Hosta Walk June 22 includes local gardens

Abiqua Moonbeam is a hosta that grows in Deb McCollum’s Moon Garden. Nearby grows Blue Moon, Moonlight Sonata, and a pulmonaria called Mrs. Moon.

“My Moon Garden is in the shape of a crescent moon,” said McCollum while strolling recently in the verdant garden behind her Washington home. “I say that it starts at the Edge of Night and ends at Daybreak.” Both Edge of Night and Daybreak are hostas.

The Moon Garden is just one of the themes McCollum chose for her garden. Once a theme is designated for a bed, McCollum fills it with appropriately-named hostas and other shade-loving perennials, much the way she chooses items to fill the pages when working at her other hobby, scrapbooking.

“I’m a collector,” explained McCollum. “I’ve always collected things.”

McCollum’s vast collection of hostas will be on display during the Central Illinois Hosta Society 2013 Hosta Garden Walk 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 22. Nine gardens in Washington, Dunlap and Peoria will be featured on the tour.

Deb and Don McCollum had never gardened before they purchased their home in 1991. After doing a little research, they decided hostas were a good bet for their yard since it’s mostly shady.

The environment wasn’t the only thing that made hostas a good fit, however. Deb McCollum prefers a plant that doesn’t need special care — she’s a weekend gardener. And of course, there was the fact that hostas are endlessly collectible.

“I don’t really know how to put things together when doing a garden design, but my mind thinks in themes,” she said.

So McCollum’s Angel Garden is home to Blue Angel, Guardian Angel, Earth Angel and an heuchera named Mystic Angel. The Patriotic Garden contains American Dream, American Icon, Loyalist and Paul Revere, among others, and the Tea Party Garden is home to a lot of hostas that sound good enough to eat — Cherry Berry, Blueberry Muffin, and Raspberry Sorbet.

But like most collectors, McCollum also chooses the plants because their names have meaning — they evoke a memory or honor a person. In her “It’s a Girl Thing” garden McCollum found plants to honor her friends and female relatives.

“This hosta is named “Norma,” that’s my Mom’s name,” said McCollum while pointing to a thriving plant growing near a garden accessory in the shape of a pink and yellow handbag. “That’s Sweet Marjorie — Margie was mom’s sister.”

McCollum has even named the new types of hostas that have sprung from her plants as sports, little offshoots with their own markings and textures. One she named Debbie’s Delight, after herself, another she named Lovely Lori after her sister. The new varieties are just for her — she has not registered them.

Without looking at the tags, it’s not immediately evident that McCollum’s garden is arranged by theme, however. The hostas and other perennials grow together beautifully, melding colors and shapes and textures in a harmonious mix. Don McCollum helped lay out all the beds, and keeps the edges clean and neat.

This will be the first time the McCollum garden is being featured on the garden walk, and Deb is thrilled.

“Doing this has been on my bucket list for about a dozen years,” she confided.

Since the spring of 2011 she’s been preparing the garden for the tour. Everything is meticulous. Even the weather’s been cooperating.

“This year, with all the rain we’ve had, the hostas have just swelled up like balloons,” she said.

While McCollum obviously has a talent for gardening, she kind of surprised herself. Until she bought her first hosta, McCollum never dreamed she’d become a gardener.

“Of all the things I thought I’d be doing, I never thought I’d be a gardener,” she said. “I never thought I’d get so much satisfaction from it.”

She’s succeeded at making her garden a place of beauty and a perfect reflection of her personality. She thinks that’s what gardens should be.

“I love going on garden tours. It’s just like decorating,” she said. “Gardening is such a wonderful reflection of who we are. I’ve been in gardens that I thought were beautiful even though the style wasn’t for me. But I’ve never seen a garden I didn’t like.”