The hosta is one of those ubiquitous and yet unheralded garden plants that anchors many a shady nook yet gets none of the glory that showier and more floriferous counterparts seem to get. While the foliage is the main attraction, let us not forget the flower show that many are putting on right now. The flowers are like little lilies, with a more subtle fragrance to go with their understated appeal.
Often I forget about the flowers, too preoccupied with all the other stunners of summer, until these spikes start emerging. Then I pause and take stock of their form and their beauty, and on a larger scale of the garden and where it stands. This is when we are usually feeling some sort of summer fatigue. With the lackluster weather this particular year has brought us, there is no reason for such fatigue. Even the ostrich ferns, typically starting to brown and wither away, are holding onto their color and form, quenched by the abnormal amount of water they’ve received.
These hosta have also enjoyed the excess of wetness, but they’ve also suffered for it. Slugs have invaded the garden, and made a mess of the beautiful hosta leaves. For every benefit there is a detraction it seems. Such is life in the garden. Thus far these flowerheads have managed to rise above such nastiness, and so let us focus on them for today.
