CAROLYN&#039;S SHADE GARDENS

Carolyn

Nursery Happenings: The 2015 Miniature Hosta Availability for mail order and pick up at the nursery is here. You can sign up to receive emails by sending your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net.

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

If you are within visiting distance and would like to receive catalogues and information about customer events, please send your full name and phone number to carolynsshadegardens@verizon.net. Subscribing to my blog does not sign you up to receive this information.

Facebook: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens has a Facebook Page where I post single photos, garden tips, and other information that doesn’t fit into a blog post. You can look at my Facebook page here or click the Like button on my right sidebar here.

Notes: Every word that appears in orange on my blog is a link that you can click for more information. If you want to return to my blog’s homepage to access the sidebar information (catalogues, previous articles, etc.) or to subscribe to my blog, just click here.

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New Miniature and Small Hostas for 2014

Posted in container gardening, containers for shade, hosta, miniature hosta with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, dwarf hostas, Hosta ''Alakazaam', Hosta Baby Booties, Hosta Cherish, Hosta Kiwi Golden Thimble, little hostas, mini hostas, mini hostas for sale, miniature hosta, miniature hosta mail order, miniature hostas, Mouse Ears, mouse ears hostas, New Mice, small hostas on May 22, 2014 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Nursery News: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

Clockwise from upper left: ‘Lemon Frost’, ‘Alakazaam’, ‘Baby Booties’, ‘Neutrino’, ‘Kiwi Golden Thimble’, ‘Curly Fries’, ‘Thumbelina’, and ‘Cherish’.

My last post called New Mice for 2014 profiled the new additions to the adorable Mouse Ears Series of miniature hostas. In that post I talked about ‘Sunny Mouse Ears’, ‘Mouse Cheese’, ‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’, and ‘Church Mouse’. To see the photos and descriptions, click here. I extolled the virtues of their round, rubbery slug-repelling leaves in beautiful colors, their symmetrical habit, and their lovely proportional flowers.

‘Alakazaam’ planted in the knot hole of a tree.

I have added a lot of new miniature and small hostas that are not mice to my offerings, and I want to profile a few of them here. But first I would like to answer the question what is a miniature hosta? The American Hosta Society defines miniature hostas by their leaf size. The leaf blade area, length x width, can be no greater than 6 square inches. Clump spread is irrelevant. Therefore, some of the hostas listed below are not technically “miniature”, but they are all little!

‘Alakazaam’s’ unusual spiky habit makes it stand out from the crowd no matter where you place it. It forms a clump 5″ tall by 10″ wide, and its leaves are 6 1/2″ long and 3/4″ wide. They are bright green with gold ruffled margins changing to creamy white.

‘Baby Booties’ departs from the usual gold and blue color scheme to give us a very cute green and white mini with oval leaves and a wide creamy white margin . It forms a 5″ tall by 19″ wide compact mound, and its oval leaves are 2 3/4″ long by 1 3/8″ wide.

‘Cherish’ is an adorable tiny hosta, “child” of the wonderful ‘Baby Bunting’, with heart-shaped creamy yellow leaves and a wide blue margin streaking into the center. It has pixie-like, tiny flowers that are coming into bloom right now. It is 8″ tall by 12″ wide, and its leaves are 2 1/2 ” long by 1 1/2″ wide. It needs more sun due to its extensive variegation.

‘Kiwi Golden Thimble’ is my most popular new mini hosta. Its unusual gold color and narrow, cupped leaves really stand out. Plus it rapidly produces an adorable mound of golden foliage. It is 5″ tall by 18″ wide, and its leaves are 2 3/4″ long by 1 1/4″ wide.

Look for another post on four more new additions. If you would like to read more about little hostas, click on any of the following links:

New Mice for 2014

2013 New Miniature and Small Hostas

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

18 Comments »

New Mice for 2014

Posted in container gardening, containers for shade, hosta, miniature hosta with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, dwarf hostas, Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears', Hosta Church Mouse, Hosta Giantland Mouse Cheese, Hosta Giantland Sunny Mouse Ears, Hosta Mouse Cheese, Hosta Ruffled Mouse Ears, Hosta Sunny Mouse Ears, little hostas, mini hostas, mini hostas for sale, miniature hosta, miniature hosta mail order, miniature hostas, Mouse Ears, mouse ears hostas, small hostas on May 5, 2014 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Clockwise from upper left: ‘Holy Mouse Ears’, ‘Frosted Mouse Ears’, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, ‘Green Mouse Ears’, and ‘Mighty Mouse’.

