Gardening in a woods in eastern Iowa; a visual narrative.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Plastic Hostas?
Considering myself to be a reasonably sophisticated gardener, I turn up my nose at all plastic plants (this doesn't really have quite the patrician effect that I desire, my nose having been badly broken twice, so it's quite lacking in any upper crust airs). I think some of my aversion to artificial plants stems from my re-introduction to Iowa fine horticultural practices; I had lived in the Bay area of California for six years before coming back to Iowa, and in that time had come to think that rose bushes the size of a garage, billowing hydrangeas, and front yards looking like small botanical gardens were the norm. I love Iowa; it's a lovely place with lovely people, but let's face it; a sign of garden sophistication here is painting your truck tire planter in the front yard. I was pleased though, with a small, cute brick house just down the street with dark green shutters and rough wooden window boxes filled with red geraniums. The geraniums looked lovely against the dark brick, and they were always in full flower all summer and fall, and every time I passed by I enjoyed the sight. Then we had our first snowfall, and when I drove by, there were the geraniums, still in full flower, and they remained so all winter. So, while I am not a fan of plastic flowers, could I recommend two real hostas that look and feel as if they were made of plastic? Hosta 'Pathfinder' is at top and 'Fair Maiden' at bottom; by chance they are planed side by side in my garden. They won't look like this next January like the geraniums, but they stay almost unchanged all summer and fall; stiff and crisp and fresh looking; they don't flop all over like many hostas in the heat of summer.
