Why I Oughta...

I planted three Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas a little over two years ago .  And today, I still have those same three Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas.  You can see all three of them, planted in a row, in the photo at the top of this post.  I bought these based on a post that I read summarizing various cultivars of Hostas that described these as "One of the true giants".   I had visions of five-foot-spread hostas with giant, cupped, blue-green foliage.   Are they giant?  Not yet.  You can see that.   But, are the leaves large?  Yep.  I can see a future where they'd be 'giant'.   The change in two years is large.  Compare September 2021 (here) to the photo above.   Also, it appears - to my eye - that they're growing when I look back a year (Summer 2022) and count a similar number of lobes/leaves, but the ones come out of the center sure appear larger this season.  

I bought and planted a small cluster of three large-scale hostas last Fall in one of the borders around our firepit in the far back of our garden.  They are called Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas and were the 2014 Hosta of the Year.  I posted about them here  when I found them in the 50% sale at the orange Big Box nursery.  I planted them in September and they were small at that time .  For comparison's sake, head to this post and quickly look at the photo .  Then come back here.   These did fine in September and October.  And they lasted all the way until mid-November when they started to head into dormancy .   How are they doing today?  Well...all three are back and growing.  Two more than the third, but have a look at the photo below to see how they're all doing by mid-Summer: I spaced these out to allow for their full mature size, so I expect those gaps to fill-in.  I posted about how this spot could use some additional shrubs - including oakleaf and climbing hydrangeas here .

In late September, I brought home a trio of Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas and planted them near our new (this year) firepit area.  After seeing them on the racks for a couple of seasons, I finally 'got to know' them and learned that they're some of the largest hosta varieties .  Placing this photo below into the garden diary as way to show them right as they head into dormancy.  A note:  they're haven't been eaten one bit by the rabbits while other varieties have been mowed off at the ground.  These also are doing better after the first couple of frosts than other varieties.   I'm looking forward to these coming back next Spring and filling in the spaces in between each other during the growing season.  

Last week, I picked up these three Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas that I resisted in buying for a number of years due to not being knowledgable about the attributes of this big, beautiful hosta.  I decided to stick them into the border bed near the firepit out back - right in between the bluestone chips gravel and the tiny Northern Red Oak tree that I planted last year.  You can see the three hostas below and the Red Oak tree on the far left, the fence near the top and the firepit edging on the right. I kept them off the fence a bit - thinking I will extend the Yew hedge around (at least part) of the firepit.  Will check on these come Spring and hope they emerge from Winter after I tuck them in with a little bit of new mulch.

Last month, I posted about an interesting hosta that I came across at the Growing Place called Brother Stefan hosta.  In that post , I referenced a Rob Zimmer column in the Wisconsin Gardener that highlighted a few OTHER 'interesting' cultivars of hostas that mentioned a hosta that I've seen ALL OVER various big box garden centers and, without much thought, I simply dismissed.  I dismissed it because it seemed very popular.  But, Zimmer calls the Abiqua Drinking Gourd 'One of the true giants'.  Well...that has me interested.   Source via WisFarmer.com So, when I found myself at one of the Home Depots this past weekend, I picked up a trio of Miscanthus sinesis 'Adagio' Maiden Grasses .  I also found these Abiqua Drinking Gourd hostas in the 50% off section.   Well, they *had* to come home with me.  Below, you can see the label: And, here, below, are the trio of these hostas in their nursery containers: What is the description of these?  New Hampshire Host