tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860Sun, 20 May 2012 10:36:07 +0000About MeBook ReviewBloom DayGarden AdventuresShrubs and TreesMy GardenMy Viewa journey in light, texture, and color beyond my front doorhttp://incitegardening.com/noreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)Blogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-4061714893673934151Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:11:00 +00002012-01-29T11:26:57.969-05:00My ViewThe plant hardiness zones identified by the USDA can help people select the plants that may grow successfully in their gardens. The zones are based on average low temperatures in the winter for different areas. The lower the zone number, the colder the winter. The USDA recently updated the zone maps due to our warming climate. In my zip code, we moved from zone 6a to 6b. The average low winter http://incitegardening.com/2012/01/is-your-garden-in-zone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-3706556875432790292Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:04:00 +00002011-09-18T14:28:25.138-04:00My GardenHow can I take back my gardens from the voles – little brown rodents with short tails that love to eat plant roots all year long? This year the vole population has exploded and I am seeing signs of vole damage in all my hosta gardens. Voles love the big fleshy roots of my hosta plants. These mouse-like creatures burrow through the garden, creating shallow tunnels to travel through. When they http://incitegardening.com/2011/09/garden-thug-challenge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-4702221745136417728Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:27:00 +00002011-09-05T20:33:23.744-04:00My Garden When I started digging in my Yellow Twig garden, I didn’t plan on adding a dozen hostas to the space. The project was originally designed to create more garden space for existing plants. As a hosta collector, I’m always increasing the size of the gardens to support the increasing size of the plants. The Yellow Twig project became a little bigger than I had planned. I worked on defining the http://incitegardening.com/2011/09/yellow-twig-project-redefined.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-4973057233875092390Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:12:00 +00002011-08-28T14:47:38.139-04:00Garden Adventures It was tour time in July for New England Hosta Society (NEHS) members. This year the group was  invited to tour three member's gardens in Holbrook, Massachusetts. The garden hosts are serious hosta collectors, however they have an appreciation for a lot of other beautiful plants too. Here are some photo highlights of the tour. Hosta Cherry Berry or Cherry Tomato - which do you prefer? Many http://incitegardening.com/2011/08/tour-de-hosta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-48474660176355742Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:09:00 +00002011-08-28T14:41:43.014-04:00My ViewMy Garden Hosta Alex Summers has become one of my favorite hostas in the garden. Named for one of the founders and first president of the American Hosta Society, Alex Summers, my beautiful specimen was acquired in a Garden Web Hosta Forum swap in 2007. It can take a hybrid hosta up to five years or longer to mature. This hosta only took four years to wow me. Alex Summers fits the hosta 10 foot rule. http://incitegardening.com/2011/08/my-2011-hosta-wow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-7282800099795873327Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:30:00 +00002011-08-15T20:52:26.039-04:00My ViewMy Garden Daylily Susan Weber One of my favorite plants electrifies the garden with a riot of color in July - the glorious daylily. These lovely flowers come in every imaginable color, from yellow and orange, to red, purple and almost blue, and every color in between. The botanical name for daylily is Hemerocallis, which in Greek means “beautiful for a day”. Daylily Lake Norman Spider An http://incitegardening.com/2011/08/showboat-of-july-garden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-6909697372748054080Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:28:00 +00002010-10-07T21:33:54.298-04:00My ViewMy GardenAbout Me Walkway Garden Do you have a name for your garden or names for your individual gardens - names that conjures up images of beauty, creativity, or even humor? New England is home to many wonderful gardens with intriguing names, like Rosecliff or Blithewold or Merryspring to name a few. These names conjure up images of what the garden might look like. I consider myself a creative type; however my http://incitegardening.com/2010/10/whats-in-garden-name.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-8076263089336940360Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:17:00 +00002010-08-24T21:32:06.725-04:00Garden AdventuresI visited a beautiful garden in Minneapolis, Minnesota this summer - truly amazing.   The Blair Filister garden was small, yet it felt so big. The garden was planted with beautiful hostas, alpine plants and so much more.  Water was a significant element in this garden.   In addition to unusual plantings, the owners had a very artistic eyeand have a lovely collection of garden sculpures.  