the garden of
Gary and Jane Seymour
  
  We have been gardening from the first moment that we acquired our house in 1973.  At that time, the lot contained foundation plantings of junipers, nine white pines along the back lot line, and three silver maples in the back yard.

Jane took the lead in beginning a front yard garden.  We expanded that over several years into a perennial country garden emphasizing daffodils, daylilies and companion plants, along with two small trees.  We installed a rustic cedar post fence, removed the sod in several areas, and created a paved pathway dividing the garden into sections, and planted peonies and other perennials mixed with annuals.  We also removed the junipers and planted deciduous shrubs along the front walk.  The 1990 version of this front yard received the West Bend Beautification Award for our district.  The 2010 version also won this award.  By that time there were only six plants left from the 1990 version.  The garden was also featured in Mary Steiner's column, "Gone Gardening," in the West Bend Sunday Post in 1998.

In the meantime, we had begun to look at the back yard.  After the children had left home we began to revamp it.  A few trees were removed.  We built a patio, and began to wonder how we could take advantage of the back yard shade.  We had already planted a few hostas in isolated spots, but really had no plan.

A visit to Foxfire Gardens in 2005, produced revelations about how many different hostas there were in size, shape, color, and form, and how they could be part of creative landscaping.  Dr. Schulte suggested we explore Southeast Wisconsin Hosta Society.  We joined in November of 2005.  Thus began our crazy period of addiction to the "Friendship Plant."

As a result of the work done since 2005, two mature silver maple trees and six white pine trees dominate the shade in the back yard.  Multiple small trees and shrubs make up the under story.  The (much reduced) central grass area is surrounded by gardens containing a mixture of hostas, pulmonarias, heucheras, heucherellas, tiarellas, ferns, decorative grasses, hemerocallis, Siberian iris, astilbe, hellebore, and columbine.  Some of the hostas are veterans of the garden, while others are more recent acquisitions of the last decade.  They are adapting well to their home planting area.  However they have their bags packed and will be ready to move to some new locations in the garden if need be.  A pondless waterfall is a recent addition.


There are currently over 450 named varieties of hosta in our yard.  All of the miniatures and a few of the medium plants are in containers.
 

Garden Tour Photos
   




H. 'Blue Haired Lady' Follow the yellow bark road Back Yard H. 'Elvis Lives'
   




Fairy Garden H. 'Golden Sculpture' H. 'Inniswood' H. 'Mildred Seaver'
 




H. 'Oh Cindy' H. 'Squash Casserole' H. 'Summer Breeze' Garden Art
   

 
Our Visit: Phyllis and Jim Weidman
Kirkwood, MO
   
Welcome to Hosta Haven, the small but mighty garden of Gary and Jane Seymour. 

As you enter the Seymour’s garden, photos show you how the garden has evolved over the years.  Instantly, you know you have entered a personal garden created by people who love and are very proud of what they are doing. 

The front yard was transformed in the 70s from traditional house plantings to a garden worthy of awards by several local associations.  After a visit to the former Foxfire Botanical Gardens in Marshfield, Wisconsin, in 2005 their gardening world was transformed once again.  They realized that hostas could be used to create a beautiful landscape.  This transformation began in the front yard and continued into the side and back yards, with plantings of many hostas and shade loving companion plants. 

The result, at the moment, is that 450 varieties of hostas have been planted and thrive in their specially selected locations throughout the garden.  Hosta ‘Foxfire Zulu’, a sport of ‘Cascades’, is an especially large, upright mound of shiny green foliage, a specimen that is not usually seen and is most appropriate in this hosta garden inspired by Foxfire Botanical Gardens.  A large, beautiful ‘Liberty’ stands out in the garden as only ‘Liberty’ can.  The hosta, ‘Mildred Seaver’, is a true tribute to a grande dame of the hosta world.  Another focal point of the garden is ‘Golden Sculpture’, a vase-shaped mass of golden leaves, made even more prominent by a large blue butterfly flying toward it.  H. ‘Golden Sculpture’ is a good example of a hosta that was planted initially in deep shade, where it languished, and then was planted in more sun, where it exploded into the specimen that it is.

Other exceptional, large specimens that catch your eyes are ‘Inniswood’, ‘Old Glory’, ‘Fragrant Bouquet’, ‘Captain Kirk’, ‘Victory’, ‘Elegans’, ‘Key West’, ‘Key Lime Pie’, ‘Summer Breeze’, ‘Squash Casserole’, ‘Oh Cindy’, and ‘Krossa Regal’.  Of course, of special interest to people who garden much further south, was another grande dame of hostadom, ‘Frances Williams’.  Even in Wisconsin, however, its edges were a bit brown.

If you do not have the right spot in the ground for a plant, the Seymours show us that you can grow a variety of types in containers.  Many of them are filled only with minis, such as one that contained ‘Sparkler’, ‘Tears of Joy’, ‘Sunlight Child’, and ‘Mighty Mouse’.  Of special interest were the containers of small and medium-sized hostas.  One that stood out is a blue porcelain pot containing ‘Lakeside Paisley Print’, ‘Midnight at the Oasis’, and ‘China Girl’.  That inspired these writers to consider planting larger hostas together in a container.

H. 'Foxfire Zulu'
   
H. 'Midnight at the Oasis'
 

However, the story is not all hostas.  As you walk through the garden, there are containers that include a wonderful collection of succulents; beautiful sun-loving perennials, such as a single red peony, giant alliums, calla lilies, Siberian iris, grasses, and Taro (Colocasia esculenta), along with a wide variety of shade-loving companion plants, such as astilbe, heucherellas, tiarellas, pulmonarias, and ferns.  There was even a fairy garden container, along with an interesting collection of whimsical objects that add light-heartedness to the garden.  Such a varied collection of plant material and objects is what makes a garden interesting and beautiful. 

This is a not a garden of exotic plant material, but a garden of healthy and happy plants that work well together.  In listening to comments as we walked through the garden, you heard such things as, “This is a very personal garden,” “small but mighty,” and “a garden that two people could maintain.”  One also heard such words as “happiness” and “inspiring.”  Most of us would love to have a garden that is so well-maintained, has such a varied collection of plant material, and is so well-documented via the book of photos at the entrance to the garden.

Exactly forty years after its inception in 1973, this garden is a real tribute to the Seymours and their love of gardening and hostas.

 

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