My relationship with hostas has been fickle at best. I really did try to appreciate them as individuals... I was even in and out of hosta organizations a number of times over the years. Try as I might, I could only like them quite well, but loving them was out of the question. I finally realized that despite the fact that I have a few hundred cultivars, my enjoyment of hostas comes from using them as a part of the landscape. I am not a collector and I don't ooh and ah when I see them in other people's gardens. I do enjoy and appreciate what they do for those folk's landscapes just as I do enjoy what they do for mine. I don't need to know every name (I've lost a good many tags through the years), I don't have to own the latest, and one of my favorites is the basic old fashioned green with white edge which also happens to be the first hosta I ever grew.
You may recall that one of my big goals for this past season was 'mixing it up'... combining the hostas with a whole host of other shade loving plants. That to me paints a picture... as my title says, hostas can easily serve as the glue that holds the whole design together. I know folks who have unbelievable collections of hostas... hundreds, and each is kept at two to three shoots or stems (sets of leaves from single divisions). I'm glad folks enjoy that, but I prefer to see a plant developed to its full potential as a specimen, and for that reason I sometimes don't divide my hostas for twenty years or more. In the photos above, the Picea omorika 'Nana' had been shaded out on two sides by the lower branches of the large spruces (now gone)... the addition of four large 'Sagae' was the perfect solution. ( These photos are from spring, before the plants have fully developed.)
It may take some time for the area pictured above to take on the look I'm hoping for... there is a whole lot of plant material here and it needs to do some developing, some hostas will almost certainly need to be moved out and the color scheme of the hostas could use a bit of shuffling.
In the forefront of the photo below there is a big area of hellebores with a couple hostas mixed in... while I'm sure it's simply a matter of taste, I don't personally care for hostas and hellebores mixed together, although I really don't mind them grouped close at hand to each other. It's something about the foliage, each perhaps commands too much attention with their big leaves and they struggle with one another to my eye.
In the photo below, the connection between hostas in different beds is created by the use of their colors. Over time, as more shade is created, it's my goal to continue the concept of using the hostas to tie the gardens together. I'm starting to see a swath of shade areas moving through the gardens and hostas are one of the plants that connect them all.
One of my favorite companion plants with colorful hostas such as 'Liberty' is the Japanese maple 'Seiryu'. It's the contrast between the fine texture of the acer foliage with the large foliage of the hostas that I find so appealing. I've also included Athyrium 'Lady in Red' in this combination and I have to say it rates as one of my favorite spots in the gardens. Ferns and hostas are another winning combination in my book!
Whether a collector or someone who just enjoys hostas in the landscape, a lot of peace and tranquility can be incorporated into the garden with the use of hostas. It is my goal to continue to pursue connection in the gardens here at Oak Lawn with these wonderful plants. I may never purchase another hosta with the exception of developing a collection of miniatures at some point. I have the perfect spot for them on the front patio. I need to find the time to create some large hypertuffa containers to house them. I can easily picture how attractive a few miniature landscapes incorporating miniature hosta would be in this area. For me to buy additional larger cultivars, the plants would really have to be something unique and different at this point. One use that I haven't incorporated is hostas in decorative pots, which can be extremely effective and if I get that far, I may give that a try this season.
Anticipating spring while having experienced another blizzard today... Larry
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