In 2012, I wrote a very popular post called I Love Mice about little hostas in the Mouse Ears Series. In that post I talked about ‘Holy Mouse Ears’, ‘Frosted Mouse Ears’, ‘Green Mouse Ears’, ‘Mighty Mouse’, and the little hosta that started it all, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’. I extolled the virtues of their round, rubbery slug-repelling leaves in beautiful colors, their symmetrical habit, and their lovely proportional flowers. Since then some new mice have arrived on the seen, and I want to introduce them to you.

‘Sunny Mouse Ears’ is tiny and adorable in a new color for mouse ears minis.

It was just a matter of time before someone selected a gold-leafed mouse ears hosta, and ‘Sunny Mouse Ears’ is it. It has tiny, perfectly round leaves 1 3/4″ long by 1 3/4″ wide. It forms a mound 3″ tall by 10″ wide. ‘Sunny Mouse Ears’ is the first gold-leafed cultivar in the Mouse Ears series, although there is another described below. It has the same thick substance that repels slugs and the same enchanting, pixie-like pale purple flowers in July as the rest of the mouse ears clan.

Hosta ‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’ in the foreground contrasts nicely with the rounded shape of most of the other mouse ears hostas, here ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ in the background.

A close up of ‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’

‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’ is another new addition to the group. It has blue-green leaves 2 3/4″ long by 2 1/2″ wide with highly ruffled margins. Although it has the same rounded, thick, rubbery, slug resistant leaves as its parent ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, its rippled and frilled margins provide a great contrast to the other mouse ears hostas. ‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’ forms a mound 6″ high by 14″ wide and has the same desirable flowers.

‘Mouse Cheese’ is definitely a clever name for this gold-leafed mouse ears hosta.

‘Mouse Cheese’ is the other new gold-leafed mouse ears hosta available this year. At 2 3/4″long by 2 1/2″ wide, its leaves are larger and not as round, but they are bright gold with the same thick texture as the other mice we have come to love. ‘Mouse Cheese’ forms a slightly larger mound 4″ tall and 12″ wide. It has very cute pale purple flowers in July and retains its gold leaf color all season.

The texture of Hosta ‘Church Mouse’ stands out in a mixed planting. Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens.

‘Church Mouse’, the last of the four new mouse ears hostas, has very blue leaves with unique, highly ruffled margins that make a good contrast with other mouse ears hostas. It has the same thick substance that repels slugs and adorable, well-proportioned lavender flowers in early summer. It forms a larger mound 8″ tall by 15″ wide, but has the same neat and symmetrical habit.

A close up of ‘Church Mouse’, photo courtesy of Walters Gardens.

If you would like to read more about little hostas, click on any of the following links:

2013 New Miniature and Small Hostas

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a local retail nursery in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 7a. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

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September 2013 GBBD

Posted in Fall, Fall Color, Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, groundcover, hosta, my garden, native plants, Shade Perennials with tags 'Aureola' Japanese hakone grass, 'Black Scallop' ajuga, 'Brigadoon' St. John's wort, 'Pamina' Japanese anemone, 'September Charm' Japanese anemone, Anemone x hybrida, autumn leadwort, Begonia grandis, Begonia grandis 'Alba', Berry Smoothie coralbells, Carolyn's Shade Gardens, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Chelone lyonii, Citronelle coralbells, Cyclamen hederifolim 'Album', Cyclamen hederifolium, garden phlox, Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', hardy begonia, hardy cyclamen, Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie', Heuchera villosa 'Citronelle', hosta 'Honeybells', Hosta 'Mighty Mouse', Hosta 'Stained Glass', Hypericum 'Brigadoon', Japanese anemone, Moudry fountain grass, Nicky phlox, Pennisetum 'Moudry', Phlox paniculata, pink turtlehead, plumbago, Polystichum polyblepharum, Sinonome toad-lily, Starfire phlox, tassel fern, Tricyrtis 'Sinonome', white hardy begonia, white hardy cyclamen on September 14, 2013 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, PA, specializing in showy, colorful, and unusual plants for shade. The only plants that we ship are snowdrops and miniature hostas. For catalogues and announcements of events, please send your full name, location, and phone number (for back up use only) to carolyn@carolynsshadegardens.com. Click here to get to the home page of our website for catalogues and information about our nursery and to subscribe to our blog.

