Garden Bed #12 - page 3

This large deep green plant has long set the standard for piecrust-edged hostas. I didn't think much of it until it hit its 4th year. I had even considered giving it away. Then suddenly it became a huge beauty of a plant. It blossoms profusely & sets tons of seeds.

AHS registered Green Piecrust for Frances Williams in 1986. Her records indicate the plant was an open-pollinated seedling named in 1957.

Medium mound of dense blue foliage. This plant just keeps getting better & better in my gardens. It has very thick substance leaves that slugs & bugs don't bite. Halcyon is a must have plant originating in the early 1960's & registered in 1988 by the British Hosta & Hemerocallis society for Eric Smith.

This plant was given to me as a bonus plant when buying hostas from Hosta Leaf Nursery. I've so enjoyed it's beauty. It's hardy & robust, growing very quickly.

I've learned this little tree is famous for its coral / pink bark. I think of it as red. The name loosely translated means coral tower (rising upward). I bought 2 of these tiny baby trees at K-Mart in one gallon pots a few years ago. They were only $6.00 each. I couldn't resist. I got one for my mom & one for me. Mom didn't want such a tiny specimen so I got to keep them both.

I knew enough about Japanese Maples to not plant them in blazing hot sun & I thought they might need shelter from cold north winter winds. I wasn't sure they would survive zone 5b growing conditions but they were so cheap I thought it was worth a try. I planted them both in garden #3 but the one closest to the house deck refused to grow. It didn't die but other plants were crowding it & it wasn't getting much sun, then there was the heavy cold clay soil to contend with too. So I had to move it 2 years ago (praying for it's survival the whole time). The poor little thing got it's own space in garden #12 C with more sunshine but no open cold winds or direct hot noon-sun. It's growing well & is just the cutest little thing still only about 3 feet tall now. I love it! The tree left in bed #3 has grown amazingly well. It's taller than me now not noticing the formable clay soil. This tree is just wonderful through all four seasons. The red bark glows like hot embers in winter whiteness. The fine leaves emerge so delicately in spring their lime-green-pink color persists through summer. The fading early fall color is a facade for the brilliance that is still to come.

To learn more about Japanese Maple 'Sango Kaku' & other varieties of Japanese Maples click on the following links. But be careful you could get hooked.

www.paghat.com/coralbark.html

www.worldplants.com/mapleintro.htm

Great Expectations (sport of hosta sieboldiana 'Elegans') is an absolute 'knock-out' hosta. No true shade-gardener can grow just one. However, the reward of an outstanding specimen is not without malice unless you're just plain lucky. GEX demands proper & perhaps, pampered ideal growing conditions. It can not be just plopped anywhere in the garden nor can it withstand competition for food or moisture. A small division planted in the average shade garden will most likely not flourish but languish and perhaps even shrink in size and-or just plain die. It is recommended by some to plant GEX "pot and all" into the garden allowing moisture and fertilizer availability to the slow-growing shallow root system. The pot can be removed in 1-2 years.

Great Expectations is tricolored, blue, blue-green, yellow (turning to creamy white), very thick substance large round leaves. I love this plant. My garden friend, Jackie grows a huge exquisite specimen - Great Expectations. Jackie's high dapple shaded, natural woodland, hillside garden supports ideal growing conditions for hostas. (See Garden Friends - Jackie's Garden - Slide Show 2)

Great Expectations absolutely glows in my spring garden. But true to reputation, it has grown very slowly esp. in comparison to average hosta plants. Others GEX have just sat sullenly & pouted around here. But of all the hostas in my gardens, Great Expectations always commands attention.

Last spring my Master Gardener group held an little plant sale. All of my young GEX sold right away even though I warned people about just how finicky the plant could be; proving it is an irresistible plant.

Developed by John Bond Saville Gardens in England
Introduced for sale - Klehm Nursery 1989

I don't remember where I bought hosta - 'Rascal.' But I do remember after planting it in my garden, reading a story about how the plant got its name. The story goes to prove the age-old proverb; "One man's pleasure is another man's pain" or vice-versa.

Famous hosta hybridizer & introducer, Bob Soleberg registered the plant in 1991. It is said, he had wanted to name the plant for well known fellow hosta hybridizer, Alex Summers. Bob's friend didn't find the plant attractive, making some comment about he wouldn't name that plant after his dog. So Solberg, did. Thus, hosta, 'Rascal' came-to-be.

For me, Rascal has become a favorite in Marlys' Gardens. I love the upright vase-like form of this sport of Gold Regal. Each chartreuse gold leaf is bordered with subtle flowing green margins. The coloration actually becomes more pronounced as the growing season progresses. Rascal likes the sun too. I even save seed from this wonderful specimen. It's a good thing!

Hosta 'Rascal'

This hosta really impressed me in it's leap year (3rd year) enjoying growing in nearly full sun. JCC corns holds its yellow color through out the growing season in the sunshine.

Hostas are shade tolerant but still need life-giving sun of some sort. High dappled shade is ideal growing conditions for hostas. Many enjoy allot more sun than what is generally believed, especially the yellow colored plants or the shinning-sheen green leaf plants & especially the shinny apple-green colored plants. Dark-dark- green & blue hostas do not like the sun especially if they have waxy blush on their leaves.

"This beauty was named for an incredibly gracious couple from Indianapolis. Sally was instrumental to both local and regional hosta societies as a premier newsletter editor as well as managing a spectacular display garden of top shelf hosta! A 18"x30" clump that bears pinkish white flowers will grow into a real showpiece, not to mention yield some dandy seedlings if you are so inclined!" - Hosta Library Data Base Sheet

OK! Imagine, it's January in Iowa / cold / boring / long winter nights / cabin fever flourishes.
Imagine your friend is crazy for streaked hostas.
Imagine, she discovers hosta 'Sally & Bob' for sale from only one supplier on the internet.
Imagine, it cost well-over $100.00.
Imagine, she convinces you to go partners & buy the plant together.
Imagine, you do it.

Then imagine the plant arrives in the spring with 1 eye - 3 leaves & only ONE very thin white streak on only one leaf.
Imagine your friend calls the seller & they say, "Tough Luck"!
Imagine your friend grows it in her garden for one season then decides it will do better in your garden.
Imagine, it sits with one very slender white line on that one leaf for 2 years. Then you see another eye & there are streaks in several leaves on both sections. Then the next year there are 4 or 5 eyes but 2 are solid.
You dig it all up & painstakingly separate the solid eyes off, replant it & wait another season.
Finally, you look at the plant & Walla-ah! 'Sally & Bob' is an awesome plant.

The Sedum ‘Frosty Morn’, also known as Stonecrop, is a wonderful Sedum that has gray-green leaves with creamy white margins. ‘Frosty Morn’ has a height of 24” and a spread of 18-24”. The dense, star shaped, pink flowers appear in late summer and last in fall, and bloom from August to September. The new growth shows blue-green leaves that turn into deep mahogany red in the fall that can’t be missed.

Sedum ‘Frosty Morn’ needs to be planted in full sun in well-drained soil. It will tolerate most soil types and is drought resistant. Plant with asters or coneflowers for a wonderful autumn display. ‘Frosty Morn’ is a great choice for beds and borders and excellent as cut flowers. It is also a great butterfly and bee attractor and disease resistant."

From Nature Hills Nursery