From hosta newbie to veteran hosta growers, there’ll be something for everyone at this Friends First Friday when Pat Brussack presents on this plant that can add such a rich variety of ornamentation to a Southern garden. Participants will learn about cultural practices to nurture this plant, as well as disease and pest control. Brussack will recommend varieties that perform well in Georgia and suggest sources for these plants. Following the program, registrants will be invited to view and do their own garden performance evaluation of over 300 named hostas in Brussack’s garden, less than five miles from the State Botanical Garden.

Brussack’s connection with genus Hosta began in 1991 with the purchase of Hosta lancifolia, Hosta ‘Antioch’ and Hosta ‘Blue Cadet’ for her two-acre wooded lot. The progeny of those plants now make up a large portion of a hosta border in her garden. Her expanding collection of hostas, combined with the need for expertise and improved cultivars, led to her membership in the Georgia Hosta Society. In addition to hostas, Brussack’s garden features plantings of all types of hydrangea and extensive borders of mixed perennials and shrubs, including many native species, as well as a large raised-bed vegetable garden.

The registration deadline is noon on May 1.