Some of you might remember a few years ago when I turned an old sunny vegetable garden into a hosta garden including a shade shelter. Here's what it looks like today...
Approaching from the southeast corner
Looking down the pathway under the shelter from the SE corner entry
Looking to the right of the entrance
Left side of the path... this is a collection of fragrant hostas - chosen because the south side of the shelter gets sun for the first 3-4 feet because of the sun angle
Looking over a big Winter Snow and on down the pathway to the far end of the path...
Very nice, indeed, and bound to only get better--as you well know!
My heart skipped a beat when I caught a glimpse of the hosta along the fenceline,
in the last pic. at about 2:00, from Winter Snow, up to the right--the third up--the
one with the ruffly green margin--golden centers! WHAT IS IT??? It looks like 'Journey's End' or what I imagine it would look like mature!!
I suspect you are talking about this one... a showstopper... H. 'War Paint'
In a month it will still be a cool hosta due to its excellent form, though it will lose its variegation - but this part of the season the coloring is amazing.
Thanks 'J'!! It is breathtaking! Don't you wish it could look like that all season!!!
I know you enjoy it for as long as you can each season!
Thank you for answering my question!
The red-blooming plant is paeonia tenuifolia - the Fern Leaf Peony, Lots of folks just call it a Fern Peony.
These are expensive plants. Years ago, my wife's mother bought four - one for her and one for each of her three daughters. They can be persnickity about transplant and siting. All three girls lost theirs, but her mother's just grew and grew.
A couple of years ago, as we closed up their house after they moved into assisted living, we dug up the mother plant and divided it into four parts - one for each of the daughters and one for a dear friend. Two daughters have lost theirs, but ours is doing well in two locations, as is the division that went to the friend.
I looked at a nearby nursery recently - they were selling a one gallon pot with two stalks for $59.95 plus tax. Not in our budget to buy one, but inheriting one with a heritage is a cool way to get started! The person doing the dividing has really got to like you, because they risk losing the plant or setting it way back when they make the division - way touchier than hostas in this regard.
I remember hearing years ago that peonies are supposed to be transplanted in fall. As it turns out, I've always had to move them in spring and have had good success doing so. Planting depth is essential, as is adequate moisture as they settle in. And peonies are, like hostas, heavy feeders... so good water and fertilization is essential to success... but just to complicate things, too much fertilizer can cause them to grow too fast and tall, causing them to flop open.