Hardy begonias and ‘Paradise Joyce’ hosta

I have been very busy getting the nursery ready for the fall season but took a few hours off to get this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day post done. First though, I want to tell you what is in the fall line up. Our fourth annual Double Hellebore Offer is underway. To look at the brochure, click here. These hellebores are the biggest doubles we have ever sold, and they are almost guaranteed to bloom this spring because they bloomed last spring. If you want to see them in person, they are here right now and ready to go, so make an appointment or come during our open hours tomorrow, Sunday, September 15, from 1 to 3 pm.

Hardy begonias are the ideal fall plant—they come up late and look pristine when they bloom from September through the first frost.

Our fall season started today, September 14, when we opened for a few hours so customers eager to start planting could shop. Thanks to everyone who came by. We will be open again tomorrow from 1 pm to 3 pm. The first full-fledged open house sale is scheduled for Septmebr 28, and cyclamen breeder John Lonsdale will be making a guest appearance with his gorgeous hardy cyclamen. He will have selected forms of Cyclamen hederifolium plus many other rare species. Customers will get an email with all the details. If you want to come before September 28, just send me an email with your preferred day and time.

white hardy begonia

I am currently putting together a Shrub, Tree, and Vine Offer with woody plants suitable for all your shady areas. Look for an email this week if you are on my customer email list. Finally, my husband Michael will be holding three sessions of his well-attended Low Maintenance Gardening Seminars. They are tentatively scheduled for September 27, 29, and 30, but all the details will arrive by email shortly. That’s all the business for now so on to the post….

My back hill is filled with large patches of hostas, and I use hardy begonias to fill in between them and even to cover up plants that are worn out by fall.

It is the middle of the month and time to participate in Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day (GBBD) hosted by May Dreams Gardens (link available on the 15th of the month) where gardeners from all over the world publish photos each month of what’s blooming in their gardens. I participate because it is fun and educational for me to identify what plants make my gardens shine at different times of the year. I encourage all gardeners, but especially my customers, to expand their floral display beyond spring so that their gardens delight them with flowers whenever they go outside.

My garden is located in Bryn Mawr (outside Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, U.S., in zone 6B.

hardy begonias

Another fall star is Japanese anemone, which blooms from August into October depending on the variety. The taller cultivars look beautiful draped over shorter plants, here hybrid hellebores. However, shorter and more upright types have been introduced lately, look for the Pretty Lady series and ‘Pink Saucers’, both available at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens.

‘September Charm’ Japanese anemone

My favorite, ‘Pamina’ Japanese anemone

I generally do not grow hostas for their flowers, but I make an exception for the highly fragrant varieties like ‘Guacamole’. This photo shows ‘Honeybells’ towering over my miniature hosta rock garden.

Another hosta with deliciously fragrant flowers is ‘Stained Glass’, the 2006 Hosta of the Year.

‘Stained Glass’ is one of my favorite hostas—how many of your hostas look like this by fall?

Another hosta that comes through summer in pristine condition is the adorable miniature ‘Mighty Mouse’.

It wouldn’t be fall without garden phlox. I let this highly fragrant native plant self sow throughout my gardens and it is usually covered with butterflies.

The more modern garden phlox cultivars are mildew resistant and come in vibrant colors like ‘Starfire’ in this photo.

‘Nicky’ garden phlox with ‘Citronelle’ coralbells

Customers have been raving about ‘Berry Smoothie’ coralbells for the last couple of years so I finally planted it in my garden—gorgeous.

Two of my favorite colors, yellow and blue, come together through the side-by-side pairing of ‘Brigadoon’ St. John’s wort and plumbago (also called autumn leadwort), both excellent groundcovers.

Tassel fern makes such an elegant specimen with its circular habit and shiny evergreen leaves.

It wouldn’t be September without fall-blooming hardy cyclamen. The flowers start blooming in August (and last into October) and are followed by the beautifully patterned leaves which last until the next June.

white fall-blooming hardy cyclamen

‘Black Scallop’ ajuga is the only one I sell because it is so superior. It produces a solid weed-choking mat of very shiny, semi-evergreen leaves topped by lovely blue flowers.

This late-blooming black-eyed Susan species, Rudbeckia triloba (thanks Heide) self sows like mad, but I wouldn’t give up the beautiful display.

‘Aureola’ Japanese hakone grass is beautiful all year.

Black fountain grass comes into its glory in the fall. Yes, I know it can spread, but I have had it for 15 years and it hasn’t gone anywhere that I didn’t want to leave it. Gardeners with smaller areas or less tolerance for the natural look should beware.

