Hostas in Dry Shade

Hostas work great in areas that are shady... under trees where not much else will thrive.  Even the less showy varieties add greenery where it's hard to get other things to grow.  This year we inherited several large hostas which were going to be dug up and thrown out by other gardeners.  What we have found though is that they don't really do well in the woods because it's so dry.  Here is what Kelly did to help keep moisture around the hostas in the woods:

So for a few days it looked rather odd in the woods with these sandy circles built up around all the hostas.  Then Kelly went and raked a bunch of mulch from the forest floor and hid the architecture:

Now it all looks more natural!  And I can tell the hostas like it too.

To Mow or Not to Mow

Only my husband would suggest that a garden under the trees is easier to maintain than mowing the area.  (Perhaps because the maintenance shifts from him to me?)  We have a 12' wide strip of grass on the west side of our driveway, about 80' long.  Kelly has been meticulously trying to get grass to grow there for 4 years now.  It used to be like a woods, with lots of roots to trip over.  When he decided to level our front yard, he cut up every piece of weedy sod and moved it under the trees on the west side.  This year it's finally starting to look closer to what a lawn should.

Apparently this year it's also become a bit difficult to mow around the few hostas and shrubs that he planted there.  So now the Plan is to get rid of the grass and have a mulch-covered area with lots of shade plants and a pathway running down the middle.

This is not an easy feat, as you will know if you have ever tried to dig a hole under large mature trees. I tried once and made it 6 inches before calling for help.  So it means the planting will happen by trial and error.  Lots of holes will be started and not as many finished and filled.  (A lot of hard work for Kelly!)

Another challenge will be to get rid of the grass.  The Plan calls for covering it with tarps until it dies.  I’m still a little uncertain about this strategy.  The other challenges in that area will be shade, dry soil and caterpillars.  For now I'm convinced enough to start drawing up a planting Plan.