http://incitegardening.com/2010/08/enchanting-garden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-6124988826993176107Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:43:00 +00002010-08-12T20:32:50.065-04:00Garden AdventuresAbout Me I recently made a trip to Minnesota to tour the American Hosta Society Convention gardens. I visited 12 fantastic gardens in varying parts of the state; all very different in style and taste.  I loved every one of them and will share some of the photos in future posts. Whenever I visit a garden I look for inspiration; design elements that might enhance my own gardens. My big takeaway after http://incitegardening.com/2010/08/takeaway-go-vertical.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-3446768979841416922Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:27:00 +00002010-06-19T18:27:00.183-04:00Shrubs and TreesMy GardenI have, or is it had, the Magnolia Tree, 'Butterfies', a beautiful spring bloomer that is supposed to be hardy in zone 5-9.  I am in zone 6.  This spring only a few flowers appeared on half of the tree and now it only as a few limbs with leaves.  Most of the tree is just a bunch of twigs.  This past winter in the northeast was very cold with little to no snow cover for insulation.  Combine that http://incitegardening.com/2010/06/bring-back-butterflies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-6515168811695382259Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:36:00 +00002010-06-13T06:58:44.331-04:00My GardenAbout Me Have you seen the little hostas that sometimes rise only a wee 6” above the soil? They are cute miniature hostas - tiny versions of the big leafy plants most of you know and hopefully love. These little hostas are just too adorable to pass up when I’m hosta shopping and I now have about 33 of these petite hostas in my collection. However, they may not all be minis. Many a hosta has been http://incitegardening.com/2010/06/miniature-hostas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2725285294666640164Sun, 30 May 2010 15:45:00 +00002010-05-30T11:48:01.254-04:00This is a great year for the Peony. Larger plants - probably from all the water last year, and more blooms than I have ever experienced in the past. The blooms are running about three weeks ahead of schedule here in my northeast corner of Massachusetts. I will let the following pictures speak for themselves. http://incitegardening.com/2010/05/peony-wow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-4839883973571870473Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:59:00 +00002010-01-09T20:22:40.998-05:00Book ReviewI need a book stand for my new book, the Hostapedia. I knew the book was big – just not this heavy – 9.8  pounds. Hosta collectors will find the Hostapedia much more than just a compilation of hosta facts. When you combine author Mark Zilis’ education and real life experiences with his attention to details, you can be assured that he is more than qualified to assemble an 1100 page reference http://incitegardening.com/2009/12/hostapedia-is-big-must-have.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-503172803301095058Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:29:00 +00002009-12-13T15:03:56.599-05:00Garden AdventuresAbout MeCan you visit a garden any season of the year and appreciate its beauty? I know many people that only focus on the flowers. However a die-hard gardener like myself can see beyond the bloom to the structure and bones of the garden. This weekend I found an unexpected surprise in New Hampshire - a sleeping rooftop garden at the Mount Washington Resort. The Mount Washington, a beautiful hotel built http://incitegardening.com/2009/12/sleeping-rooftop-garden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-5591566663975815402Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:10:00 +00002009-12-12T06:43:12.807-05:00My ViewGarden AdventuresGarden tours can be very inspirational. They can fuel your passion for gardening and they are a great way to get new design ideas. Have you ever gone on a tour and compared and contrasted the tour gardens against your own? You might find this exercise helpful if you have some specific objectives for your gardens. For example, perhaps you are working to build the bones of your garden; shrubs andhttp://incitegardening.com/2009/11/garden-inspiration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2249612793829482799Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:42:00 +00002009-11-22T15:51:18.880-05:00My Garden Here's my entry for the November "Picture This" photo contest hosted by Gardening Gone Wild.  I was inspired by last night's frost which made for some great early morning photography today.  Check out Gardening Gone Wild to see some of the creative contest entries and view all my frosted pictures here.http://incitegardening.com/2009/11/frosted-its-end-of-line.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-8694340781919971060Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:12:00 +00002009-12-12T06:29:58.386-05:00My ViewMy Garden Today I woke up to a beautiful frosty morn. As I viewed my gardens from the window, I felt like I was in a black and white dream.  