April 2014 (First Edition)

When will the snow leave?

I really don't know.

When do you think I will see my first Hosta this year?

General Comments for the Journal

This year I am being more obsessive about my gardening.  I am keeping a set of hand/computer drawn images of how my garden is unthawing and eventually will be doing the same for hosta growth (first seen, scapes spotted, flowers opening, and plants needing to be replaced) this year. These images will be used as cells for an animation sequence.  This is a slightly different view of how well the hosta did for 2014; and I hope at some point this will augment the slide show that I also produce.  As I have not the equipment, or the security, to produce a time lapse of my garden so this process will have to do.   I am already seeing some interesting effects between the suns location, and the melting process.

Yes the Photo journal will also be produced for its December release. My hope for that rather than having just three images of each plant the goal is to get one for each month - 6 to 7 images this year.  You might get to see some interesting changes this year.

A Big Party for a Small Garden

This year I am planning a celebration for my hosta.  One of the things that I am planning to serve are custom fortune cookies.  Fortune cookies were an Japanese creation originally found at some religious temples.  The morsel was adapted in the US during the end of the 1800’s; and since hosta come FROM Asia I think it is appropriate to offer this very different dessert.

Those little tabs of paper with silly sayings on them found inside of these creations is what makes fortune cookies … well fortune cookies.   Rather than going in that direction with these cookies I am going in the direction of if hosta had any greater prominence in our society how would our most popular social and cultural quotes change.

First 30 Hosta Fortune Cookie Sayings.  All credits would also be included as part of the printing of the insert for the cookie.  The tags being used have a 120 character limit.

• ‘The name’s Hosta. James Hosta.’ derived/parodied from James Bond 007; Dr. No
• ‘Hosta la vista, baby.’ derived/parodied from Terminator 2 
• ‘Lions, and Tigers, and Hosta, Oh my!’ derived/parodied from Wizard of Oz 
• ‘Those must be very powerful hosta, my dear, if she wants them that badly.” derived/parodied from Glenda, Wizard of Oz 
• ‘That’s no moon, it’s a hosta.’ derived/parodied from Princess Laia, Star Wars 
• ‘The Hosta is strong with this one.’ derived/parodied from Star Wars 
• “Use the Hosta, Luke. The Hosta!’ derived/parodied from Star Wars 
• ‘May the Hosta be with you.’ derived/parodied from Star Wars 
• ‘… you are without doubt the worst Hosta I have ever heard of …’ derived/parodied from Pirates of the Caribbean 
• ‘It's not the years, honey. It's the Hosta.’ derived/parodied from Raiders of the Lost Ark
• ‘It’s in the Hosta’ derived/parodied from Kemps Dairy promotion slogan
• ‘Make it Hosta, Number 1.’ derived/parodied from Captain Jean-Luc Picard; Star Trek: Next Generation 
• ‘Live long and grow hosta.’ derived/parodied from Spock; Star Trek 
• ‘Back to the Hosta’ derived/parodied of movie title Back to the Future 
• ‘Dad, you would not have liked it at all - there were hosta everywhere!’ derived/parodied from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 
• ‘The Hosta are coming. The Hosta are coming!’ derived/parodied on early colonial warning
• ‘If you’ve seen one Hosta you’ve seen them all …’ derived/parodied from quote from antiquity 
• 'All we have to decide is what to do with the Hosta that is given us.' derived/parodied from ‘The Two Towers’, Gandalf the Grey, J.R.R. Tolkien 
• ‘I was just sittin’ here enjoyin’ the company. Hosta got a lot to say, if you take the time to listen.’ derived/parodied from Eeyore; A.A. Milne 
• ‘What is the good of having naturally curly Hosta if no-body is jealous?’ derived/parodied from Fredia; The Peanuts; Charles Schulz 
• ‘Hosta,’ said Christopher Robin, ‘is a very comforting thing to have.’ derived/parodied from A.A. Milne 
• ‘Hosta - betcha can't have just one!’ derived/parodied from FritoLay promotion slogan 
• ‘Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their Hosta!’ derived/parodied from alleged military order given at the Battle of Bunker Hill 
• '... De hosta! De hosta!' derived/parodied from Fantasy Island 
• "Here's another fine hosta garden you've gotten me into.” derived/parodied from Laural and Hardy 
• "Frankly, my dear, I don't give my hosta" derived/parodied from Gone With the Wind
• 'I'll be back …. to grow more hosta.’ derived/parodied from Terminator 
• ‘He’ll have fun fun fun fun fun ’til his mama takes the hosta away!’ derived/parodied from Beach Boys song ‘Fun Fun Fun' 
• ‘Someday I’ll find that Hosta connection; for lovers, for dreamers, for me!’ derived/parodied from Kermet the Frog singing The Rainbow Connection 
• When Kermit the Frog sang ‘It Ain’t Easy Being Green’ was he singing about frogs or hosta? musing from Peter Kelley [event host]
• ‘So long and thanks for all the Hosta’ derived/parodied from Douglas Adams book title

These are intended to be conversation starters for my guests.  Here’s your chance to post a comment below by telling me what you think of these.  Can you think of others that might be just as good.  My goal here is to find 24 of the best lines to use in these cookies.  IF I get multiples of 24 that are just as good I may use more!

Deadline for this feedback is May 1st.

Observations about this blog - but I’m not whining

Last year visitors on a monthly basis were about 400 to 500 persons per month,  This year the visitor rate seems to have leveled off to 40 to 50 persons per month.  With the decrease I believe this  suggests that the numbers are a bit more realistic to actual persons whom are interested in what I have to write.  The numbers for each page view still suggest that many visitors just read the home page without opening specific documents, but I can only hope that Google skews this because of international regulation and privacy laws.  The sources of these visitors still range on the northern hemisphere and predominately in North America, and Europe.  Asia also visits regularly but in smaller numbers.  At the time of this writing no-one has had the need to post a message for me to respond to.

An Observation Of Nomenclature

When a plant is named the contemporary tradition is that it is named in the language of the originating nation (it no longer just Latin these days).  There is a hosta by the name of Kifukurin Ko Mame.  Being that this is Japanese, and that is a translation into English shouldn’t we be writing this Ki Fukurin Ko Mame?  I’ll leave this to the experts to sort out.  I’ve at least changed MY records to reflect this (see wish list).

Noted from: http://www.giboshiarekore.com/japanesewords.html

March Plant Notes

3/28/14: As the snow is still on most of the raised bed there is not much to say.  The only comment worth mentioning is that with the thawing and freezing of water I think I may have lost Itsy Bitsy Spider as that corner of that has come to the surface and freezing continued to occur after that.

3/30/14: With 60°F temperatures today a full melt back for the locations of Hosta Itsy Bitsy Spider, Lemon Lime, and Sum and Substance has occurred.  Two of those are old reliables for regrowing/

3/31/14: Within three days what was mostly ice and snow covered is now mostly open ground.  With the exception of #17 (see 2014 diagram) all of the outside position plants are now uncovered.  By this coming weekend I expect that all of the plant points will be uncovered.

My guess for seeing the first of the hosta is for the week of April 20th to the 26th.  My neighbors can come watch with me!