Summer Garden Tour!

 Saturday the 13 of June! Almost 100 members of The Dutch Hosta Society took part and enjoyed a great day out! It was time for the Summer garden tour in the "Achterhoek" in The Netherlands! There were three gardens, all with Hostas as the stars of the garden!

 We started at The Botter Hutte in Halle!

 The Hosta Leaf Show, Best Hosta in pot and Newest Hosta were part of the programme and there were quite a few participants!

 There was serious consideration while looking for the "Wow factor" for the People's Choice award!

50 shades of green!

 Kees Hensen gave a great presentation about his three year trial with Hosta 'Kees'! There were beauties such as Upper Case, Lower Case and Beauty Case! Let's see what the future holds with Hosta 'Kees'!

 Then we headed off through the lovely country side to the private garden of our member in Winterswijk! Then the rain came! After four weeks of dry weather, and at the moment that we arrived, it rained!

 But that didn't put us off! The party tent was already set up and the home made hot soup was ready! We had time to wander along garden paths and through different garden areas where more than 200 different kinds of Hostas were looking beautiful in the rain!

 And here's a bit of creative garden art!

Just as the blue sky returned it was time to head off to the next address!

 Tea Garden Rensink in Aalten!

There's around 350 kinds of Hostas here! 

 "Hello! Welcome!

 Come inside!

 All is well? 

Great that you're here!

 Coffee's ready! 

Cookie as well?"

 The planting ideas are great!

And maybe a project for "the weekend" ?!

If you are in the neighbourhood, do stop by!

What a day! But it's not over yet! Then we went back to Halle! Time to round off the day with a drink and a bite to eat and to hear who all won!  A great time was had by all! Slowly the guests headed home with new Hostas, photo's, idea's and friendship's, old and new ! Hosta! The Friendship plant!

 The next activity The Dutch Hosta Society will be taking part in is at the Garden Fair  at Krijn Spaan on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of August! See you there!

The Gazebo in Diepenheim!

 The Dutch Hosta Society spent a warm sunny day in Diepenheim

taking stock of a Hosta collection in a exceptional garden !

A double row of 136 Copper Beeches surrounds

 and gives shadow to the 1393 strong Hosta collection!

 Designed by the Belgian artist Urbain Mulkers  (1945-2002).

 "The copper beeches form a solid frame for the painting. The painting is built up from 1000 green tints. All thinkable tints of green,dark green, light green, blue green, chartreuse, yellow green, gold green, dull, shiny and frosted form the painter's pallet!"

  The original pattern!

 Hosta beds and paths of bark mulch form an abstract image of the veins of a Hosta leaf. Visitors see an impressionistish painting!

There was very little, I should say no real slug damage!

When we did find one, we recorded it too!

 We enjoyed coffee, lunch, an afternoon break and had a chance to search through a few forgotten, weed filled and left behind Hostas! We were like kids in a candy store! Today's group of volunteers had a huge wealth of Hosta knowledge !

 There's still a lot to do! We're all eager to go back in August to continue the inventory and get weeding! Extra hands are always welcome! See you in Diepenheim!

Back at the Fairs and more!

 The Dutch Hosta Society volunteers were active this weekend! Two fairs on the same day! Two very different locations in The Netherlands! What a great day to promote The Dutch Hosta Society and Hostas! It's great to see so many people interested in gardening and Hostas!

 One team was enjoying the sunshine in Oostvoorne

 at the Bos and Burcht Fair! They had great show plants!

Slugs and Garlic extract were on topic!

 Team two was busy in "Strong in the Shade", Hilversum!

A fair especially for plants that do well in the shade!

 We also did well in the shade! 

Slugs and Garlic extract were also on topic here! 

 Great locations, atmosphere and the public made for a great day for both teams!

Maybe we'll see you at the next Fair!

 How are your Hostas growing?

Here are a few "earlier" and "now" photo's form a garden

from one of our members of The Dutch Hosta Society!

