Hostas, those hardy, beautiful, spectacular perennials, are this lazy gardener’s best friend.
We had a very cold and wet winter. Spring was gray, dreary, even wetter, and slow to arrive. The silver lining to all those (literal) clouds is hostas that have been knocked into overdrive. They seem particularly beautiful this year.
Hostas are very hardy.
The hostas around our water feature are about eighteen years old:
They’ve been divided once in eighteen years. They should be divided again soon; the base is very large. But my laziness doesn’t seem to affect their hardiness!
My friend Kelly, of Kelly’s Salad: Southwestern Flavors with a Cilantro/Lime/Jalapeno Dressing, has one of the prettiest gardens in town. She mixes her hostas with Japanese irises and other shade-lovers for a beautiful setting:
And can you spy her lovely little sculpture nestled in the back? So charming.
I’m not as gifted as Kelly in my back garden, and I’ve had a devil of a time getting anything to grow in the deep shade. (My husband is a nut for trees, and won’t allow any of our trees to be removed.). But the old reliable hostas come back up every year, when nothing else can make it:
Here in Ohio hostas do very well. The experts say they can thrive in very diverse conditions, from USDA hardiness Zones 3 to 9. (Click here for details about growing conditions.)
Hostas also make a great border plant, or replacement for a shrub:
Hostas require little maintenance.
The only maintenance I’m aware of for hostas is a fall cleanup to remove the dead leaves. If you wait long enough (like this lazy gardener) those dead leaves are easily removed with a swipe of your hand, and don’t even require pruners.
As a final bonus, I love watching hostas come up in the spring. They come out of the ground like little spears, and unfurl into big showy leaves. And they show up early in the spring, when everything else (in this frozen wasteland of Ohio) seems to be tentatively waiting until the last final freeze.
I think I love hostas because they are like some of my favorite people: hardy, tenacious, dependable, low-maintenance, and a little bit showy and dramatic!
For more about home decor, please see:
- Condo Bathroom Renovation: Before and After
- Condo Kitchen Renovation: Cool Shades and Warm Sunshine
- Non-Invasive Facelift for the Kitchen and Family Room
- Patio Remodel: Fireplace, Seating, and a Louvered Roof
