I had two Elvis but one was over come by either a Vole or Drought. I was able to salvage the one and baby it back to life this spring. The picture above was taken before Elvis was blooming for me. However the Catmint to the right was blooming and attracting bees and butterflies by this time. I had to rescue the Catmint as well last year. Here you see the Catmint blooms. I think they are such pretty little blooms. Thank goodness for the zoom lens!

There is Elvis in all his glory a bit later then the other picture was snapped. This picture was snapped today, being July 1 so he should be about played out by the time this goes to posting. He sure does have longevity in the blooming department though as he blooms longer then any hosta I have had.
As you can see in this picture, the Catmint has turned yellow on me. They are not in the ground as they are in pots buried in the ground instead. I told you about the soggy conditions we had this spring. I need to put it into the ground now that the area has dried. Elvis will remain in his pot as the Vole will destroy him for sure if he is in the soil.
Here is a new addition in my garden this year. I found "Armada Rose Sea Thrift" on the Bargain Bin for a dollar each. I picked up 4 to place in between the Rocks which I picked up for free at the lake.
I found them on the Bargain Bin in late spring so I was only able to enjoy a few blooms such as this one. Hopefully, they will give me plenty of blooms next spring.
Another new addition is "Cooper's Ice Plant". The Saint spotted these and really liked them. We picked up 2 one-gallon pots at $2.98 each. They are spring bloomers also but we found them early therefore, we enjoyed some late blooms from them.
The foliage is interesting. It looks like a succulent but it is not. It is a ground cover which likes some sun and where they are located, they get some sun. I hope it will be enough as we really do like this plant and the blooms.
Look at the foliage a bit closer. I think it looks like an Aloe Plant!
And Purple blooms. I can't get enough of purple blooms as they are my favorite color of flower.
Now what is that plant called. That is OJ the neighbors kitty coming to visit me in the garden. He likes where I placed this one flat rock. He thinks it was put there for him to perch himself. He is my buddy so I let him stay put. What is that plant in front of him you ask?
Well, that would be Speedwell. Not the speedwell I am use to seeing but "Speedwell Veronica Waterperry Blue". This is a ground cover as well which has tiny blue blooms. I have yet to see the blooms but at $1.00 each, I am not complaining. They will give us blooms at some point. I hope anyway...

Pentas is not a new addition in my garden but I did not have any of the annuals last year. I did not find them last year but I did this year. I really do like this flower as it attracts the Hummingbirds and Butterflies. They give blooms from spring until frost and don't require much attention from me. My kind of flower! I found these 3 for a super bargain price of .25 cents each! They had to be mislabeled as the remainder of the rack were not priced at a quarter each! My lucky day...
The blooms are clustered and so awesome. They come in different colors but this bargain find were pink. I like Pink in the garden and at that price, I would get them no matter what color they were.
I planted the 3 Pentas behind the rain gauges. They will get taller and help to hide the poles of the rain gauges.
OJ, get off the Speedwell and back on your rock okay? Be a good boy and not a pain in the you know what. Well, there you have it, a new area being created with bargain finds at a slow pace. I hope all will fair as this area does get really soggy with rain.

I also found 2 Lantana plants at $1.00 each but I don't have a picture with them in it. They are to the very front of this Rock Garden area. They were small when I purchased them and without a tag. I had no idea what color they were but to my luck, they are the multi orange, red, yellow ones! Ah, perfect as they are my favorites.
As you can see even though I have a good start here, I have lots more room to go from PINE STRAW TO PLANTS, In the Garden...

Pine Straw to Plants

By Skeeter

This picture was taken in my Georgia Garden last year. I have always been happy with this pine straw area until now. This spring it was time to change things a bit in this area. The patio is to the left in this picture so it's a wonder why I have waited until now to work in this area. I would say the soggy issues we can get in this area as that is why it went to mulch in the first place.

A few years ago, I had Spider Plants hanging on the front porch. They dropped baby plants onto the ground below and I dig them out when they pop up each spring. I put some around the stump where I always place a Boston Fern. You can see them popping up in the first picture. Strange thing, I have not had the spider plants hanging for about 3 years but still have them popping up in the front planters! This year I have them hanging on the porch again so I am sure to get many many more baby plants next year!

With the Spider Plants acting as a Perennial and returning for me each year, I decided it was time to add more to the area. I started with Heuchera's and added more things as I found them at bargain prices.

My first Heuchera was a gift from Tina's garden! So this one gave me the motivation to add more to make a collection. Thank you again Tina for teaching me about Heuchera which I had never heard of before then. I had heard of Coral Bells though. Heck, I cannot even pronounce the word Heuchera so Coral Bells they will be for me. lol. Tina says this one is called "Mocha Mint" Hum, sounds like a nice cool ice cream doesn't it?

Mocha mint has the most dainty blooms on it. I also see a spider web!

The second one I picked up at a bargain price of $1.00 being the "Palace Purple". At that price, I should have picked up a few more. Oh well...

Since noticing the Coral Bells, I am finding that this one seems to be the most popular one in the garden centers.

The blooms were not as pretty as the blooms on the Mocha Mint. I don't even consider them blooms as they do not look like blooms to me. "Tiramisu" is the second one I added this year. Since I found the bargain one for a mere dollar, I felt it was okay to pay $3.95 for this one. I have paid more for a piece of Tiramisu cake in a restaurant!
Again, the blooms are not so pretty but this bee sure does seem to like the way they taste. Hum, wonder if this is an Italian Bee? Tiramisu is still in its pot for now. This area was real soggy from the massive spring rains and I about lost the other two due to the moisture. As a matter of fact, this is the third time I have moved Mocha Mint! Tiramisu arrived at a later date so I kept it in the pot and buried the pot. This way, it was not so soggy by not being in the ground soil. The area is now bone dry and the hole is dug so I need to plant it when I find the time. I am thinking of maybe trading Tiramisu and Palace Purple since it is so much smaller. I know in time it may reach growth but for now, it looks a bit funny don't you think?
I also found some bargain hosta last fall. I found them for $2.00 a pot and I was able to separate them into 3 pots. So for $4.00, I ended up with 6 plants! I have a problem with the Voles eating my hosta. My Mother in Law let me in on her secret to keep them from the Voles mouths. Keep them in the pots and bury the pots in the ground! You can see how I have done this in this picture above. The pine straw and plant hides the pot and you can hardly tell they are not in the ground. They will not spread this way so I will have to separate them each year.
So far the bury method is working for the Voles but not for the deer! Argggggg, I finally took someones advice and invested in a bottle of Liquid Fence and so far, they have not bothered them again. They also ate most of the leaves off the Black Elephant Ears!

In this picture, you see the hosta before the deer found them. The pots hide well don't they?

The deer also found and ate most of the leaves off this Black Elephant ear that I planted in this area. I sprayed it with the Liquid Fence and it became spotted. I can't win for loosing with the wildlife around here. I love my wildlife but also my plants. What's an animal loving Gardener to do? I guess keep Liquid Fence on hand.

Well this is part one of a two part series on this area going from PINE STRAW TO PLANTS, In the Garden...

Stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion...