American Hosta Society Convention set June 20-23 in Philadelphia
The Delaware Valley Hosta Society will host the American Hosta Society’s 50th Anniversary Convention Wednesday to Saturday, June 20 to 23, in Philadelphia.
Each year, the convention includes several private gardens open to the public for tours, and this year’s gardens are awe-inspiring. Mill Fleurs, for example, offers a garden replete not only with hostas but with dozens of other perennials color blended on steep hillsides next to a renovated grist mill, taking visitors back in time as they stroll the grounds. WynEden displays what are believed to be the largest landscape hosta plantings in the country, with drifts composed of thousands of hostas planted in colored ribbons.
Lots that are closer in size and shape to those of most homeowners in the Cape Region offer inventive ideas for gardening, as in the various raised beds at Teagate. Talley Crest presents a Wilmington suburban garden with a variety of plantings that includes the owner’s seedlings and hosta sports.
Convention attendees get to visit these gardens and three others without getting behind the wheel: Tours are conducted by motor coach, and riders have the opportunity to mingle with other garden enthusiasts and enjoy boxed lunches, which are included. In fact, most meals come with registration, including a Friday dinner bookended by a hosta auction and a closing Saturday banquet that segues into the 50th anniversary party.
Also on the schedule are a number of talks by renowned hosta experts from the U.S., Belgium and the U.K. on topics as varied as hosta sports, the editor’s view of The Hosta Journal, Japanese hosta collectors and nurseries, and even the use of aeroponics for plant propagation. Optional tours include Longwood Gardens, the Barnes Arboretum and several private gardens in the area open to convention attendees.
Need ideas for planters or troughs, or just which hostas to put where? The convention features a number of competitions among hostaphiles, including cut-leaf displays, trough and container gardens arranged for effect, artistic designs and more.
Every attendee of an AHS Annual Convention leaves with the convention’s official hosta, and this year’s plants will be provided by Russell Gardens, a well-known garden wholesaler north of Philadelphia that is also opening its doors for retail sales during the convention. Other vendors from across the country will have booths at the convention offering hard-to-find hostas and new introductions that are impossible to source locally. For those interested only in buying hostas, the doors will be open to non-attendees on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
Register for the convention and learn more about it at www.ahs2018philly.org.
