Why I Oughta...

Putting this in my garden diary:  waterslide (ruffled) hostas put on short, close-to-the-crown purple flowers in mid/late August.  See below for a photo of the current view of the three Waterslides that we have in the backyard.  I planted the f irst one of these in 2020 from the Morton Sale and added the two others from the orange big box store in 2021 .   Compare this mid/late August bloom time with some of the other varieties like these dark-green Venticosa hostas that bloomed with dark-purple, but very tall blooms in late July .  Having a mix of bloom-times is something that I need to continue to work on - with the ideal being a true four-season garden.

It was back at the end of May when I featured a look the little cluster of three Waterslide hostas in our backyard beds where I celebrated how all three had come back for their second full growing season.  See below, they've started to fill in the gaps and get up to their fully-mature size.  The ruffled foliage is a real star in the garden and is something I'll look-to when I bring on more hostas.   Also note - in the photo above - you can see that some of the Everillo sedges are growing at different rates.

In the photo above, you can peep a bunch of things;  a few of the Everillo Sedges on the bottom right.  A couple of small Hicks upright Yew in the middle left.  The Chocoholic Snakeroot in the top right.   But, the focus of the photo here in the [garden diary] is the three ruffled hostas planted on a diagonal.  They are Waterslide hostas and they're looking really great.  I first planted one in fall of 2020 that I bought at the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale .  I (now) know that buying one of anything is a mistake.  So, in Spring of 2021, I remedied that mistake and brought home Waterslide Hostas that I found at Home Depot .   The one closest to the back (by the fence) is the oldest and the two one-year-old versions are closer to the front of the bed.   They're a cool blue/green color and the ruffled foliage provides a nice contrast to this area that features the sedges and yews.   I mentioned then - and it sti...

Last year, I bought a single Waterslide hosta at the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant sale and immediately had regrets of not buying more.  It is a pretty green/silver color and has strong ruffled leaves. I planted it around the flowering Cherry tree last Fall and it came back this Spring .   When I went to the Spring plant sale, it was sold out, but that just meant that I had to hunt for it.  On a trip to Home Depot one night, I found two of them and put them in my cart quickly. Here, below, are the pair of ruffled, Waterslide hostas laid out where I planned on planting them - in a sort of linear drift adjacent to the sedges.   Once planted, you can see the difference in the size of the one from last year vs. this year's version with the oldest one on the top right: And, here's another look - below - showing the three Waterslide hostas.

Last Fall, I bought my first ruffled hosta - a Waterslide Hosta - from the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale.  At that time, I hadn't really come across ruffled hostas, but was struck by this one.  Unfortunately, I made a very common gardening mistake ; I bought just one of them. I planted it in the canopy of the Japanese Kanzan Flowering Cherry tree and the green foliage lasted a few weeks before going into dormancy for Winter.  This Spring, this Waterslide Hosta has come back and is quite healthy and full.  This growing season, I've had my eyes on finding a few more of this cultivar, but so far no such luck.  The Morton Arboretum Spring Plant Sale was sold out.  And I haven't seen them at various growing centers.  There are LOTS of Whee hostas (which are VERY similar, but not quite the same) at Home Depot, but so far, I've resisted buying those.  I'd like to add a few more of these to a drift or ruffled hosta colony. In terms of hosta cultivars...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of one of the Hostas that I bought at the Fall Plant Sale (Praying Hands ) and talked about how I studied the shade to try to pick the right spot that provided the conditions while also placing it so I could enjoy looking at the plant.  Today, I wanted to add to the garden diary the other hosta - Waterslide.  This is the ruffled one that I posted about earlier this month when I bought i t. I ended up planting the Waterslide hosta adjacent to the three Japanese Evercolor Everillo Sedges that are planted at the base of our Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree .  You can see the Waterslide hosta on the left of the photo below. Just like the Sedges, I mulched the Waterslide hosta in with wood chips and have been trying to water it to get it established this Fall.   The plan in this area calls for the inclusion of Ostrich Ferns, so if you recall the back of the tag of this Waterslide Hosta , you'll see that both Sedges and Ferns are listed as c...