Hosta to the rescue

Every garden has a problem area it seems, and mine is the spot closest to the house. The hollyhock experiment worked well — beautiful flowers, although the leaves were decimated by insects. And the columbine under the pin oak is thriving, too. But after pulling the third flush of nettles that threatened to drown the rest of the area, I figured it was time to do something about it.

I declared a three-foot Weed-Free Zone (WFZ) along the length of the narrow walk (with the help of landscape cloth). Then I planted nine hostas (three varieties), on sale from Dana’s, my new favorite nursery in Littlestown, all in a neat, measured row. Finished with a heavy layer of mulch, and an impromptu bamboo border fence. Bamboo is a theme in this year’s garden, one that I like a lot.

So one-third at least of that problem is solved. I’m glad I bit the bullet and went for the hostas; I am a borderline garden snob sometimes, and hosta is one of those plants that many consider pedestrian. But I’ve had them before, and they can be quite striking in bloom, and certainly pull their weight in civilized greenery as a low border plant. In this kind of service, I think of them as a sort of working man’s boxwood.

Now I will have to relocate some of the herbs again; the spot is just too damp for the lavender, and my prized santolina is simply misplaced. Stay tuned…

Coming soon: Photos of some exciting new blooms, including my favorite new discovery, peacock orchid (speaking of peacocks, had four of the real thing strutting through the yard this morning).