Red, white and blue in the garden

There’s plenty of red (bee balm) and white (daisies) — and if you look closely, you might find a speck of blue-ish nepeta walker’s low tucked in there. Well, it’s there, if not in the photo.

Or if you prefer it all spread out, also across the garden:

 

 

Happy Fourth of July!

The hosta of my desire

Given that our property backs onto woodland and deer are a nuisance throughout the neighborhood, it’s strange that I would even be talking about hostas. After all, they are supposed to be deer candy.

But somehow the ones around us either don’t have a sweet tooth or — more likely — don’t want to venture up against the house, where the hostas are, figuring it’s easier to munch at the neighbors. We generally do pretty well with them. The most damage may come from having many that are in a spot that gets a decent amount of sun that end up with burned leaves.

We have the usual solid green-leaf variety (plenty of those!) and some that are green-and-white striped. Then there are some blues, a brighter green, one that’s more of a green-gray, at least early in the year. We have some with tiny leaves, and some that are oversized. In the last year or so, I got a tiny bit of a blue one with a lime-green stripe down the middle that my sisters are already eyeing once it gets big enough to divide. And there’s a green one that has a golden yellow trim that probably would be even more visible if I’d give it a shadier spot.

But this is the one I really want: a pale yellow variety with green in the middle. I spotted it on a trip that took us to northern Pennsylvania, and would it pop among the greens and blues!

I figure I have a few choices: always travel with a trowel and sneak a piece of what catches my eye when no one is looking in the middle of the night, offer to divide the plant in exchange for a piece, or just ask everyone I know if they have it. Of all the options, No. 3 is clearly the best.

Consider yourself asked.