A Greene County Garden in June: Hostas

By Margaret Donsbach Tomlinson

Shady areas in the garden can perplex gardeners who love color, since most garden plants don’t flower well in shade. But green is a color, too, and can be stunningly bold. Hostas love shade and come in multitudes of sizes and leaf types. Variegated leaves may be edged with gold, white or ivory, or may have yellow or white flares in the center. Solid-colored hostas come in intriguing shades of blue-green or even white. Though not generally planted for their flowers, some hostas produce glamorous spikes of dangling lily-like flowers in white or pale lavender.

Native to China, Japan and Korea, hostas grow beautifully in our climate if planted in loose, rich soil kept moist but not soggy. The soil under deciduous trees enriched by many seasons of decomposing leaves is ideal, but hostas will also thrive in soil enriched with compost. They die back in fall but return reliably in spring when their thick, pointy shoots poke up from the ground and unfurl into big, leafy rosettes.

In Asia, hosta shoots are eaten as a spring delicacy. The flavor is said to be like lettuce crossed with asparagus. (I haven’t tasted them myself—the plants are so beautiful I hate to sacrifice any of the shoots). You can pan-fry them in butter or olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper, or the tenderest sprouts can be eaten like salad greens. The Japanese enjoy them deep-fried in tempura batter. Roaming critters also like to eat hostas and aren’t fussy about preparation. Deer can make short work of an emerging bed, slugs may eat holes in the leaves, and even groundhogs have been known to take distinctively rectangular bites out of them. In a rural garden, it may not be possible to grow hostas without monthly applications of anti-deer spray. If deer are not too numerous, an insurance policy might be to grow so many hostas that a few nibbles aren’t too noticeable. Another might be a thick planting of strong-smelling herbs like basil or thyme next to the hostas. Slugs can be kept to a minimum with iron phosphate bait, which is safe to use around birds, pets and children (don’t use metaldehyde, poisonous to many other creatures besides slugs).

Attractive hosta companions include variegated varieties of Solomon’s Seal (P. odoratum var. pluriflorum ‘Variegatum’) and Vinca major, with delicate white edging on their leaves. Although vincas can be invasive, variegation reduces its vigor and can help keep it in check, especially paired with hostas which are more than large enough to hold their own. Or try the smaller woodland ferns, like the glamorous Japanese painted fern. Shade gardens can be truly exciting!