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Ontario Hosta Society
Newsletter of the Ontario Hosta Society Volume 6 Number 2 Summer 2000 President's Message As the summer growing season winds
down and all your fragrant hostas are in full bloom, remember all of the up and
downs and extremes of the past few months so you can deal with them next time
the same conditions exist.
Picnic 2000 Once again we were welcomed to the home and garden of Frans Peters for
our annual picnic and hosta confab. The weather was a bit overcast but the
garden and pool area were a delight with their wonderful display of hostas and
many other plants in an idyllic setting. The prizes were donated by Humber Nurseries and were certainly worth the
challenge of the contest. HOSTA
BUS TOUR 2000 by Marion
Dorosh We
began our tour in the extensive woodland garden of Bob Leask. Bob has a large
collection of well known and
unusual hostas which blend well with native woodland plants.
We were able to buy plants from his well-named nursery, “Variegations
on a Theme”. Thanks to all those who organized and hosted the tour! HI GHLIGHTS OF THE OHS GARDEN TOURby ELIZABETH INGOLFSRUD 1. A bright sunny day despite storms the night before and early morning clouds. 2. Bob Leask’s garden in daylight. Since Board meetings are always at night, this was my first opportunity to see his shade gardens and variegated plants. I fell in love with Petasites Japonicus “Variegatus” and decided it was a must for my garden. Tricyrtis ‘Lightning Strike’ was another exciting variegated version of one of my favourite plants and will be a great new companion for my hostas. 3. June Brett’s and Mary Ann Robinson’s delicious homemade relishes. You all know that they are great gardeners ( surely you saw their garden on the Kathy Renwald show) but did you realize that they are great cooks as well? 4. The Crawford’s Brunnera Macrophylla ‘Variegata’ - so healthy and reasonably priced, and Hosta ‘Parhelion‘, a handsome cream-edged sport of “Sum and Substance” that seemed perfectly happy in bright sun. Also Crescent’s new display gardens, and, of course, a very welcome glass of iced tea. 5. Larry Davidson’s new garden and its focal point, a magnificent specimen of Hosta ‘Jade Cascade‘. Bob Leask and I found another qoodie, which was not even in the Lost Horizon’s catalogue – an artemisia, variegated, of course! 6. John Goodqer’s beautifully designed hosta garden and his wife’s shiny new VW beetle presiding in the driveway. 7. And last, but not least, another delightful day with Joan Avery, whom I have known since our student years at the University of Toronto News for All Hosta AND Cat Lovers! Ran Lydell and Robyn Duback, two well-known American hosta experts are collaborating on these future hosta introductions: ‘Calico Cat’, ‘’Little Kitten’, ‘Tawney’, ‘Tom Cat’, and ‘Pole Cat’. H. ‘Cat’s Eyes’ a Japanese introduction is already available. Foster Parent Plan (aka Hosta'dopta)The purpose of our adoption plan is threefold:
The process :
Ask for the next one to put in the empty space We are pleased to welcome a brand-new Canadian Hosta Society!! Societe Quebecoise des Hostas et des Hemerocalles (The Quebec Society of Hostas and Daylilies) Reggie Millette is the driving force behind the formation of this society and I had the pleasure of meeting him in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the annual American Hosta Society convention this past June. Reggie is full of infectious enthusiasm and he obviously has the ideas and the drive to create a vibrant society. Even though the society had been formed just this spring, on April 8, 2000, there are already 153 members in this young organization. They have many interesting events planned and we wish them much success and fun! More membership information can be found on Page 18. Margot Dargatz Bits & Pieces By Bob Leask
