Thanks to Cathy Brown for sharing her father's inspirational story!
"Barney Spearman is an 80-year-old hosta enthusiast in Dayton, Ohio, and his backyard hosta garden is spectacular. Barney has about 40 different species of hostas, and probably about 200 total plants, artfully arranged around stone pathways (he personally collected and installed the stepping stones as they were excavated from nearby construction sites.)
Barney likes to feature several of the ”Hosta of the Year” as selected by the American Hosta Society. He appreciates that these plants are resilient, easy to grow, and easy to maintain, and he suggests that gardeners should use these as a guide for planting. While Barney started several of the plants from fellow hosta gardners, he has also purchased many others from local nurseries. His favorites include: June, Stained Glass, Segae, and Paul’s Glory.
Barney’s magnificent garden has grown and flourished, because, once established, hostas can be split into 3-4 new plants every season. He says, “I have tags to ID each specie in the garden. I merely cut a cross section of a hard wood and used a rigid wire to place the painted ID next to the plant.” Annuals are blended in hypertufa pots which Barney hand makes from peat moss, portland cement, and pearlite. The plants he likes to include are begonias, astilbes, impatients, and ferns. He selects the plants based their ability to grow in the shade."
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Comments
Nice garden and stone work Barney. A real credit to you!
nice nice nice! I am jealous of your Hosta collection as the voles eat them up here like gourmet snacks, I can only have a few in pots. Happy to see yours so healthy and flourishing
Hi Jeff, after losing my mature hostas to voles, I have a strategy to defeat them. I remove every leaf and bit of debris so any ground is totally bare. With my circle of 80 foot oaks, it's a big job in the fall, but so far it has worked. Not a single open air tunnel.
I do that as well- I found a new hideout yesterday: Right on the edge of a pine straw mulched bed- My cat kills some every day as well- I think I have the equivalent of a small city of the rascals
Love it! So lush,. so attractive,.so inviting,.Great use of the stones and like the hypertufa pots also. Thanks so much for sharing this lovely garden!
I can feel the love as I look at that beautiful garden. Barney, you have a real talent as a designer! Cathy, thanks for honoring your dad and sharing with us...
Wow! What a beautiful space. I love the way you have mixed the different colors, sizes, and shapes of plants. You inspire me.
Lovely, do you ever have problems with slugs and if so, what do you do to eliminate them?
Cathy, how sweet and thoughtful of you to share your dad's oh, so lovely collection of hosta. They are certainly making my heart go pitty pat. I love all the variety in color, size and shapes...his hosta world is a delight. I share Jeff's sigh of envy because my garden, also, has been hit with voracious voles who love to dine on hosta roots. I am starting to replant my survivors in containers. Seeing the carpet of in ground hosta your dad is maintaining is a real treat.
Hi Barney, Love all those upright hostas. That vase shape is so appealing. We share the same favorites except I went with Paradigm and Dick Ward instead of Paul's Glory. If I get the space will have to add that one too. There is one upright that towers above all the others, what is the name of that one?
Lovely hosta garden. Thanks for sharing it. I love the hardwood labels, and hostas as border plantings....love, love, love it.
Amazing. I love seeing large masses of hosta like you have done. It's magical. My battle with voles is so great, but I have been working on a pretty good planting strategy that seems to be working...so that I am able to reintroduce and enjoy them in the garden again. But nothing like this gorgeous oasis you have made here. Thanks for sharing.
David, don't think you are going to get away with making a reference to having an anti vole eating hosta strategy and not have someone beg you to share the details...please, please, please.
You're right. I should put together a little picture tutorial (even though it's nothing too special or difficult) and submit it. I just planted some more hosta this weekend I'm feeling so confident with the method. I should probably watch being too arrogant though...I am always reminded you cannot win against Mother Nature...proof? - a freeze tonight...ugh!
Go Ohio! I've always loved a tapestry of hostas. With the different shapes, sizes and colors you can have a lovely oasis with one species, and even some cool floral displays. Nice job! I really like the hardwood section signs. It somehow seems more decorative than a metal tag.
that garden is GORGEOUS! thanks for sharing!
Love the hostas and love that meandering stone path. So peaceful. Lovely garden!
Voles eat mine as well where they'd be most beautiful in my garden. Every single time I plant them- multiple times- as I am a slow learner… hehe Spectacular collection !!!!
Thanks for sharing your father's hosta garden, Cathy. That stone path sets off his beautiful collection in a very natural way. Barney, those wooden name-tags are ingenious! .
Love your hosta garden.... so very elegantly arranged! The stone paths are wonderful, too, and very inviting. I'd love to be strolling along them now admiring the beauty of each individual plant ....instead of huddling inside waiting for the thermometer to rise enough to go out and safely uncover my Maine garden.
Spectacular woodland garden! Beautiful use of color and texture, beautiful stone walkways, love it all. No slugs and no voles? Wonderful!
Beautiful Hosta haven. I have long been a fan of hosta and have many in my garden. Thanks for sharing this lovely space. Vikki in VA.
Cathy, thanks for sharing your father's wonderful hosta collection. I also have had a terrible time with voles. One winter the voles created an elaborate freeway system through the grass in my garden room and ate every lily bulb in that area. For some reason they leave all my hostas alone. This spring I have placed a barrier of crushed oyster shells around all new planted bulbs. I will be interested to see if the shell barrier works next spring. ??
Sweet hosta garden Barney! I hope they name one after you.
I miss my hosta garden! Had a lot of them in Ohio but living in Florida now.. :(
Fantastic! I so love Hostas and this is an inspiration.
Wow. Hard work, Patience, Dedication. Beauty.
So, So AMAZING! The photos are so lush and green. I want to walk and explore each path. Excellent job. THANK YOU Barney!!!
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