A few Convention garden pics

OK Jody, I'm still bowing. That hosta leaf show - gosh, there were hundreds of leaves! A great way to see up close and personal some leaves that catch your attention.

2011 New England - Jody, do you know which city? I'm SO there. Hubby is asking.

Sandy

http://www.americanhostasociety.org/LocalSocieties.html

Sandy it's in Marlboro, Mass

edit to add NEH website http://www.nehosta.org/index.php?page=2011-hosta-convention

This message was edited Jul 1, 2009 6:55 PM

Hey, allnitro! DH says it'll take about 20 hours to drive from here to Minneapolis. Kind of like driving to Winnipeg! Were you guys there? Didn't see anyone who looked like you or I would have introduced myself.

Sandy

Thanks for the link, Jody. DH is checking the map and says it's only 8 hours! I missed a lot of the banquets and awards because I wouldn't want him to be bored (haven't we all been in that situation). I'll have to check who won all the garden awards, as I voted.

Sandy

The Vrable garden was just an inspiration, too.

Best seedling nominee (and my favourite) 'June' x yingeri.

This is a case of being in the right place at the right time! As I was taking a pic of 'Skylight', which is at the top of my most wanted list, someone summoned Bev Stegeman (the hybridizer) and she posed beside her creation.

LOL @ DH being bored! Mine has never attended w/ me. I usually bring my mom, or go by myself. Everyone is friendly and nice enough that even alone I'm not alone ;) After my first time going I had so much fun I decided I would never miss another. Of course I was plumb wore out after Philly in 06, it was a lot of work, starting a couple years ahead to get my judgeship to be able to chair the show. It was my best friend that asked me to do it and I couldn't say no...

but I'm ready now and your pics are making me so envious!

Some of those tour gardens are just jaw dropping! There are a few that still stick in my mind years later. Would love my gardens to grow up like some of those some day...

Sandy, I loved your picture show. Wish I could have seen it in person. Lovely gardens!

I did not attend this year Sandy.....but plan on next year......only 3 1/2 hrs drive for me.

Thanks so much for posting. I wanted to go so badly (but had to be Atlanta for a meeting). I moved from Michigan to Pennsylvania, so it would have been a great trip to see old friends and meet new ones! This was the next best thing. I have added Jade Cascade, Rainbow's End, Niagra Falls and Skylight to my want list. I will come back when I have more time and am sure will find some more! I doubt I will make Minnesota, but for sure I will go to Massachusetts in 2011!

Betsy

thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures. i know a few people on this thread that would kill the the H. 'Tattoo'. That is gigantic!! Xuling
ps, don't tell me where the 'Tattoo' is growing, je je je

Oh my. What wonderful pics. What are the dates next year? I generally have Viola Congresses in June and of course, now I have a granddaughter's birthday June 23 in Vancouver. But I may still try to get to the Convention in MA. It's not such a bad trip. Drove to a Viola Congress in Boston once. I have a Hosta growing violist friend in Minneapolis. Will have to ensure that he knows about the convention.

Ann

Thanks for posting all the beautiful pics! Several of the hostas on my wish list are now firmly there. I wish I could have attended but was out of town visiting family =(

Sandy, thanks so much for your time and effort to share this, I really enjoyed it!

I'm glad you are enjoying the pics! Thought I'd post more hostas. I mostly took pics of ones that stood out to me and that I didn't already have.

'Julie Ann' (P. Banyai '95)

'Grand Marmalade' (Owens NR)

'Tom Schmid' (Schmid '95) It's a sport of 'Krossa Regal'. I really like this one.

'Ebb Tide' (Elslager '97). Sport of 'Montana Aureomarginata'. Another for my have-to-have list. Sorry, not the best pic ....

'Laura and Darrell' (Hatfield/Ward '97) Sport of 'Zounds'.

'Golden Waffles' (Aden '76)

'Rootin Tootin' (Ziarek NR)

'Nickelodeon' (T. Schmid '98) Sport of 'Summer Music'. Another eyecatcher.

Great pictures, thank you for sharing! I might have to go to the convention next year, it is so close to home (4 hours drive).

Ebb Tide is gorgeous!!!

How does 'Tom Schmid' vary from 'Regal Splendor'? Looks like maybe the margin is whiter. And 'Laura and Darrell' strikes me as similar to 'Jewel of the Nile'. If 'Rootin Tootin' gets that big, I may have a problem. I should be able to divide mine with you - no sweat.

Tom Schmid seems pretty different from RS so far for me. It comes up with a pure white margin, so it has an overall frostier look. The leaves don't have the slight wavy-ness that RS has, either, but maybe that comes with age. I bought one last year from Naylor Creek and it's pretty, but is still just one eye, I think. This year I saw one at the local place that I bought my RS from and it was HUGE and ten dollars, so I bought it. Hopefully it won't have HVX- fingers crossed. Now I have two Tom Schmids and room for only one, lol. See, I just can't resist when I see a huge specimen available locally.