Another favorite native, pink turtlehead, peaks in my garden in September.

A glimpse of what’s to come in October, the first flower opens on my ‘Sinonome’ toad-lily.

Almost all of these plants are available for sale at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens so, if you are in the area, I hope you will stop by. If not, you now have a lot of ideas for your fall shade garden.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

Nursery Happenings: Carolyn’s Shade Gardens will be open Sunday, September 15, from 1 to 3 pm, and for a full-fledged open house sale on Saturday, September 28, from 10 am to 3 pm. We are currently offering double hellebores, both by pre-order and at the nursery. For details, click here. Now that it’s cool, we are also shipping miniature hostas again. For details, click here. Low maintenance seminars and a chance to order shrubs and vines are in the works.

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Pleasurable Pairings for Early Summer Part 2

Posted in hosta, miniature hosta, my garden, native plants, Shade Gardening, Shade Perennials with tags All Gold Japanese hakone grass, Aruncus aethusifolius, Athyrium filix-femina 'Minutissimum', Brunnera 'Dawson's White', Carolyn's Shade Gardens, dwarf goatsbeard, dwarf lady fern, Green Spice coralbells, Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold', Heuchera americana Green Spice, Heuchera Stainless Steel, Hosta 'Blue Angel', Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears', Hosta 'Jimmy Crack Corn', Hosta 'June', Hosta 'Pixie Vamp', Hosta 'Remember Me', Hosta Blonde Elf, Hosta El Nino, Hosta Eye Declare, Hosta Guacamole, Hosta Krossa Regal, Hosta Sum and Substance, Hosta Summer Lovin', Hosta Teaspoon, Hosta Topaz, Indian pink, miniature hostas, Sedum lydium, Spigelia marilandica, Stainless Steel coralbells on June 14, 2013 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Indian pink, Spigelia marilandica, is one of the highlights of my garden in June. I would like to have a field of this wonderful, hummingbird-attracting native.

My post Pleasurable Pairings for Spring profiles plant combinations in my garden in April 2011. To read it, click here. I am continuing this theme with two posts on pleasing plant pairs for early summer. My house is on a south-facing slope, and the first post showed the gardens on the west side of the house. To read it, click here. Combinations from the east side of the house are in this post.

The view up the slope on the east side of the house. All the grass has been removed and replaced by garden beds and pine needle paths.

The gardens on the east side are fairly colorful when all the hellebores, snowdrops, primroses, pulmonarias, and other early perennials are blooming. However, by late spring, they become a much more subtle tapestry composed mainly of the leaves of hostas, epimediums, hellebores, and ferns. I love it, but it is more difficult to capture in photos than the colorful flowers on the west side. I wish you could all see it in person, but here is my best shot.

The view down the slope.

Looking into the woods through the upper entrance with ‘Jimmy Crack Corn’ hosta on the left.

Ivory and blue ‘El Nino’ hosta really brightens up the shade, here with white bigleaf hardy geranium.

More plants in my silver and blue garden, clockwise from upper left: hellebores, ‘Topaz’ hosta, native ‘Green Spice’ coralbells, and ‘Dawson’s White’ brunnera.

‘Krossa Regal’ hosta’s frosty blue leaves and vase-shaped habit set it apart from other hostas.

‘Sum and Substance’ hosta in the woodland with mayapples and golden groundsel.

This shows how I use the native Indian pink featured at the start of the post. Clockwise from upper left: ‘All Gold’ Japanese hakone grass, ‘Little Blue’ pulmonaria, native sedge, hellebores, Hylomecon japonicum (no common name), ‘Citronelle’ coralbells, Indian pink, and ‘Summer Lovin’ hosta.

‘Summer Lovin’ hosta and ‘All Gold’ Japanese hakone grass make a great pair.

Hosta ‘Eye Declare’ and ‘Stainless Steel’ coralbells, one of the brighter combinations on the east side of the house at this time of year.

Ferny-leafed dwarf goatsbeard with ‘June’ hosta

Customers often ask me which hostas go together, and my answer is they all do: ‘Guacamole’ and ‘Blue Angel’.

Looking down the hill over my newest installation, a miniature hosta rock garden. I needed a dedicated area to display my collection.

A view of the miniature hosta rock garden from below.

Dwarf lady fern, ‘Teaspoon’ hosta, and ‘Remember Me’ hosta on the right.

‘Pixie Vamp’ hosta with Sedum lydium and ‘Rock Prince’ hosta.

