April 2009 - such a happy little plant. It bloomed and bloomed all spring.
From Missouri Botanical Garden
Easily grown
part shade to full shade
prefers moist, humusy soil
Remove all damaged foliage in late winter to early spring
Spreads slowly by rhizomes.
Slow-spreading clump of foliage to 12" tall
Foliage turns purplish-bronze in winter. Small dark pink flower stalks to 16" tall
Commonly called pig squeak because of the noise produced by rubbing a leaf between thumb and finger.
No serious insect or disease problems.
Athyrium
light to dense shade
height: 18" - 24"
space: 18" - 24"
Features: Beautiful leaf color and regal upright habit, quick to mature but slow spreading. Easy to grow, no maintenance.
Best Friends: male fern, wood fern, hosta, sedge, other shade tolerant ground covers and perennials
From Premium Plants.net 'Branford Beauty' was developed by crossing Japanese painted fern and lady fern. The resulting plant is a beautiful selection with the leaf color of Japanese painted fern combined with the more upright habit of the lady fern.
When I decided to renew the shade bed last spring I knew that I wanted to include a fern. I was intrigued by the coloring of 'Branford Beauty' and thought it would be a nice way to tie the foliage and flower colors together.
part to full shade
height: 8"
space: 12"
blooms: midsummer on 12" scapes
Features: "2008 Hosta of the Year! This adorable little hosta has very thick, heart shaped, blue-green to grey-green leaves and lavender flowers. Great for troughs, pots or edging.
Best Friends: ferns, astilbe, bleeding-heart, sedge
Care: Performs best in rich, moist, well-drained soil, but adapts to less hospitable conditions if shade is provided. Mulch root zone in summer.
This cute little plant is labeled a Designer Hosta by Perennial Resource which means it "must perform superbly in zones 4-7 while exhibiting exemplary garden presence and performance. They must also have a long season of appeal in the landscape, have leaves of good substance and demonstrate a greater resistance to common garden pests"
I didn't know all of that when I picked it out at the nursery. I just knew I wanted a cute little Hosta that would snuggle in next to the stepping stones in the front corner of my patio shade garden. I loved the name and the shape of the leaves. I knew the rabbits who visit my garden tend to leave the thicker, blue leaved Hosta's alone - that in and of itself was a great incentive to purchase this plant.
We've had a good first year together. It seems to be very happy receiving morning sun snuggled in front of the clematis and next to the impatiens. It had absolutely no rabbit or slug damage.
Slug damage is a new experience for me this summer. I will have to be much more proactive about this issue next year.
