If I had to choose a favorite hosta, H. 'Golden Tiara' would be it. It also consistently ranks high in American Hosta Society popularity polls despite being introduced way back in 1977. It has a lovely variegated leaf and bright lavender flowers with white throats. It literally grows like wildfire (although it doesn't spread like wildfire). The border shown above was planted using single division just two years before this photo was taken. By the spring after they were planted, the single divisions had become 5 or 6, and by the time this photo was taken each plant had 10 to 12 divisions. Thus I created this lush border, about 22 feet long, from two small original plants carefully . The bonus is that the whole long border becomes a massive flower display in August. You can see the first buds just about to open in this photo. A typical Bob Savory introduction, 'Golden Tiara' is extremely vigorous and hardy. The only flaw is that the leaves are rather thin and susceptible to slug attacks. They do vary in shape, however. The outer leaves are oval to heart shaped, while the inner ones are heart shaped to almost round. It grows to about 15 inches in height with a spread of two feet. It is very inexpensive and available from many sources. Because it grows so fast, it's also the kind of plant your hosta friends would gladly divide and give to you. There are a number of sports (the result of spontaneous mutation) of 'Golden Tiara', including H. 'Grand Tiara', H. 'Golden Scepter' and H. 'Emerald Tiara', that have many of the same fine qualities of the parent plant.