‘Blonde Elf’ hosta, dwarf lady fern, and ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hosta

I hope you enjoyed Part 2.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

Nursery Happenings: The nursery closes for the summer on June 15 and will reopen in the fall around September 15. Have a great summer.

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Pleasurable Pairings for Early Summer Part 1

Posted in hosta, my garden, Shade Gardening, Shade Perennials with tags 'Delta Jazz' crapemyrtle, 'Goldcrest' foxglove, Amethyst Falls American wisteria, Arisaema triphyllum Sparkler, Blue Waterfall Serbian bellflower, Campanula 'Blue Waterfall', Carolyn's Shade Gardens, Corydalis lutea, Digitalis 'Goldcrest', Hosta 'Paradigm', Hosta Country Mouse, Hosta Dew Drop, Hosta Hi Ho Silver, Hosta Shiro Kabitan, Hosta Whirlwind, Japanese shrub mint, Lagerstroemia 'Delta Jazz', Leucosceptrum japonicum, Ligularia Othello, Magnolia ashei, miniature hostas, Southern Living Plant Collection, Sparkler jack-in-the-pulpit, Wisteria frutescens 'amethyst Falls', yellow corydalis on June 5, 2013 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

‘Westerland’ rose and Lagerstroemia ‘Delta Jazz’, a new crapemyrtle with beautiful burgundy leaves and pink flowers which I am trialing for the Southern Living Plant Collection.

One of the most satisfying posts I have written is called Pleasurable Pairings for Spring and profiles plant combinations in my garden in April 2011. To read it, click here. It has taken me over two years to find the time to do a similar article for another season, but this post and the next will show pleasing plant pairs for early summer. I have also included some long views of the gardens to give readers a sense of place. My house is on a south-facing slope, and this post includes the gardens on the west side in the order in which you would encounter them. The east side is in Part 2.

Looking down the front steps on the west side of the house across two of the three terraces to the dovecote at the bottom.

As you walk down the steps, you pass my many miniature hosta containers, including this strawberry jar with 16 different hostas—one for each pocket. Miniature hostas are available mail order. To see the catalogue, click here.

This is a new container that sits on the steps to the side door. Clockwise from upper left: Hosta ‘Shiro Kabitan’, ‘Dew Drop’, ‘Hi Ho Silver’, and ‘Country Mouse’.

The main perennial bed by the front door on the middle terrace.

Looking from the front door towards the dovecote: ‘Minnie Pearl’ phlox, ‘Goldheart’ bleeding-heart, and ‘Caradonna’ salvia.

A longer view of the main perennial bed.

The other end of the main perennial bed: yellow corydalis, allium, ‘Magic Carpet’ spiraea, and ‘Caramel’ coralbells.

The right side of the steps to the lower terrace: ‘Katherine Adele’ hardy geranium, yellow corydalis, and ‘Blue Waterfall’ campanula.

The left side of the steps to the lower terrace.

A close up of the container on the left side of the steps with dwarf orange lilies and violas, which have been in full bloom with no dead-heading since mid-March.

Yellow corydalis in the wall with ‘Goldcrest’ foxglove surrounded by ‘Blue Waterfall’ campanula and sedums in bloom.

Just below the lower terrace: ‘Whirlwind’ hosta and a self-sown fern.

In a very dry and shady garden below the dovecote, clockwise from upper left: Japanese painted fern, ‘Sparkler’ native jack-in-the-pulpit, pulmonaria, and black sedge.

In another very dark area, Japanese shrub mint in back, ‘Leopard’ pulmonaria (one of my favorites for its giant spots), and native sedge.

Along the fence line on the west side of the property, ‘Othello’ ligularia and ‘Paradigm’ hosta.

Also along the fence, ‘Ametyst Falls’ American wisteria, which I think is just as beautiful as the Asian varieties, and monkshood.

At the very bottom of the property in the only moist garden we have, Japanese primroses, which self-sow with abandon, are succeeded by astilbes and ferns.

For Larry with best wishes for good health, the first flower on my native Magnolia ashei, a close relative of native bigleaf magnolia.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Stay tuned for Part 2, the shadier east side of the house.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

Nursery Happenings: We are having the final spring open hours at the nursery on Friday, June 7, from 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday, June 8, from 9 am to 2 pm, and Sunday, June 9, from 1 to 3 pm. Customers will get an email with the details shortly. Appointments are available through June 15 when we close for the summer, reopening in the fall around September 15. The 2013 Miniature Hosta Mail Order Catalogue, containing over 35 choice selections of miniatures for shipping all over the US, is on the right sidebar here, and we are still shipping. If you are local, you can use the catalogue to see what miniatures are still available at the nursery.