Have you ever seen such fat toads as this summer's crop? Makes you wonder why there are still so many holes in the hosta leaves. But even toads must have a certain capacity! Perhaps there is some beauty in a skeleton hosta leaf where all the material that is left is the veins. But if there is that much damage, chances are that the petiole has also been eaten and the leaf will break in the first slight breeze. Never fear, new leaves are near. If the plant is in tatters, simply cut it back and it will send up the second flush of leaves. They may be a bit smaller but at least they will look like a hosta and perhaps the slug patrol will protect them better the second time around. If you have hostas that are particularly prone to slug damage, perhaps now is the time to consider containerizing them so you can have better control of those slimy varmints. Do so soon so the new roots will have time to develop before going beddy-bye for the winter. Look up previous articles on winterizing containers. Any plants put in between now and the inevitable first frost should be given a dose of 10-52-10 or similar fertilizer to help the new roots get established. Has anyone noticed the swarms of mosquitoes which seem to come along just as you are guiding guests around your garden? Time to plan the winter indoor activities such as constructing purple martin hotels or bat houses. New slug bait on the market by Safers. Non-toxic to wildlife and pets. I have a copy of the videotapes of the past three winter scientific meetings. There is a list of the contents of each tape and they could be borrowed by interested members. Other resources available from the OHS are a set of slides and copies of the AHS journal. The silver books will be obtained soon. Time to collect seeds for the seed exchange and send to Bob Murphy when ready. Some varieties are really early this year. (see below) We have sent $500 to the friends of the farm in Ottawa for the acquisition of plants for their display gardens. Perhaps we could get some members from that area to adopt for a later donation. Several OHS members are available to speak at hort societites etc. either on hostas or other specific gardening topics.
American Hosta Society Auction Results By Margot Dargatz
At the National Hosta Convention in Minneapolis in June, watching the auction is very entertaining and also quite enlightening because it can give you a glimpse into the future.. Seeing which hostas are being fought over now (with the wallet, of course!) gives a good indication as to which hostas will emerge as the “must have” ones in a few years. Only 8 years ago, H. ‘Patriot’ was sold at auction for US $ 875! This year’s top money didn’t go as astronomically high as in 1998 when H. ‘My Child Insook’ was auctioned off for $ 3,100 or in 1997 when H. ‘Dorothy Benedict’ climbed all the way up to an incredible $ 4, 200 ( that’s in U.S. dollars!!). This year, Dr. Herb Benedict’s ‘golden-foliaged hybrid of H. ‘Holly’s Honey’ was bid up to the highest amount, followed closely by Hideko Gowen’s H. ‘Silk Kimono’ - a tall green-centred, gold-edged hosta. John Machen’s H. ‘Liberty’ is very impressive – it is a sport of H. ‘Sagae’ and features a golden border that is triple the normal width! This huge gold margin is so wide that there is very little green visible in the centre of the leaf. The successful bidder for this hosta received a certificate stating that this was the actual first plant of H. ‘Liberty’ ever sold.
My Summer Travels It’s been a cool summer so far but I did manage to visit a few gardens. The first one was Wayne Gibson’s, who has a small, multi-level property backing unto the Don Valley Brickworks. It was well worth the visit to see Wayne’s extremely shady garden. I have never seen three ‘Elvis Lives’ or so many ‘Spilt Milk’s in one garden! Wayne also featured many lilies in his well-manicured yard and if you need hints on how to garden in shade on a steep ravine lot, definitely talk to Wayne! Next I went to visit Ron Crawford’s Crescent Nursery to look at his daylilies. There weren’t too many “fancies” in bloom on that Friday but the clumps of hosta near the house were absolutely enormous! It gave new meaning to the word “mature”. Ron had a great variety of hostas and they were well-labelled. I purchased some older irises at great bargain prices. I just made it to Larry Davidson’s nursery, “Lost Horizons” and the skies opened up with a torrential downpour and regrettably I wasn’t even able to get a peek at the nursery and gardens. The Ontario Hosta Society picnic was great and luckily the threatening clouds didn’t develop into a downpour on that day. I exhibited a leaf from my H. ‘Halcyon’ and was so pleased to be awarded 1st place; Bob Murphy placed 2nd with his H. ‘Just So’ entry and Dave Barham placed 3rd with a mystery hosta. Bob Leask’s ‘Mildred Seaver’ streaked seedling looked promising and we were all impressed by the size of Jon McGrattan’s huge ‘Sum and Substance’ leaf. For a contrast in size, Norma Evans brought in leaves from numerous minis and dwarfs. Congratulations to Walt Nash, Jill Snapes and Bill Fletcher who placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd, in the annual “Name the Hosta” contest. I was very lucky and won H. ‘Niagara Falls’ in the hosta raffle. It is an all-green, huge hosta with wonderfully WAVY leaves! Receiving an invitation from Dave Barham gave me reason to continue my garden tour project. He calls his garden his “oasis” and it definitely was wonderfully and blissfully so. I’ve never seen so many unusual plants other than in a nursery. I certainly learned a lot about rock garden plants. He also collects many varieties of clematis and five different comfrey cultivars.I loved the espaliered crabapple and apricot trees. His garden was on tour and 500+ visitors visited this wonderful retreat. A visit to the Barham garden is well worth the trip to Brampton! See you in September at the Auction & bring your chequebook! Your roving reporter, Pat Loy
IN MEMORIUM Sincere condolences to the families of Jack Berdan, Walnut Gardens, Alvinston and Don Klamer, Blue Sky Nursery Ltd., Beamsville. Jack and Don were exceptional gentlemen and their passing is a huge loss to all – family, friends, colleagues and customers. Spotlight on Member’s Activities Congratulations to Bruce Cumpson who was interviewed by Kathy Renwald and his wonderful gardens were featured on the television show —————————. Peter and Carina Jacobsen, Parkway Gardens (London) made a road trip to experience the wonderful garden tours and the warmth and hospitality of the National American Hosta Society Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota in June.! Reggie Millette and Claudette Ladouceur travelled from Montreal to attend their first national AHS convention. Reggie is the founder and president of the brand-new Quebec Hosta and Daylily Society. Margot Dargatz has definitely become addicted to going to the AHS National Convention and this year’s trip was the fifth convention since finding out about them in 1994. Taking a second stab at exhibiting hosta leaves produced wonderful results: !2 leaves were entered, resulting in a final tally of one “Best of Class“, 4 “First Place‘, and 7 “Second Place“ finishes.
The Hosta Handbook by Mark R. Zilis The Hosta Handbook provides a comprehensive review of 278 horticulturally significant types of hostas. Included are the most popular cultivars, traditional landscaping hostas, and important species. Highlights include complete descriptions of the Tardiana Series and the Iron Gate Series, as well as hostas related to H. ‘Fortunei’, H. montana, H. plantaginea, H. sieboldiana, H. sieboldii, H. ‘Tokudama’, and H. ‘Undulata’. Introductory chapters describe the history of hostas, taxonomy of the genus Hosta, the American Hosta Society, how to grow hostas, what to plant with hostas, and how to propagate, hybridize, and select mutants. Then each hosta is examined in great detail. Mound dimensions are listed. Leaf size, color, shape, texture, substance, and vein pairs are described. Flowering habits such as time of bloom, flower color and size, scape height, and pod formation are also included. A “Comments” section covers each plant’s origins, any AHS registration information, possible usage in the landscape, and the author’s opinions. Over 1300 more hostas are briefly described in “Seedlings, Sports, and Other Related Types” and “Other Similar Types” sections. Other features of The Hosta Handbook are the 300 color photographs, an extensive Hosta Name Index (with references to proper nomenclature), and the “Hosta Problem Solving. The Hosta Handbook can be thought of as a field guide to hostas and is meant to be carried around in the garden. The 4 1/4” wide by 9” long format lends itself to this purpose. All in all, The Hosta Handbook will be useful to the most experienced hosta aficionado, as well as beginners, enthusiastic gardeners, nurserymen and taxonomists alike.
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