Charlotte Nelson's Hosta Collection

The past couple of years I have given you an online tour of Charlotte Nelson's straw bale garden. (I will get to that.) Everyone who has read about her knows that her gardening methods are amazing. To see what she can grow on some straw bales is very impressive to me. This week I am planning to show some photos I took on a recent visit to her garden. First I will share something I found out during my visit that doesn't have to do with vegetables. Besides being a great vegetable gardener, Charlotte has a passion for collecting hostas.

Each year, she collects the Hosta of the Year and plants it among the other hostas in her shade garden. It's a beautiful place and I think such a great idea to add annually to her hosta collection.

I was particularly interested because I have a mostly shady yard and I am always wondering what to plant there. Charlotte recommends hostas and I will have to agree with her that it is a perfect fit for a shady spot.

I wish I had gotten the names of her hostas but I didn't do that. I would have loved to be able to say, "This is the plant of the year," but she has so many and I am afraid I will mix up the names.

I think it is such a great idea to collect plants like this. It is so interesting to see what will come out next year. I never had a clue that there was a plant of the year. I do love hostas, too, with their deep green and sometimes variegated foliage.

Charlotte has them lining her shady spots and I am sure the area will become even more lush with the showy plants growing to their full size.

I do know that deer love hostas and consider them tasty treats. Charlotte surrounds her hostas with fences to protect from the deer.

Tomorrow, I will have photos from Charlotte's 2011 straw bale garden.