GETTING READY FOR THE HOSTA SHOW
By Harold McDonell
2006 Show Chair

I know. It really seems too soon to be thinking about our Hosta Show on May 20, but it’s not. There is much to do between now and show time. First, there are many jobs to be filled, an absolute must if the show and plant sale...read the entire article

Editor's Prolegomenon And Hosta Ramblings
By W. George Schmid
With apologies to Kathy Shadrack

“Good morning, Hosta Folk”
That is how an e-mail from our able AHS Recording Secretary Kathy Shadrack began. What followed was a catalog of what we are to expect in new hostas. Kathy noted in her writings that she just “had to take a minute to gush about the program we had yesterday here in Western New York.” They had a meeting up in frozen solid land during which the well known hybridizer and hosta aficionado Kent Terpening gave a report the future of hostas. “Wow, wow, wow,” says Kathy and “Check this out,” say I.
Here is what we can expect. According to Kent:

Leaf edges with ruffles and teeth, On flower scapes as a foil for the plant Every color from pastel pink to black violet
Not just solid colors either
Bracts that set off buds
Scapes that holds its own fascination
Red petioles on yellow leaves, and Red petiole color creeping into the leaf. Upright foliage showing off lovely "legs",
Cascading mounds
Wavy edges that show off white backs (‘Ribbon Dancer’), and ruffles everywhere, from subtle lazy ripples to tight crimping (‘Clovelly’).

Thanks, Kent and Kathy, for letting us in on the secrets of the FOoSF (Fraternal Order of Seedy Fellows), a group that tests the limits of hosta hybridizing. Check them out on the Web at http://www.foosf.com and see their weird and wonderful creations.

    
    Late Winter & Early Spring Garden Preparation       
by W. George Schmid

A Bull's Eye!

Playing dart board with the older grandchildren over the Christmas holidays reminded me that hitting the bull's eye requires careful aim and  a steady footing. The dart will hit the target only if the aim is properly located. In aiming, location is everything. If you want to hit the bull's eye in your garden this spring,  it will be just as necessary to carefully aim your preparations... read the entire article

Gardening with Pat
Hoping for the Best
by Patricia S. Thompson

It has been an unusually warm late winter and everywhere I look plants are popping out of the ground.  At nurseries people are buying annuals with complete abandon, apparently totally oblivious to the fact that the last frost date is some time around April 15, tax day.  Of course, with a money back guarantee from the nurseries to replace plants if they die, you are only out your labor.  On the positive side if all goes well, being impatient can get you a few weeks of un-seasonal color before the less adventurous  gardeners like me get seasonal color. 

My experience with gardening tells me that a late winter freeze.... read the entire article