Summer winds down during the languid days of August. The lawn loses its inviting emerald carpet, turning crisp and brown under the scorching sun. The flaring trumpets of brightly colored lilies and the pink tufts of phlox and the blue globes of balloon flower begin to fade in the garden, where few flowers remain to bridge the distance between the last of summer’s daisies and fall’s first asters.  This stretch of time provides a brief respite between the tasks we’ve accomplished, and the tasks to come, and we find ourselves seeking the relaxation of hammocks under trees. There is one plant that fulfills this interval’s two requirements – offering interest in the late summer garden, and the cooling quality of the color green: hosta.

The most familiar variety, the “plantain lily”, is the picture we usually associate with hostas because of their longevity and omnipresence. An impressive mound of bright green, leathery leaves, measuring four feet across and hosting tall stalks of lavender and white funnel-like flowers, we find these old-fashioned favorites around the foundations of long ago barns; for their durability, reliable performance, and their tolerance of sun as well as shade, they remain a favorite and solid selection.

There are several varieties of hosta with impressive sizes. The largest is ‘Empress Wu’, its green leaves reaching four feet tall and six feet across.  Another giant, ‘Komodo Dragon’, produces a cascading mound seven feet wide, with dark green leaves measuring fifteen inches long.  ‘Sieboldiana Elegans’, two feet tall and over three feet wide, is valued for its enormous, rounded gray-blue foliage, the rippled leaves, blue-green with gold margins, of ‘Terms of Endearment’ stretch five feet across, and the cupped and corrugated foliage of ‘Millennium’ emerges bluish in spring and matures to a glossy green in summer, spreading rapidly to over five feet. ‘Great Expectations’ rewards us with puckered leaves, uniquely “painted” with irregular blue-green margins, dark green stripes, and chartreuse centers maturing to yellow, then cream and finally white, and at four feet wide and three feet tall, ‘Blue Hawaii’ forms a unique vase–shape of powdery blue leaves resembling a fountain. These larger hostas serve as focal points and require substantial companions such as goats beard, a six foot tall plant with maple-like leaves and whiskery, cream-colored flowers, and hakonechloa, a grass which spills bright green or gold blades and thrives in shade rather than sunshine.

Though less familiar, there are several miniature hostas for use in small spaces. At ten inches tall, ‘Maui Buttercup’ makes a mighty impression with cupped and corrugated gold foliage, and the narrow, yellow leaves of ‘Munchkin Fire’ offer a spurt of color.  Eight inches tall and sixteen inches across, ‘Twist of Lime’ is perfect for edging the garden, the deep purple flowers contrasting exceptionally well with the leaves, chartreuse rimmed dark green. The eight-inch tall ‘Wiggles and Squiggles’ is one of the most unique, with long, slim yellow leaves, its name owed to the wavy margins, and the elongated foliage, variegated with cream, of ‘Fantasy Island’, serve as a skirt underneath its lavender flowers.  The “mouse ear” varieties, for the shape of their cupped and puckered leaves, are focal points in spite of their six inch stature. ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ has blue-green foliage, ‘Sun Mouse’ has brilliant yellow leaves, and ‘Mighty Mouse’, blue-green foliage rimmed with bright yellow margins.  Woodland jewels such as sprightly whorls of sweet woodruff, the glossy pads of European wild ginger, and epimedium, with its delicate foliage and flowers, are charming companions for small hostas.

Though we usually associate hosta with their lush greenness, they offer a variety of colors. Golden hostas include ‘Age of Gold’, with smooth leaves, ‘Coast to ‘Coast, a vase of golden foliage, and ‘Gold Standard’, ovate leaves emerging green and maturing to gold.  Hostas with yellow foliage include ‘Seasons in the Sun’ which maintains bright yellow leaves from spring to autumn, ‘Sun Power’, with foliage of such an intensely vibrant yellow it almost glows, ‘Echo the Sun, a brilliant yellow with sharply rippled leaves, and ‘Designer Genes’, its yellow leaves contrasting strikingly with its red petioles. Hostas with chartreuse leaves make a bold splash in the shade garden. ‘Sum and Substance’, as the name suggests, is one of the largest, an award winning plant which serves as a strong focal point.  The chartreuse leaves of ‘American Dream’ are rimmed in cream, and ‘Guacamole’ leaves, the color of the fruit, are edged in green. Blue hostas, due to their glaucous coating, serve as stunning contrasts to their gold, yellow and chartreuse cousins. ‘Blue Angel’ is an old favorite with corrugated blue-green leaves, ‘Blue Perfection’ has leaves of a gentle blue, and ‘Halycon Blue’ has ribbed, triangular leaves of turquoise. ‘Sterling Medallion’ has silvery, dimpled leaves, and the foliage of ‘White Feathers’ emerges white and develops a green tinge.

Along with the solid colors, there are several with variegation, lending themselves to lovely complements. ‘Sir Frances Williams’, a large variety with blue-green leaves rimmed with chartreuse, and ‘Liberty’, aqua foliage trimmed with gold, are perfect companions for their reverse, ‘June’, with gold leaves and wide, blue-green margins, and ‘Brother Stefan’, chartreuse centers edged in blue.  These variegations are lovely when flanked with lady’s mantle, echoing the chartreuse and contrasting the foliar form with frothy flowers.  Several hostas are splashed with white or cream, many familiar to us, circling, and lightening, the areas around trees.  The foliage of ‘Patriot’ is dark green with wide, white margins, the leaves of ‘Fire and Ice’ are curly, with a white swirl through the green leaves, and ‘Remember Me’ is predominantly white with a narrow green margin. These hostas are stunning with ‘Solomon’s Seal’, the tall, narrow stalks and delicate white bells contrasting in form and mirroring the variegation.

Because of their formidable presence, whatever the size or color, hostas require strong companions. In earliest spring, daffodils reflect the golden, yellow or ivory of the unfurling hostas leaves.  In summer, astilbes beautifully pair, varieties of cream and crimson and pink partnering with hostas with cream variegations, chartreuse, and blue respectively.  And in early fall, ligularia, with large, beet-colored leaves and golden daisies, and cimicifuga, pale candles rising seven feet over dark, serrated leaves, are perfect companions.  One of my favorite garden seasons is when the evening primroses swirl through the hostas, pouring forth their sunshine between tussocks of textured foliage in shades of emerald, gold, yellow and chartreuse through the filtered light of willows.

These and more make for vibrant combinations, but in August, with its languid days, coaxing us to relax, to seek cool, the most welcome of all companions for hosta are, simply, a seat beneath the leafy canopies of trees, and ferns.

Dayna McDermott