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2013 Larger Hostas

Posted in hosta, Shade Gardening, Shade Perennials with tags 2013 hosta of the year, American Hosta Growers Association Hosta of the Year, Carolyn's Shade Gardens, hosta, Hosta Dream Queen, Hosta Flavocircinalis, hosta of the year, Hosta Orange Marmalade, Hosta Pineapple Upsidedown Cake, Hosta Rainforest Sunrise, Hosta Summer Lovin', Hosta Tick Tock, Hosta tokudama 'Flavocircinalis', Mark Zilis, The Hostapedia on May 27, 2013 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

Although miniature hostas are versatile, cute, and fun, it is the larger hostas that provide the bold statement and beautiful colors in shade gardens. Here clockwise from top: ‘Blue Angel’, ‘Flavocircinalis’, ‘Gold Bullion’, and ‘Striptease’.

I have explained in previous posts how my hosta addiction has progressed and focused on little hostas. However, that doesn’t mean that I neglect the larger hostas. I have my definite favorites there too. In fact, some of them are such favorites that, when I couldn’t buy them to sell to my customers, I decided to grow them myself just so they would be available for sale at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. In this post, I am going to profile seven of those hostas, all of which I consider stars of the shade garden. Be sure to look at the mature specimens in my garden when you visit.

‘Rainforest Sunrise’ with ‘Frosted Violet’ coralbells

‘Rainforest Sunrise’ is the 2013 Hosta of the Year, a prestigious award bestowed yearly by the American Hosta Growers Association on only one of the 8,000 cultivars in existence. For beautiful photos of all the yearly winners, click here. It forms a small mound 10″ high and 25″ wide—very useful in smaller shade gardens and smaller spaces. Its cupped and corrugated bright gold leaves with a sharply contrasting dark green margin are 6″ long and 5″ wide and really stand out in the shade. ‘Rainforest Sunrise’ has lovely near white flowers in July.

‘Dream Queen’ with maidenhair fern and ‘All Gold’ Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa).

‘Dream Queen’ is an offshoot of ‘Great Expectations’ with the same gorgeous leaves and habit but much bluer foliage. It forms an upright and spreading mound 24″ high and supposedly 50″ wide at maturity, although I have had mine for years and it is not that wide. The 12″ long by 10″ wide round leaves have a narrow yellow center stripe surrounded by deep blue. They are heavily corrugated and have thick, slug-deterring substance. ‘Dream Queen’ produces near white flowers from late June into early August.

‘Pineapple Upsidedown Cake’ with hellebores and Japanese holly fern

‘Pineapple Upsidedown Cake’ makes a tremendous specimen in my garden with its unusual look and habit. It forms a fast-growing mound 18″ high and up to 50″ wide, although my mature specimen is about half that size. The narrow, rippled, bright gold leaves with dark green margins are 9″ long and 3″ wide. Unlike most hostas, they become more gold as the season progresses. It produces lavender flowers in August.

‘Orange Marmalade’ with ‘Blackout’ coralbells

‘Orange Marmalade’ is a striking addition to my yellow and gold garden with its bright gold-orange centers throughout spring. It forms a mound 20″ high by 45″ wide at maturity. The prominent blue-green margin on the 7″ long by 5″ wide leaves sets off perfectly the orangey centers. It produces lavender flowers from mid-July into early August. ‘Orange Marmalade’ is an off-shoot of ‘Paul’s Glory’ with all the wonderful attributes of that 1999 hosta of the year but a brighter center color.

‘Tick Tock’ has a starring role in my little hosta rock garden.

‘Tick Tock’ is another beautiful hosta suitable for smaller spaces. It forms an elegant symmetrical mound 10″ high by 18″ wide. Its thick 4″ by 2″ gold leaves are set off by wide blue-green margins. It produces lavender flowers in July. What ‘Tick Tock’ most resembles is a mini ‘June’ for smaller gardens.

‘Summer Lovin’ with clockwise from top: ‘All Gold’ Japanese forest grass, pulmonarias, native ‘Citronelle’ coralbells, hellebores, and native Indian pink (Spigelia).

