August makes me think of green things, like the giant luna moth, which I have sighted on August evenings, and peridot, the green-shaded August birthstone. But I think the best green thing in the August garden is the “August lily”, or Hosta plantaginea.
Why is this hosta, sometimes also know as Corfu lily, white plantain lily, white daylily, or Japan lily, a star among the hundreds of varieties in the hosta universe? Its heart-shaped, medium green leaves are attractive, but other species and hybrids boast more notable leaf color or texture. The one feature that truly defines the August lily is the species’ large, trumpet-shaped flowers.
Run- of-the-mill hosta blooms tend to appear in varying shades of light purple and some varieties are lightly fragrant. Gardeners mostly tolerate or ignore the flowers when they open on tall, slender stalks and no one writes home about them. Some hosta leaf purists, in fact, lop them right off the plants, the better to enjoy an unobstructed view of the ribbed, ruffled, or variegated leaves.
As hostas go, August lilies are medium-sized, with a maximum height and spread of about 18inches. The flower stalks ignore those restrictions and soar to 30 inches. Three to four inch, waxy white trumpets flare in all directions atop those stalks, projecting a divine, honeyed fragrance. If the breeze is blowing the right way, you can pick up the scent of an established clump from many feet away.
The blooms are so beautiful and substantive that they are worthy of cutting for indoor arrangements. They also attract hummingbirds if left to ornament the garden.
August lilies set themselves apart by producing this magnificent show later than other species, which have long since finished the business of setting flowers by the dog days of summer. They can also stand more sunlight than other hostas. Plantaginea blooms generally open in the August afternoons and dance in the lightly shaded or somewhat sunny corners of the garden while the asters begin their own floor show in the brighter areas.
Hosta plantaginea arrived in England from its native China back in 1790 and sailed across the Atlantic to the newly formed United States after that. The compelling scent of the flowers made them garden favorites and they are sometimes still billed as heirloom or old-fashioned plants. Modern gardeners have rediscovered them because they are as ridiculously easy to grow as any other hostas, but have a little something extra–the ability to produce new leaves during the growing season. Most other hostas sprout only one crop of leaves annually. If those leaves are damaged by slugs or the voracious Mr. Antlers and his family, you are out of foliar luck for the season. If you have August lilies, you can get out the deer spray and apply it to the fresh young leaves in the hopes of a better outcome the second time around.
The plantaginea breeding picture has historically been complicated by the fact that the August lily flowering cycle is so much later than those of other species. Still, breeders have persevered and plantaginea hybrids, complete with the intoxicating fragrance, are commercially available. ‘Royal Standard’ features the glamorous white trumpets atop green foliage that may spread to over five feet. You can imagine its ground-covering value, not to mention the number of fragrant trumpets on a mature plant!
If you are paging through catalog offerings in search of sweet-smelling hostas or trolling the nursery sniffing out bargain plantagineas, look for variety names that start with the word “fragrant”. Like other hostas, plantaginea varieties and hybrids may bear variegated leaves, which add interest in months other than August. The large-leafed variety, ‘Fragrant Bouquet’, is an award winner with medium green leaves edged in cream Left to its own devices, it may grow up to forty-eight inches wide. The tasty sounding ‘Fried Bananas’ features the same fragrant white flowers as its plantaginea relatives, but also boasts golden-green leaves.
If you are a small-space or container gardener and the thought of muscular varieties like ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ gives you palpitations or at least pangs of regret, take a deep breath. Little ‘Sugar Babe’ a fragrant-flowered, variegated variety descended from plantagineas and other species, grows only 10 inches tall and 16 inches wide.
August lilies and their hybrids are, like most other hostas, good investment plants. After the first two or three years, you can divide them and increase your stock. That means more fragrance, most gorgeous flowers and possibly more hummingbirds zipping around. The dog days don’t get much better than that.
For an absolutely mind-blowing array of hostas, including August lilies, go to New Hampshire Hostas, 73 Exeter Road, South Hampton, NH 03827; (603) 879-0085; www.nhhostas.com.