LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Chris Miller's life definitely is made in the shade.
At her business - Bluegrass Hosta Farm, just west of Georgetown, Ky. - Miller and her husband, Tom, spend hours with their shade-loving plants. But in spring and early summer, Chris Miller finds little time to relax. She is creating display gardens, propagating plants and welcoming visitors who share a fondness for the more than 950 hosta varieties she grows and markets.
Newcomers looking for their first fantastic foliage plant or, as she quips, seasoned "hostaholics" searching for the next specimen for their collections, can find treasures at the farm. While most garden centers have sizable supplies of hostas, Miller's garden is a rare find, where friendly horticultural expertise, artful presentation and a broad selection of one plant come together.
Shade-loving, easy-care hostas were brought to the United States from their native China, Korea and Japan around the late 1700s. They have grown in popularity in U.S. gardens during the past 30 years, and breeders have responded with a diversity of variations.
Tom Miller says there now are about 1,500 introductions each year.
They can vary in size from the miniature Blue Mouse Ears to the giant Green Dragonet. Leaf colors can range from pale mint green to electric chartreuse; there are blues with a soft waxy surface, bright golds, whites and even some new red features that combine into endless, subtle variations. Leaf shapes - some floppy, rounded hearts, others upright pointed-end ovals - and textures - smooth to corrugated - add to the mix, creating a tempting palette for budding garden designers.
Names tickle the imagination: Marilyn Monroe, with its wavy edged leaves; Praying Hands, whose upright leaves twist at the top; Woolly Mammoth, with round, corrugated leaves.
Chris Miller says Liberty, which has green-centered leaves balanced by a wide, creamy gold border, "is so showy that it's going to grab people."
