Every year going back to 1996 the American Hosta Society has named it's Hosta of the Year. Overtime this has become the universally accepted worldwide 'Hosta of the Year' on account that other hosta societies haven't apposed the selection with their own. Here are all the selections from each year from 1996 to date.  Hosta 'So Sweet' - 1996 Hosta 'Patriot' - 1997 Hosta 'Fragrant Bouquet' - 1998 Hosta 'Paul's Glory' - 1999 Hosta 'Sagae' - 2000 Hosta 'June' - 2001 Hosta 'Guacamole' - 2002 Hosta 'Regal Splendor' - 2003 Hosta 'Sum and Substance' - 2004 Hosta 'Striptease' - 2005 ..read more

  You have no doubt heard of growing hostas in the ground and in pots, even hostas in hanging baskets. But did you know that you can actually Bonsai hostas? Bonsai is a method of growing which simply translates from Japanese to 'planted in a container'. This method is often used with trees such as Japanese Maples, Conifers or Chinese Elm. Many normal plants grown in a bonsai style can be stunted and kept dwarfed. If planted in the ground, these trees would grow to their natural size.  So where do hostas come in? Well hostas have, for many years, been used as accent plants ..read more

For many, shade can be seen as a disadvantage in the garden and a lot of people think south facing is the ideal but it's time to stop seeing shade as a hinderance and start seeing it as an opportunity. Shade gardening has become so popular now that many people with those ideal south facing gardens are looking for ways to add some shaded spots. Here are some ideas that may help you make your dream shade garden.  Natural Shade Now in a perfect world natural shade is what we would all like in our gardens but in the absence of this you can create your own. Planting trees, shrubs and larg ..read more

As well as being a beautiful garden perennial plant, hostas are also extremely useful for flower arranging. When used in flower arranging, it is more often then not the hosta leaves that are used and not the flowers. Hosta flowers, though beautiful, are not as exciting some of the cut flowers that are available. You can use them however and they are very long lasting if collected as the flower spike comes into bud. With such an array of different sizes, shapes and colours of hosta leaves, it's no wonder that they are so good when flower arranging. Whether it's a large bouquet with giant leave ..read more

Sustainability at the Nursery From Sienna Hosta’s inception, it has always been our goal to be as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible. Sustainability has been considered in every aspect of the nursery from growing our plants through to sending them to their new homes. We are determined to constantly improve and adapt to help ensure we are doing our bit to protect the planet. We know we aren't perfect and we're always trying to improve how we operate to be as sustainable as possible. Sienna Hosta policies and practices focus on sustainability as follows. Using peat-free c ..read more

Here at Sienna Hosta we have over 1400 different varieties of Hosta, so it's so hard to come up with the Top 10 Classics. There are certainly some worthy mentions that don't make the top 10. Hosta 'El Nino', one of the best blue and white hostas which we really love but just misses out. Hosta 'Whirlwind' almost made the list but we just didn't know what would lose out in it's place. I'm sure you can probably think of one or two that deserve a place on the list and perhaps in time we'll have to expand it to our top 20! 1. June Arguably the most popular variety ever! Hosta 'June' consistently ra ..read more

Here at Sienna Hosta, we propagate thousands of plants every year and grow them on ready for sale all from our Surrey nursery. During the growing season this is a time consuming job but by propagating our own plants we know we can guarantee the plants quality and health. There are several methods that can be used to propagate hostas.  Division This is the method that we use at the nursery and is most common to propagate hostas. Division is also the most likely method home gardeners would use. Dividing hostas couldn't be easier, using a kitchen knife or spade (for large hostas) you can div ..read more

We are delighted to have been working with the amazing team from the RHS Wisley Herbarium for quite some time now. The work done by the RHS Wisley Herbarium is vital to keep a historical record for botanist to use for the identification and classification of plants. With so many varieties of Hostas, we can see our work with them continuing for many years to come. The ultimate aim of the Herbarium is to have a sample of every type of plant grown in the UK, over 300,000. At present they hold over 90,000 specimens in their collection. When samples are taken, the Herbarium team are looking fo ..read more

The importance of light levels when growing hostas can really get overlooked and hostas are very often pigeonholed as shade plants. Light levels have a much greater part to play in the quality of your hostas than you may expect. The quality and quantity of light will drastically affect the appearance and growth rate of your plants.  How Light Can Affect Your Hosta's Appearance It is important to consider what you want your hosta to look like prior to planting it. Do you want it to be bright or maybe more muted? Well, light will have a major part to play in this. Some varieties will look c ..read more

Those of us that have pets want nothing more than to keep them safe and happy. We are no different here at Sienna Hosta. Over the years we have had our dogs and cats at the nursery. At the moment Mischief the cat and Summer the Golden Retriever spend their days here, we have also had Greyson (Mischiefs brother) as well as mother and daughter Hope and Duffy the Black Labradors. Gardening, the outdoors and animals always go well together and all are excellent for your mental and physical health. It is the best feeling to be working away in the garden or at the nursery and have our furry friends ..read more