Hallson Gardens

My hosta garden is small, but very full. It is limited by the size of my yard,which is postage stamp size, and mostly shaded. I have several hosta varieties whose names I don't know, but here are the named varieties I have:

(Last updated May 22, 2009. Fall 2008 additions in pink.)

• Abiqua Drinking Gourd -- summer 2007
  Allan P. McConnell
  Blue Arrow --summer 2007
  Blue Mouse Ears -- summer 2007
  Blue Shadows -- summer 2008
  Christmas Tree -- summer 2008
  Clovelly -- summer 2008
  Donahue Piecrust --summer 2007
  Eola Sapphire-- fall 2008
  Empress Wu -- fall 2008
  Fortunei Aureomarginata
  Fortunei Hyacinthina (I think)
  Francee
  Frances Williams 2009: Recovering from summer 2008 heat treatment for nematodes. Small specimen (now potted) survived.
  Gold Drop -- summer 2007
  Gold Edger
  Gold Standard -- summer 2007
  Golden Scepter (incredibly prolific) 2009 -- Lost most of these to nematodes during summer of 2008. Have one potted specimen left.
  Golden Tiara
  Great Expectations
  Guacamole-- fall 2008
  Halcyon
  Hadspen Blue -- summer 2007
  Ice Age Trail -- summer 2007
  Inniswood 2009: Recovering from summer 2008 heat treatment for nematodes. Small specimen (now potted) survived.
  Julia Hardy -- summer 2006
  June-- summer 2007
  Kabitan
  Komodo Dragon -- summer 2007
  Krossa Regal
  lancifolia
  Love Pat -- summer 2007
  Lady Isobel Barnet
  Mack the Knife -- summer 2007
  Plantaginea -- summer 2007
  Paradigm -- summer 2007
  Red October
  Revolution
  Royal Standard
  Sagae
  Sleeping Beauty -- summer 2007
  Spilt Milk -- summer 2007
  Sum and Substance
  Undulata
  Undulata Albomarginata
  Undulata Erromena (I think)
  Ventricosa (I think -- It usually gets dark purple flowers mid summer, but did not bloom this year)

Welcome to the forums

Nice list and yes trash the Wide Brim, HVX or not, there is no space for problem hostas in a tiny garden
No h. June

Do you still have grass

Pia

Thanks Pia.

Yes, we do have grass, but my hosta garden has been steadily encroaching on the lawn. I'll try to post a photo.

You have a nice selection for a small yard. I, too, would definitely recommend H.June. Such a beautiful hosta. Would love to see a pic of your garden.

Here are a few photos of my shade garden from last year (2006)

Welcome. Nice pictures, nice gardens....The GE is so fat or phat. Very nice. I also live in the northeast. It has been a good summer for the hosta and gardening!

hostabuff,

It has been a wonderful summer for hosta and gardening. I spend as much of every day as I can manage outdoors in my garden. Just looked at your list, and all I can say is wow! Your gardens must be beautiful.

Edited August 4, 2007 -- Oh my. Discovered that several H. Golden Scepter plants have nematodes. Went on a search and destroy mission. Hopefully the malady has not spread.

Here is a list of ground covers, perennials, shrubs, bulbs and annuals that I use in my hosta beds:

Ground covers

• Ajuga (bugleweed)
  Creeping Jenny
  European Ginger
  Gallium Odoratum - Sweet Woodruff (this is very pretty, but I am getting rid of it because it seems to be choking other plants)
  Lamium (dead nettle)
  Lily of the Valley
  Pachysandra
  Vinca

Perennials

• Astilbe
  Cimicifuga (Bugbane)
  Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
  Elijah Blue fescue grass
  ferns
  Geranium (the perennial type)
  Heuchera (coral bells)
  Siberian Iris (these can tolerate a bit of shade, and they provide great vertical interest)
  Solomon's Seal
  Trycirtis (toad lilies)

Shrubs

• Andromeda (pieris japonica)
  Azalea
  Hydrangea

Spring Flowering Bulbs

• Daffodils
  Grape Hyacinth
  Trout Lilies

Annuals

• Impatiens (I use these in pots throughout my main hosta bed)
  Purple Perilla (This is an annual herb in the mint family. It self sows prolifically, and prefers full sun, but does quite nicely in the shade. Its leaves are a rich, deep reddish purple, that goes well with hostas. My experience has been that it does not multiply as rapidly or grow as tall in the shade, but it still can be a bit weedy.

My main hosta bed is planted in the shade of four trees -- an oak, a sugar maple, a clump of eastern hemlocks, and a blue spruce -- which span the width of my back yard.

Hi Gloria,
My hosta list may look long -- until you compare it with the lists of other collectors on this forum-- plus I added about 70 plants this year..... 20 still in pots waiting for a home. Yes I'm a little crazy about hosta (my husband thinks I belong to a cult). Have you checked out the New England Hosta Society? It's a very nice group with a lot of good things happening. We saw some pretty amazing gardens this year--in anticipation of selecting gardens for the 2011 Hosta Convention! You have a nice list of shade plants there!

Hi hostabuff,

I haven't checked out the New England Hosta Society yet. I've always loved hosta, but had no clue how many there were to choose from until the last few years. I met Steve Greene (of Hosta Finder fame) a few weeks ago. I was in awe of his collection. He let us browse at our leisure, then dug the plants we wanted and potted them up for the trip home. I usually add one new hosta to my collection each year, but this year I've already added 12, and my husband thinks I'm out of control. My yard is very small, so I have limited space to work with. Each year I carve out a little bit more of the lawn to accommodate my growing collection of hosta.

Cheers,

Gloria

Gloria, thanks for posting the list of companions and some of your thoughts on shady gardening. It's always nice to hear/see what others are doing. Your pictures are lovely.

Thanks Jane. The garden did very well this summer, up until I discovered nematodes on several golden scepter plants in early August. I destroyed the plants and treated the planting holes with boiling water, and thought I was done. Not so. A golden tiara came up with nematodes, then several plants nearby, including halcyon, lady isobel barnet, inniswood, fortunei aureomarginata, great expectations, revolution, sum and substance and another clump of golden scepter. I dug, heat treated and potted the golden tiara; thought I had killed it, but it has come back with a flush of new, nematode free leaves. For the rest of the infested plants, I removed the affected leaves and treated the plants with disulfoton granules and insecticidal soap. So far only one has shown any further nematode damage, and I've treated that with another dose of insecticidal soap. I treated all of my new hostas with disulfoton, and so far none of them has shown any symptoms. The garden is looking pretty ratty at the moment, a combination of the drought we're experiencing in eastern Mass, and the fact that it's about time for the plants to start going dormant. Looking forward to better success next year.