landscaping

This is the story of a rather shady affair.  How many of you have struggled with landscaping on the shady side of your home or in other heavily shaded areas?  As a landscape architect I am frequently asked, “what shrubs can I use”?  I always tell people that it isn’t always necessary to plant shrubs on the north side of your home.  There are other alternatives and one of the best includes using several giant hostas that can form shrub like mounds equivalent to small and even medium shrubs.  Following is a list of  my favorites for consideration.  These are listed from #10 to #1.

#10. Blue Mammoth Hosta might just be the mort popular blue hosta and for good reason.  It can reach a height over 30” and a width up to 60” at maturity.  The leaves can be 15” long by 11” wide and are of a deep blue-green color.  The near white blooms are on scapes up to 32” high in June or July.

#9.  The Blue Angel Hosta is a wonderful 36” tall and 54” wide hosta with very large blue-green leaves.  It forms a huge mound and has white blooms.  It is perfect for shaded areas and makes a great backdrop for astilbes and impatiens.

#8.  Would you like a huge hosta with blue umbrella like leaves that forms a large mound?  Blue Umbrellas might just be the specimen you are looking for.  It tends to become a dark blue-green by early summer and has pale lavender blooms.  It is very slug resistant.

#7.  Earth Angel Hosta is a relatively new sport of Blue Angel Hosta with very large heart-shaped, blue-green leaves with wide creamy-white margins.  It has pale lavender blooms and can reach in excess of 30” in height and 45” in width.  Like most hostas it appreciates partial to full shade.

#6.  Beckoning Hosta is another sport of Blue Angel, reaching 36” in height and 54” in width at maturity.  The emerging green leaves turn gold with wide blue-green margins during summer.  The leaves are huge and heart shaped.  Do yourself a favor and try one, or try several.

#5.  Olive Bailey Langdon Hosta will amaze you with its 13” long by 10” wide leaves which have gold margins and a dark blue-green center.  Also the leaves are well marbled making a bold statement.  In June and July the near white blooms occur.  Reaching 30” in height and 54” in width this is a winner for your shade bed or the north side of your house.

#4.  Are you looking for a huge hosta with thick blue-green leaves that have a narrow chartreuse margin that brightens to gold?  Look no further than Singing in the Rain, which can reach 36” in height and 54” in width.  The added benefit is that it shows off lovely lavender blooms.

#3.  Larger than many small shrubs, Sum of All Hosta is a sport of Sum and Substance.  The leaves are enormous with one inch gold margins and are slug resistant.  One of the wonderful aspects of this hosta is that it is sun tolerant, unusual for hostas in the Brainerd Lakes Area.  It can reach a height of 36” and a width of 54”.

#2.  Who says that giants are fictional?  Here is proof that they do exist.  Empress Wu Hosta is an absolute giant reaching heights of 48” and a width of 60”.  It makes a wonderful focal point in any shady location.  Forget about those shrubs and try this hosta with pale reddish to violet blooms and huge dark green leaves.

#1.  What is it they always have on most school lunch program weekly menus? Normally there is one day per week that simply says, “chef’s choice”.  Here is this landscape architect’s choice for the best huge hosta for the Brainerd Lakes Area.  Dancing in the Rain is a sport of Blue Umbrellas reaching in excess of 30” in height and 54” in width.  It possesses gorgeous large leaves with pure white centers and blue-green jetting margins.  The flowers are pale lavender and like most it prefers shade to part-shade.  Try it, you’ll like it.

The one thing each of these hostas has in common is that they are suitable replacements for shrubs on the shady side of your home.  Why be traditional when you can enjoy a selection like this?

Also, remember that hostas make a grand backdrop when terraced with mass planted astilbes or bergenias in front and low growing impatiens at the forefront. What a breathtaking combination!  They also mix wonderfully with native ferns.  So forget the notion that only shrubs can be used for foundation plantings at your home, whether you live in Brainerd, Nisswa, Pequot Lakes, Breezy Point, Crosslake or Crosby.  Try some of these hostas and just wait for the compliments to roll in.  You will be the envy of your neighborhood.

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