The scene looked liked a lot like photos taken with infrared film. Only this was not a dream, it was real and all the color in the garden was an eerie dream-like hazy white. I picked up my camera and tried to capture the effect. I had to work fast because like a http://incitegardening.com/2009/11/frosted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-6401257700474879280Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:51:00 +00002009-11-15T15:54:07.512-05:00Bloom DayMy GardenJust when I thought my only remaining garden pleasures were about fondling the dirt and removing dead foliage as I prepare for next spring...I found a number of blooming surprises as I worked in my northeast gardens this morning. I usually consider Allium Thunbergii the last to bloom each fall... As you will see in the following pictures, that is not so this November. Echinacea Coconut Lime http://incitegardening.com/2009/11/bloom-day-november-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2157911299730154376Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:50:00 +00002009-11-05T18:54:29.694-05:00Shrubs and TreesMy View Last summer I added my first Daphne to my garden – and this summer I fell in love. I selected Daphne x transatlantica Summer Ice for the white rimmed gray-green leaves and the long blooming period, early spring to frost. All the photographs here were taken just today, November 1st. When I decided to add a Daphne to the garden, many people suggested Carol Mackie; a beautiful spring blooming http://incitegardening.com/2009/11/summer-ice-thats-nice.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-7169594176309878534Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:05:00 +00002009-11-14T17:42:09.902-05:00My GardenAbout Me Don’t be horrified - I threw out some hosta this week. The plants had no names, were unhealthy, not attractive or were not performing well. None of the plants are featured in these photos. Collecting hostas should be about quality not quantity - right? I’m collecting big, beautiful, luscious leafy plants. It’s all about the foliage and not about collecting names. When I began collecting, I http://incitegardening.com/2009/10/collecting-requires-discipline.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-5641445355837388562Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:11:00 +00002009-10-05T21:36:00.538-04:00My GardenAbout Me This has been quite the year for slugs and snails – yes snails. I don’t remember ever seeing a snail any place other than the beach – until this year. I have slugs and snails galore – and of course they love Hosta. You might think that I grow a slug smorgasbord; after all – 300 hostas provide a lot of big luscious leaves to chew on and plenty of dark, damp places to hide under. One slug can http://incitegardening.com/2009/10/slugzilla-x-100000.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-6701684513668776463Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:12:00 +00002011-11-04T11:01:53.862-04:00Garden AdventuresI was in hosta heaven last weekend – attending the American Hosta Society's First Look event – which included some wonderful garden tours and a large number of vendors selling the latest and greatest hosta. However the real reason I attended was for the main event – the First Look competition – an opportunity for hosta aficionados to showcase potential new introductions and gauge audience http://incitegardening.com/2009/06/first-look-at-future-hostas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2338646537403528597Sun, 31 May 2009 10:40:00 +00002009-05-31T13:38:29.769-04:00About Me Each weekend at least one stranger pulls into my driveway to tell me how much they like my gardens. Normally they are looking for an opportunity to take a closer look. I like the attention and love chatting with other passionate gardeners. However, this weekend was different. It was a beautiful morning and I was weeding and rearranging my out-of-control sunny border. Dirty from head to toehttp://incitegardening.com/2009/05/gardener-interrupted.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2923928045004580299Tue, 19 May 2009 02:29:00 +00002009-05-19T21:22:44.644-04:00My Garden Some people count hosta eyes. Hosta eyes you ask? Yes, the little nubs that poke through the ground in the spring. These little pointy darlings house the leaves that unfurl to create a beautiful hosta. A serious Canadian hosta collector, Ghislain Seguin, frequently wrote on the online hosta forums about his hostas eyes. Each spring he counts and records the number of eyes each plant has to trackhttp://incitegardening.com/2009/05/hosta-tour-beautiful-eyes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050564473610127860.post-2725846341405605111Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:43:00 +00002009-04-27T22:09:12.064-04:00My Garden I wander'd lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,When all at once I saw a crowd,A host, of golden daffodils;Beside the lake, beneath the trees,Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the Milky Way,They stretch'd in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. http://incitegardening.com/2009/04/daffodils-by-william-wadsworth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Hostabuff, Zone 6a)3