‘Summer Lovin’ in bloom

‘Summer Lovin’ is the star of my yellow and gold garden, pulling together all the various hues and textures as you can see in the top photo. It forms a mound 18″ high and 40″ wide. What is so special about it is the way the unusually wide gold margins contrast with the dark green center—very unique. The leaves are 7″ long and 6″ wide and have thick, slug-resisting substance. It produces compact and attractive pale lavender flowers in July.

‘Flavocircinalis’ makes a wonderful specimen.

‘Flavocircinalis’ leaf close up

‘Flavocircinalis’, not exactly a user friendly name, means the well-rounded hosta and is a cultivar of my favorite hosta species Hosta tokudama. Although Mark Zilis, author of the definitive hosta reference book The Hostapedia, calls it “one of the greatest hosta cultivars ever introduced”, it is hard to find and expensive when you do find it. Wholesale growers don’t like it because it grows slowly in pots. I grew it myself this year so I could sell it to my customers at a reasonable price.

‘Flavocircinalis’ forms a mound 17″ high and 48″ wide at maturity. Its 9″ by 7″ blue-green leaves have a wide gold margin. They are heavily corrugated, wavy, and have thick substance. The attractive white flowers bloom from mid-June into early July.

Those are just some of the new larger hostas available at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens this year. If you would like to read more about the larger hostas available for sale, click on any of the following links:

Larger Hostas explains how large leaf hostas take a year to produce mature leaves, gives ideas for using them, and profiles ‘Flavocircinalis’, ‘Earth Angel’, ‘Great Expectations’, and ‘First Frost’.

Larger Hostas Get the Spotlight profiles ‘Blue Angel’, ‘Sagae’, and ‘Great Expectations’ with photos of how I have use them in my garden.

Hostas for Fall profiles hostas that hold up to the heat and slugs to look beautiful in fall, including ‘Stained Glass’, ‘Frances Williams’, ‘Blue Angel’, ‘Sum and Substance’, ‘Halcyon’, and ‘Praying Hands’, all available this year at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens.

Carolyn

Carolyn’s Shade Gardens is a retail nursery located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S., zone 6b. The only plants that we mail order are snowdrops and miniature hostas and only within the US.

Nursery Happenings: The 2013 Miniature Hosta Mail Order Catalogue, containing over 35 choice selections of miniatures for shipping all over the US, is now on the right sidebar here, and we are ready to ship. If you are local, you can use the catalogue to see what miniatures are available at the nursery. Next up is the final open house sale of the season on Saturday, June 1, from 10 am to 3 pm rain or shine, and featuring summer- and fall-blooming shade plants. If you are a customer, expect an email shortly with all the details.

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2013 New Miniature and Small Hostas

Posted in container gardening, containers for shade, hosta, miniature hosta, Shade Gardening, Shade Perennials with tags Carolyn's Shade Gardens, dwarf hostas, Hosta Dragon Tails, Hosta Green Eyes, Hosta Haky Chu Chan, Hosta Hi Ho Silver, Hosta Little Treasure, Hosta Pandora's Box, Hosta Regal Tot, Hosta Ruffled Mouse Ears, Hosta Shiro Kabitan, Hosta Stiletto, Hosta Teaspoon, Hosta Woodland Elf, hostas in containers, little hostas, miniature hostas, small hostas on May 20, 2013 by Carolyn @ Carolyns Shade Gardens

My latest container for mini hostas is an old handymans’s toolbox that was hanging around. In it are clockwise from upper left: ‘Thumbelina’, ‘Teaspoon’, dwarf Solomon’s seal, sedum, ‘Rock Prince’, ‘Cherish’, dwarf lady fern, and ‘Regal Tot’. the surface is covered by moss collected from my roof. More about containers at the end of the post.

My nursery, Carolyn’s Shade Gardens, specializes in miniature and small hostas. I even have a mail order business shipping miniature hostas all over the U.S. For mail order details or, if you are local, a list of the over 35 miniature and small hostas available at the nursery, click here. I have also written extensively about minis and links to the articles are at the end of this post. Now I want to profile some of the new little hostas available this year.

‘Dragon Tails’ is one of my new favorites, and if you use your imagination you can see why it was named that. It forms an arching, tight clump 7″ tall and 14 ” wide at maturity. Its golden leaves are 5″ long and 1″ wide, lance-shaped, heavily rippled, and tapering to a point. It is supposed to look great draping over the edge of a trough.

‘Green Eyes’ is a seedling of ‘Kabitan’, another wonderful little hosta. It is 5″ tall and 12 ” wide at maturity. Its leaves are pale yellow with a narrow green margin and 3″ long and 1″ wide. They are lance-shaped, rippled, and tapering. It is said to be sun tolerant.

