Dividing Perennials with Ann Mattingly

Yesterday evening (Wednesday, September 28) I drove over to Yew Dell Botanical Gardens for a program on dividing perennials presented by Yew Dell's Garden Manager, Ann Mattingly. It was a perfect early fall evening to be out in the gardens, and the five of us there had a very good time learning from an expert in a relaxed, hands-on class. (Actually there were six of us there for the presentation -- Persimmon, Yew Dell's friendly feline, joined us for most of the program!)
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Ann did a great job and fielded a multitude of questions from all of us, not just about plant division but about many other gardening points that we raised. The hour and a half passed all too quickly, and we left as the sun was providing us with a truly awesome sunset with divisions from the following plants:

• Siberian Iris 'Lady Vanessa'
• Sedum 'Matrona'
• Hosta 'Lemon Lime'
• A very special fourth plant whose name must remain cloaked in mystery -- how's that for a teaser? :-) My lips are sealed!

I was very happy to have a miniature hosta included in the group, and so H. 'Lemon Lime' (R. Savory, 1977, a registered miniature-leaved hosta, leaf size 3 x 1 in., clump size 7 x 5 in.) is now a new addition to my collection. The others I will share with friends who have more room in their gardens than I do.
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Yew Dell is a very special place, and I encourage local readers of this entry to visit there and support it by becoming a member. For me, it is always well worth the drive over and back to stroll around learning new plants or to participate in one of its excellent educational programs. I'll be going back next month for the director's autumn plant walk.

Now More than 50 Hosta Varieties in My Garden

My blog entry listing the varieties in my hosta collection has been updated to add the seven new cultivars that I have acquired in my current trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania, which has included attending the 2011 Fall Hosta Forum.


The new additions are --

H. 'Appletini' (registered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Curly Fries' (registered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Hideout' (registered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Hush Puppie' (registered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Little Stiffy' (unregistered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Pineapple Upsidedown Cake' (registered medium-leaved)

H. 'Swamp Thing' (registered medium-leaved)

Plus a very nice specimen of H. 'Popo' that I will give away to a friend.


And the trip isn't over yet!  lol


(Update. 9/18/2011 at 4:30 p.m.) Three more to add from a stop at Cahoon Nursery in Westlake, Ohio:

H. 'Cody' (registered miniature)

H. 'Tiny Tears' (registered miniature)

H. venusta (registered miniature species)

(Update. 9/20/2011 at 3:45 a.m.) There would have been even  more but I held off on stopping at Wade and Gatton Nurseries at Bellville, OH (just off Interstate 71), on the way home yesterday afternoon because of the constant rain and fog that I was experiencing. Tonight is the Hostas of Kentuckiana plant swap and reduced price sale, so never fear the collection will keep right on growing!


(Update. 9/21/2011 at 8:45 p.m.) Four more to add from yesterday evening's HOK plant swap and reduced-price plant sale:

H. 'Big Daddy' (registered large-leaved)

H. 'Fragrant Bouquet' (registered small-leaved)

H. 'Limey Lisa' (registered miniature-leaved)

H. 'Masquerade' (registered miniature-leaved)

Also picked up a Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) seedling, my first hellebore.

My First Clump Division

Early yesterday evening I did my first hosta clump division. Later this month Hostas of Kentuckiana, our local hosta society based in Louisville, is having a plant swap at its monthly meeting. In order to have some plants to exchange, I decided to divide my H. 'Silver Halo.' Below are photos showing the one plant that I started with, the five divisions that it yielded, and those divisions repotted.

The process was a lot easier than I anticipated, but I will feel a lot  more comfortable when I have done more dividing. Most of my hostas are miniatures so it was nice having a larger specimen to work with first.

My H. 'Silver Halo' before being divided.

The five resulting divisions.

The divisions repotted as five plants.

Visit to Cheekwood, 27 August 2011

Last month before leaving Nashville after attending the Middle Tennesee Hosta Society's August meeting, I spent several delightful hours at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. Here are some pictures from my visit, mainly from Cheekwood's Japanese Garden. In addition to wandering the grounds, I had a wonderful lunch at Cheekwood's fine restaurant and purchased several items (including a neat set of stainless steel miniature plant tools) from its gift shop. It was a great end to a very enjoyable trip.
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Here is the Cheekwood website's description of the Japanese garden there:
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Japanese Garden, Shomu-en
Shomu-en, the pine-mist garden, is a place of quiet and meditation, a refuge from the outside world. The lantern at the gate is a symbol of enlightenment, and the gate always stands open as a sign of welcome. The garden is in four parts. The roji, or crooked path, slows your progress and invites observation. Then you pass another gate into the dark bamboo forest, intended to turn the mind inward. A third gate takes you into a grassy courtyard with gingkos, maples, and a carved basin where water falls from a bamboo pipe into a rock basin. Ascending the wide steps and entering the pavilion, a great body of water, symbolized by raked gravel, comes into view. It contains granite islands and is surrounded by stunted pines seen on a distant shore. A stream comes down the mountainside and graceful maples complete the peaceful scene. Rest here and let your mind travel through this island of tranquility.

Hostas are native to Japan, Korea, and China, and there were a number of very nice specimens to see at Cheekwood, both in the Japanese Garden and in other areas.
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