The Terracees 01 The Terracees 04 The Terracees 02 The Terracees 03

The Hosta Glen

After several years of planting hostas in the Glen and watching them grow we came to the conclusion last year that our original concept was wrong. We wanted to plant hostas as woodland plants; as an under-planting for the trees in part of our woods. We wanted it to look as natural as possible and decided not to add other perennials or garden ornaments and the like. We did not add truck- loads of top soil or make berms and we defined the beds simply with small fallen branches and sticks.

The idea has not worked too well and the hostas are not growing to their full potential. The shade is too deep, the tree roots are crowding into the hosta roots and although the slope is a gentle one the rain and irrigation is draining off the hill before it can penetrate the soil beneficially.

So, we decided to move the Hosta Glen. By replanting the hostas about 100 feet to the side we hope to be solving all three problems. The new area is devoid of pine trees and some of the trees that were there have been removed to open the space to more light. Those trees that remain provide priceless high shade. We have tried, where possible, to remove the maple trees and retain the beeches. Hopefully this will go some way to solve the root intrusion problem.

Finally the area is much flatter and this time we have planted in the dips and put the pathways on the higher ground. Watering should be much more efficient.

The trade-off may be that we have lost some of that natural aspect that we were seeking. We have dug down a little way and removed as many of the surface roots as was possible. We have brought in topsoil, compost and fertilizer. We have added stepping-stones. The plan was to give the transplanted hostas the best possible start.

Last summer and fall we moved about 100 hostas to the new location. They seem to be doing well so far. Next spring we will create two more beds and pathways around them so that more hostas can be re-planted. However our core problem remains….we keep buying more new hostas.