One Handful of Hosta

Several of my hosta that have never bloomed before are doing so this year. Some of those are only in bud right now, but I hope to get a decent picture of each before I'm done.

Here are a few of them. This is the 'Forbidden Fruit' hosta that I got for ten cents. OK, OK, eleven cents. It's turning out to be one of my favorites just for the color and shape. And on top of that, the flowers are big.

Here's the whole plant with buds on a stalk.

And a closer view of the flower. Very pale purple. Almost white with lavender tinges. And the flowers are somewhat clustered.

Of course, hosta flowers don't have a lot of variety. The plants are grown mainly for their leaf colors. But that said, it's fun to compare. The 'Royal Standard' is a variety with big white flowers that really give a nice display, but the plants are much bigger than I want in my garden. But I've seen stunning borders with them in bloom.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine I have no variety name for. This is the bright yellow-green one I stole from a city planter quite a few years ago. When I found out they threw them all away at the end of the season, I no longer felt guilty for swiping a couple of leaves and a root. I now have two nice patches of it. It might possibly be 'Lemon Lime,' but there are so many similar proprietary ones, I can't be sure. The flowers are very typical.

I didn't zoom that picture in because you can see small dark green leaves behind the yellow-green ones. That is the 'Tiny Tears' hosta. It's blooms weren't spectacular this year, probably because the garden didn't get quite enough water while I was in NY.

But here is a picture of it from last year when it went nuts! The flowers are a deeper purple. Very nice. I have a border of it almost the whole length of the front flower bed. It spreads like crazy and I started with one small puddle. The flower stalks are only about 6" tall, and the mounds of leaves about 2" high.

I probably saw this one bloom long ago, but I don't think I have pictures. This was the first variety of hosta I ever had, given to me by my then pastor's wife. It's one of the oldest named varieties- 'Francee.' I had a lush strip of it along the house, but the deer ate it down to the roots several years in a row, which is tough even for a hosta. It's coming back, and a few of them bloomed this year.

Nice large flowers, although spread apart on the stem somewhat.

And the last for today, another one given to me that I have really no hope of identifying the variety. The flowers are typical. The leaves are a bright green with thin yellow edges.

There are several others in bud, so hopefully, there will be another handful of hostas later. Of course, the poor 'Mouse Ears' got chewed. I already showed you the bud. Maybe next year.

Feeling unhappy with my lack of exercise lately, I got myself out early this morning and walked 3.5 miles- roadwalk. I have to tell you that since the big NCT hike, I really have a hard time convincing myself to go do a road loop. But it was 66 degrees when I started and 75 when I finished. Not too bad.

The day was hot, but not as humid. I did all the usual stuff, and watered some of the gardens. But now I need to get the computer off my lap. It's just too hot!

See Poor Little Mouse Ears