Beautiful pictures and thank you for posting them. If you decide to go to Marlboro, mass it is 12 hours drive to our place. i used to work 30 minutes away from Marlboro in a town called Fall River. That was years ago!!! The hospital is still there though. Bellie

ic ~ hope I'll get to meet you and other like-minded peeps some day at one of these conventions. I know you'll love the auction! I snuck in for a look as I was curious ... a rare Rick Goodenough plant (don't recall the name - something Harbormaster) - anyway it went for $650 I think! A bit rich for me, but it was gorgeous! There were many more that went for a reasonable price. Unfortunately for me, there was a miscommunication with the issuing of phytos (needed for crossing the border) and I didn't think I was able to bid. Oh well, I went for the garden tours anyway and I wasn't disappointed in that regard.

plantnutz ~ I think that Ebb Tide was beautiful, too. Especially that little curly-cue on the end of the leaves. Love it.

Ann ~ So kind of you to offer a division from your Rootin Tootin. Maybe that will be in next year's trade, eh? It just looks so perky.

Noreaster ~ Not one but two Tom Schmid ? Does the margin remain pure white? I think that's what really appealed to me ... the blue with the crisp white margin.

Bellie ~ Well, that might just be in the cards, you never know. Steve will drive about as far for golf as I will for hostas.... ! Seriously, I'd love to get down your way someday soon.

Sandy

In Clarence Owens' garden he explained to the group that Ashes of a friend ? were scattered under this tri-coloured beech as this was her favourite bed. The pic is poor due to the harsh sunlight. Can you see the rosy-pink leaves of the tree?

At the time he was explaining it to us, I must admit I felt a twinge of the grim. But upon reflection, I'm thinking that's likely what I would want - my ashes to be scattered or buried in a favourite hosta bed (probably buried, not wanting to cause an abrupt change in soil PH :-) Yep. I think so. What do you think?

Sandy

Sandy - you wanted Rootin Tootin THIS year, but I decided it wasn't quite ready to divide. Maybe next year. It's doing reasonably well.

Sandy, this will be my first full year with Tom Schmid, but yeah, as far as I can tell it looks pretty much the same all season. The Naylor Creek one I have in a bit more light and the wax has sort of melted off that one. But the other one is still quite blue and waxy . It's a very crisp looking hosta, for sure. I just have to figure out what to do with the second one...I'm tempted to get rid of the Naylor Creek one, because the newer Tom Schmid has like ten eyes or something and should be fantastic next year....but it's like playing HVX roulette! (the place I got it from doesn't know or care about the virus). I'm also playing HVX with Rootin Tootin...same deal, huge and cheap so I could not resisit. That one is disappointing me, however, with it's so called "slug resistance". My slugs are not resisting it.

I'm not sure about the ashes thing...it is a little grim when you think about it, but being buried in box in some big cemetery doesn't have a lot of appeal, either. That looks like a beautiful spot.

There's now a thread on Hallson's of convention pics and from that thread a link to someone's Facebook page of convention pics if anyone wants to look at more - http://www.perennialnursery.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51703

Thanks Ann!

Sandy

I have a Tom Schmid that is getting quite large, last year I bought an eye of a mature division from Jim's Hostas. It has multiplied to at least four eyes and is HUGE, one of my tallest plants. I don't have Regal Splendor, but I have Regal Splash planted near Tom Schmid, they have very different habits and leave shape in my opinion. Lots of people in my neighborhood have Regal Splendor and I much prefer Tom Schmid - I think it is a lot more blue and the white edges are very crisp. I would say that mine looks larger than the one posted in this thread. It was one of those plants not on my "wanted" listed, then when I visited Jim's I saw the mature plant in-person and had to have a division (same thing happened with Liberty).

The petioles on Tom Schmid do seem to be slug magnets, this year the combination of sluggo and ammonia spraying nearby seems to help so far, but last year all but one leaf were taken down at the petioles by slugs.

Sandy, it is so much fun to meet other DG'ers - we have a group of locals (probably about 15 of us at this point) that meets every other week, weekly in winter, for dinner and it is a blast. I'm such a happier person since I've started hangin out more with other gardeners!

I bet I would love the auction, but I might have a very different budget next year than I do this year for plants, hubby really wants to go back to school for a PhD and if he does that our income will go down significantly, but we'll see what happens. It is so much fun just to see some of those drop dead gorgeous plants in person. I couldn't believe the pics posted here from this year's convention!!!

Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth, Thanks for your input on 'Tom Schmid'. Just bought him yesterday - yay! You are right about the expanding wish lists when you see a hosta in person. There were a few that really stood out, like 'Tom Schmid' and 'Spotlight' was another. I saw them both in three different gardens and I was surprised when I looked at the tags that the same few were attracting me. I think they've

That'd be a hoot to be in a garden group of 15. I think you guys must get to see some spectacular hostas on your travels in Iowa!! I think I would be broke all the time.... but I would be :-)

Sandy

Here's 'Spotlight'

A streaked 'Ginsu Knife' in the Hodgson garden.

I'd never seen a mature 'Blue Betty Lou' before. This is in the originator, Clarence Owens, garden.