HOSTAS are wonderful foliage plants for the garden. The new shoots push their way through the soil in spring, fat and pointed, they are often tinged with purple and even at that early start give interest in the beds.

As the weeks progress, leaves unfurl and before we know it a clump of green leaves has been produced. In June and July many will send up flower stems topped with lilac or white blooms which are in some varieties sweetly scented. The flowers are almost incidental and some gardeners remove them although I must admit I like to see the tall blooms, however fleeting they are.

In our garden, we have a number of large, mature hostas some growing in sunshine, others in shade. It has been noticeable how much better the plants are in shade and although the couple we had in a very sunny spot have grown into large specimens, they never look as fresh as their shaded relatives. So, they have been dug up and replaced with bearded iris, which will delight in the dry sunny soil, and the hostas now have a new home in a long shady bed that borders a grassy path.

It is interesting how the addition of two plants to a bed can suddenly change its nature. The new hostas have joined a number of others dotted down the length of the border, filling a couple of gaps between the established plants. Now, instead of a bed with hostas we have the beginnings of a hosta walk which will soon lead from a sun into shade and back into the sun again. It is tempting to rush out and buy lots of plants to complete the border but I will resist this “instant” gardening and take my time choosing unusual specimens at favourite nurseries or shows.


In the veg patch

The hard work in April and May is beginning to pay off and it is harvest time in the vegetable garden.

Leafy plants like lettuce, spinach and chard need to be picked regularly to stop them running to seed and keep a continuous crop of fresh leaves. Currants should be tightly netted to stop birds pinching the berries, we have lost almost all our redcurrants, we were simply too slow for our feathered friends who have selected the juiciest fruits to eat as they ripen. Broad beans are fattening nicely, ours aren’t quite ready to pick but some gardeners will already have had a few pods from their plants.


Weekend catch up

There is still time to sow quick growing crops like radish, beetroot and leafy salads such as chard, lettuce and spinach especially if there is seed left over from earlier sowing. Sow the seeds direct into their growing positions in finely raked soil.

Water the drill before sowing, cover the seed with a thin layer of earth and label.


Plant fair

Flower Power Fairs will hold a plant fair at Wytherstone Gardens in Pockley tomorrow, from 11am-4pm. A number of top specialist nurseries will be there including several RHS and Harrogate award winners such as oak Tree Nursery, Dark Star Plants and Summerfield Nursery as well as two new nurseries; Lavender Blue and Cowsyke Nursery.

Wytherstone Gardens is the home of Lady Clarissa Collin and is approached off the main Helmsley-Scarborough road. Visitors to the plant fair will also be able to visit the gardens, a rare opportunity since tomorrow will be the only time they are open to the public this year. The area is divided into a series of interlinked feature gardens including Mediterranean, ericaceous, fern. Terraced, foliage and bamboo and holds a very large collection rare and unusual plants many considered too tender for northern climates. Entry to the plant fair and Wytherstone Gardens is £5.00

Open gardens

Tomorrow

• In aid of Stockton-on-the-Forest village hall.

Stockton-on-the-Forest Open Gardens, near York. A number of private village gardens will be open together with cream teas and plants on sale. Open 1pm-5pm, combined admission £3, accompanied children free.

• In aid of the National Gardens Scheme.

Cawood Gardens, YO8 3UG. Three village gardens open together with the C11 church. 9 Anson Grove has a small garden with pools, sitting places, narrow winding paths and oriental style pagoda, bridge and Zen garden. Ash Lea has shrubs, a fernery, colourful formal borders and clipped box edged vegetable garden. 21 Great Close is planted for year round interest with ever changing borders, vegetables, herbs, grasses and unusual and exotic perennials. Open 12pm-5pm, combined admission £5. Also open today, noon-5pm.

Hillbark, Church Lane, Bardsey, LS17 9DH. Award-winning one acre garden on three south facing levels with formal topiary, ponds, gravel, rock and stream gardens, rambling roses, perennials, marginal planting and woodland area. Open 11am-5pm, admission £3.50.

Whisperdales, 48 Candler Avenue, West Ayton, Scarborough, YO13 9JN. A pocket handkerchief garden with extensive mixed planting including more than 100 foliage plants together with clematis, a raised alpine bed, pond and two glass houses with cactus and succulents. Open 11am-5pm, admission £3.50.

Wednesday

Cold Cotes, Cold Cotes Road, near Kettlesing, Harrogate, HG3 2LW. Peaceful garden in a rural setting with formal areas around the house, a streamside walk, sweeping borders inspired by Piet Oudolf and a newly developed woodland garden. The nursery will also be open. Evening opening 3pm-9pm, admission £3.50.

Manor Farm, Thixendale, YO17 9TG. One acre garden with pergolas, alpine areas, knot garden with ruined shed, lawns, and herbaceous and shrub areas. Open 2pm-6pm, admission £3.