I would grow ‘Hi Ho Silver’ for the name alone. It is 8″ tall and 12″ wide at maturity. Its lance-shaped leaves are medium green with a wide, bright white margin that extends down the leaf stalk, and 6″ long and 2″ wide. It forms a loose clump and needs shade.

‘Little Treasure’ is 6” tall and 16” wide at maturity. Its leaves, which are 4 ½” long by 2” wide, have a very striking, blue margin with a creamy white center. The leaves twist for a unique overall look. Although it is a standout in my garden, it is one of those hostas that doesn’t look like much in a nursery pot.

‘Pandora’s Box’ is a very beautiful and unique miniature hosta. It forms a striking, tight clump reaching 8″ high and 19″ wide at maturity. Its heart-shaped, bright white leaves have an irregular blue-green margin and are 2 1/2″ long and 2″ wide. It is an offshoot of ‘Baby Bunting’ and will occasionally form all blue-green leaves which should be removed. Its only drawback is that it is more difficult to grow than the average mini due to all the white in its leaves which reduces photosynthesis. It is said to do much better in a container and should not be planted in the ground.

‘Regal Tot’ forms a neat and compact mound 5 ½” tall by 17” wide. Its elegant cupped and corrugated leaves are 4” long by 3” wide. Unlike most hostas, which age to green, it is chartreuse when it comes out and becomes more and more gold as the season progresses. A truly regal form of ‘Shining Tot’, its dark green parent.

‘Ruffled Mouse Ears’ is the latest addition to the “mouse ears” clan of hostas, my favorite minis. An off shoot of ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, it has the same round, thick, rubbery leaves 2 3/4″ long and 2 1/2″ wide but with rippled and frilled margins. It was introduced this year so I only have the photo of my own immature plant above to show you. However, all the mouse ears cultivars are excellent plants with a very unique look. At maturity, it forms a mound 6″ high and 14″ wide. If you would like to read more about mouse ears hostas, click here for my post entitled I LOVE Mice.

‘Shiro Kabitan’ (often sold as ‘Haku Chu Chan’) really brightens up the shade with its bright white foliage with a narrow green margin. The slightly twisted, ribbon-like leaves are 4 1/2″ long and 1 1/2″ wide. Despite all the white, it spreads quickly to form a small dense mound 6″ high and 18″ wide at maturity. It makes a very colorful edging and prefers dappled shade.

‘Stiletto’ is another small hosta that can’t be mistaken for any other. Its shiny dark green leaves with a narrow yellow to creamy white margin are 5 1/2″ long and 1 1/2″ wide. They are noticeably rippled and wavy. This fast-growing, adaptable hosta forms a mound 12″ high and 24″ wide at maturity. It is great for edging and forms a dense mini-hedge along a path or border.

‘Teaspoon’ is a hosta that stands out from the crowd with its unique cupped, bright green leaves that look, yes, like a teaspoon. The almost completely round leaves are 2 3/4″ long and 2 1/2″ wide. It forms a dense and neat mound 11″ high and 24″ wide at maturity. It is fast-growing and makes an outstanding specimen.

‘Woodland Elf’ grows quickly to form a compact mound 5″ high and 15” wide at maturity. The waved and cupped leaves are 2 ¼” long and 1 ½” wide. They are medium green with a white margin. ‘Woodland Elf’ has a beautiful upright habit and is great in troughs and excellent for edging.

Those are just some of the new little hostas available at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens this year. Many of them are excellent plants for the front of the border or for edging paths. However, the real minis look best when they are specially displayed in an area of the garden set aside for them with suitable sized companion plants like smaller epimediums, dwarf ferns, sedums, hens and chicks, or dwarf Solomon’s seal. I have a special rock garden just for my minis—don’t miss it when you visit next.

Another view of the new mini garden featured at the start of this post.

The other way to display miniature hostas is in a container. If the container can take freezing, you can leave it outside, minis and all, for the whole winter with no special protection. That’s what we do with all our containers at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. As I explained in detail in my post Hosta Containers and Companions (to read it click here), you don’t need to go out and spend a fortune buying a fancy pot for your hostas. Any old object collecting dust in your attic can be converted to a mini hosta container garden. We have used everything from the toolbox above to the oil can below.

I made this container last year, and you should see how beautiful it is this spring after being out all winter.

If you would like to read more about little hostas, click on any of the following links: