Gardening
Gerald Filipski
The New Hosta
Gardening to me is all about change and how to adapt and
embrace the change. Change can solve a design problem in
the garden or it can offer a new perspective. I’m constantly
looking for new and innovative ways to make use of plants.
One area that has always been a problem for me is
working with gardens or beds that are shady. One of
the questions I am asked most often is what can I
plant in the shade? Plant breeders are constantly
offering us new varieties that are more tolerant of
shade, but what about using the old standbys like
hostas in new ways?
Sometimes the answer is right
under your nose. Recently I was
moving a hosta and temporarily
placed it into a container while
I was readying the hole for
planting. I placed the container
with the hosta in a shady spot and
and as I stood back it occurred
to me that the plant looked great
in the container in the shade. I
wondered if there was a more
perfect plant for a shady spot
than this one I was seeing. The
variety I was looking at was
‘August Moon’ with its deeply
crinkled gold leaves. The pot
I had it in was a bright cobalt
blue. It was one of those ‘wow’
moments in gardening.
Hostas are one of those plants
that even those gardeners with
two brown thumbs can grow
very well. These tough plants
require little in the way of care
24 | arta.net
and this makes them a very
appealing perennial to today’s
busy gardener. Hostas also come
in a wide range of sizes from
dwarf types that may reach only
six inches in height to three-
foot-tall giants. This versatility
makes them a perfect choice for
a container garden. If you have
more room, you can choose larger
types as background plants with
smaller ones out in front.
They prefer a rich, well-drained
soil, so choose a good quality
potting soil to which a generous
amount of organic matter such
as compost or manure has been
added. I would use a fi fty–fi fty
blend of compost and potting
soil myself. If you are going to
use manure I might go with
one part manure to two parts
potting mix. Hostas also like to
be kept moist but not soggy. Do
not allow them to dry out as they
may complain by showing brown
tips on their leaves, or with other
ways of sticking their tongues out
at you. Because they will be in a
container, they may dry out even
more rapidly on hot days. Adding
mulch to the top of the soil may
help in slowing down the rate
of evaporation. Hostas are also
not heavy feeders when it comes
to fertilizers. However, because
containerized plants require
more frequent waterings, a good
quality slow-release fertilizer
designed for containers
would be a good option.