3 months later and they're  looking great! 

 Notice the watering system?

 No slugs here!

 The marking/name tags work well!

Thanks for sharing a fine Hosta mix! 

The "Nederlandse Hosta Vereniging" is on Facebook!

Maybe you'd like to share your Hostas there?

See you at the next Dutch Hosta Society event!

At the Fair!

 The Dutch Hosta Society volunteers enjoyed an active weekend at Krijn Spaan nursery! We were located by the entrance/exit! A great location to "meet and greet" and to chat with the "I'll pick one up on the way out" visitors!

Hosta displays are always fun to set up!

Do you know which Hosta this is?

 The sunny weather Saturday brought out a lot of visitors! The 10 - 17;00 day was a constant buzz of gardeners, questions, comments and laughter!

 Sundays rain and wind didn't stop the real garden enthusiasts either! Those that came by bike were really out to look for something new for their garden! That's dedication! And the Dutch cycling way! We also enjoyed seeing all the different umbrellas that passed us by, twice!

 Yes, slugs and the latest, Garlic Extract are always on topic!

A great weekend! We're here again, end of August! 

But first....

Time to dry off and get ready for the next Hosta Activities! There are 2 Garden Fairs happening on May 30th! The Bos and Burcht Fair  and "Stoer in de Schaduw" . See you there!

Time to visit a Garden Fair!

The Dutch Hosta Society will be joining in the fun this weekend at Krijn Spaan Nursery!  A great place to pick up your Summer border planting, get a few ideas while walking through their show gardens, ask us all those slug questions! So if you're in the area, do stop by! I made my wish list of Hostas that I would like to pick up! See you there!

The Dutch Hosta Society's

 Hosta master Class and meeting was a great success! The presentation by Hugo Philips about the American Hosta Society Conventions that he has visited during the last 10 years was a great hour full of photo's, stories and humour that kept us all interested!

A few new Hosta names were written down by many of the Dutch Hosta Society members! Hostas such as H. 'Spring Fling', H. 'Sun Power', H. 'Choo Choo Train', H. 'Longipies F. Hypoglauca', H. 'Pulchella', H. 'Emerald Rough Cut', H. 'First Blush', H. 'Bamse' and H. 'Fluffy' which became H. 'Fancy Dancer', a sport from H. 'Stitch in Time'!

Hosta leaves and blooms make great flower arrangements!

 Then, to learn how to grow such beautiful Hostas, Piet de Rooij inspired us by his presentation about growing Hostas from seed. For him, this hobby progressed from seedlings on the kitchen windowsill to a super organised growing system in the shed!

But not each seeding makes the cut!

Every one can grow Hostas from seed! 

Thanks for all the tips and great striped Hosta photo's!  

Photo from Hugo's trip in the U.S.A.!

No one had this problem today!

Maybe the next time we get together!

After lunch, the Annual General Meeting took place. After an hour we were finished! There was enough time for refreshments and a social Hosta chat before Hosta friends headed back home to places in Belgium, Germany and cities through out The Netherlands!  

The Dutch Hosta Society's next activity is the

Summer Garden Tour! 2 gardens and a nursery!

Saturday, June 13th! See you there!

Hosta Time!

 Hello! Here we are,  almost March! Time to get things ready for the Hosta growing season! How are you dealing with slugs? What fertilizer are you using? How are Hostas looking by others? What are the latest developments in the Hosta growers world?

 Then it's time to attend the Hosta Master Class and Meeting hosted by the Dutch Hosta Society at the Wageningen University, Saturday,March 7th! There will be two great speakers, Hugo Philips will share his adventures as a participant during the last 10 years at the American Hosta Society! And their newest developments! Then Piet de Rooij will give tips and tricks about growing Hostas from seed! There's sure to be great photo's of Hostas to encourage us all!

Hostas! Did you send in your favourite Hosta top 5 list? You have until March 1st! See you at the Hosta master Class and meeting, Saturday march 7th, Wageningen University! More info click here