Hosta - from my shady yard

Last count, I have 75 different hosta.  Once upon a time I even knew each name.  But as tags went missing, and plants got moved, I've been remiss to try and identify them.  The one's I remember, I'll label; the rest are just good neighbors and I love having them. 

H. Stelletto is the miniature on the left and H. Bitsy Gold, is on the right.  I over winter them in these hypertufa's simply by piling on the leaves in the fall.

H. Chartreuse Wiggles (front right) and H. Cheatin' Heart, and H. Masquerade (rear).  Believe front  left is H. PoPo.  I've found that the really small hosta look better in containers.  They tend to get lost planted directly in the ground and I'm not wanting to hand out binoculars to see them.

Blue hosta are very striking in the shady garden.  Wheaten Blue, Blue Shadows, Salute (pictured above), and Blue Arrow (here) some of my favorites.

Even though my garden has a lot of shade, I found out sadly that blue hosta do not like any direct sun, or extreme heat for that matter.  The sun 'melts' the waxy coating on the leaves and the blue color fades.  Handling the leaves will 'melt' the coating too.  I've left many fingerprints in my plants!

Light green hosta, and ones with green and white variegation can benefit from some sun.  The golds and whites hold up well with a little extra watering. 

These are Twist of Lemon, and Lime Delight.  One has a dark leaf with light yellow margins, and the other has golden leaves with a dark green edge.  They look great early in the season, but colors fades into each other as the summer progresses.  Slugs really like these thin, tender leaves - a lot.

H. Strip Tease

H. Catherine Lewis has a lovely blend of blue, light green, and dark green.  She holds up to summer heat very well, and slugs leave her alone. 

H. Tattoo.  I must have bought a very small root of this one, because after 5 years, I'm finding it doesn't put on the show I thought it would.  The maple leaf markings are nice, but the heat  browns the edges, and I'm  disappointed  in its progress.

Fragrant Bouquet  really lives up to it's name. 

H. Millie's Memoires has blue and cream markings.  Deep puckering on thick leaves is really striking.

H. Gin and Tonic has deep puckering on nice blends of creams and greens.

Hosta all look alike!  Well, no.  The colors range from gold, blue, light green, dark green, creams, and white.  But color is not the only way they are unique.

Leaves have different shapes as well.  Some are round, some are pointed, and some don't look like hosta at all. 

H. Praying Hands looks more like a house plant we call 'Mother-in-Law Tongue'.

 I like this family of plants  - they are very diverse - in my shady garden, I have plenty of color, texture, and blossoms all summer long.